The return of slavery
By Richard W. Rahn, April 22, 2019, Washington Times

There are some plagues that mankind seems to be incapable of fully destroying. One of these plagues is slavery, which has existed since man moved from being a hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Slavery is the condition where an individual is deprived of much of the product he or she produces & often all or much of their property. The ancient Greeks held slaves. The Romans held slaves. The Chinese held slaves. The Ottoman Turks held slaves. Serfdom, a less restricted form of slavery, existed in Europe from the fall of Rome until it was finally abolished in Russia in 1861. The harsher forms of slavery existed in Europe & most of the rest of the world until the 19th century €” when it was peacefully abolished in many countries, such as England, or through violent clashes, such as the U.S. Civil War.

By 1900, most of the €œcivilized€� world had abolished slavery & serfdom. But then a more lethal variant emerged under the more benign names of socialism, fascism & communism. The implementation of these ideologies resulted in govts causing the deaths of somewhere between 100 & 200 million of their own citizens in the 20th century.

As in the 19th century, the peasants revolted, & late in the 20th century, those living in Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union rose up & tossed off their yokes.

The peoples of the world had the opportunity to see the economic destruction, loss of personal liberty, & sheer misery that the various forms of slavery caused (including those called socialism or communism); yet, here we are, 3 decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with allegedly serious politicians calling for the re-imposition of socialism as if history had not happened.

Bernie Sanders & many of the other Demo candidates for president have stated that €œhealth care is a basic human right.€� Where did this human right come from? Unlike passive rights, such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion, the press & so forth, the €œright€� to free health care, education, transportation, etc. imposes a non-negligible cost on others. The person or persons designated to work to pay the taxes to provide €œfree€� health care for someone else, most often only submits as a result of coercion (we are going to seize your property &/or put you in jail if you do not pay up).

We are told that all of the €œfree€� stuff being promised will be paid for by someone else who will have to pay a mere 70% in taxes. We are expected to ignore all of the evidence from around the world that people will go to great lengths €” through either legal or illegal actions €” to avoid paying such high rates. And that such high rates always result in less, not more, revenue for govt over the long run. People everywhere object to becoming tax slaves.

The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that Bernie Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the fact that these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes than the U.S. The Swedes also are less socialistic than many places in the U.S. with their universal voucher system for schools & their largely private pension system.

There is an almost unlimited demand for med care, unlike for most goods & services. Therefore, demand must be rationed by price, form of treatment or queuing €” there are no other options, €” & the socialists have no answer for this problem. In the former Soviet Union, the masses were given greatly inferior medical care, with extensive queuing €” while their socialist masters were given timely & somewhat better care. For those who had something really serious, Western doctors were the solution. Remember Fidel Castro using Spanish doctors despite all of the bragging about the Cuban medical system.

The Canadians, whose med care is rationed by queuing, go to the U.S. for more timely & better treatments (90& of the Canadians live within 150 miles of the U.S.). The British have a national health care system that rations by queuing & form of treatment. There is a parallel private health care system for those who wish to pay for better & more timely treatments. The U.S. has a govt-operated socialist health care system for veterans that has been plagued by cost overruns & poor treatment for decades, despite both Dems & Repubs claiming they are going to clean up the mess €” which never happens. How is extending a VA type system to everyone going to make things better?

The bottom line is that slavery destroys basic human liberty & was only economically viable in pre-industrial societies. Modern forms of slavery €” whether we dress them up & put lipstick on them by calling them €œdemocratic socialism€� or whatever €” require ever-increasing levels of coercion.
If more members of the press were better schooled in history & thus understood that socialism is just a variant of slavery, many those spouting socialist platitudes would be exposed for what they really are.

€¢ Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth & Improbable Success Productions

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ve-and-they-d/

On 24/04/2019 20:54, David P wrote:
The return of slavery
By Richard W. Rahn, April 22, 2019, Washington Times

There are some plagues that mankind seems to be incapable of fully destroying. One of these plagues is slavery, which has existed since man moved from being a hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Slavery is the condition where an individual is deprived of much of the product he or she produces & often all or much of their property. The ancient Greeks held slaves. The Romans held slaves. The Chinese held slaves. The Ottoman Turks held slaves. Serfdom, a less restricted form of slavery, existed in Europe from the fall of Rome until it was finally abolished in Russia in 1861. The harsher forms of slavery existed in Europe & most of the rest of the world until the 19th century €” when it was peacefully abolished in many countries, such as England, or through violent clashes, such as the U.S. Civil War.

By 1900, most of the €œcivilized€� world had abolished slavery & serfdom. But then a more lethal variant emerged under the more benign names of socialism, fascism & communism. The implementation of these ideologies resulted in govts causing the deaths of somewhere between 100 & 200 million of their own citizens in the 20th century.

As in the 19th century, the peasants revolted, & late in the 20th century, those living in Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union rose up & tossed off their yokes.

The peoples of the world had the opportunity to see the economic destruction, loss of personal liberty, & sheer misery that the various forms of slavery caused (including those called socialism or communism); yet, here we are, 3 decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with allegedly serious politicians calling for the re-imposition of socialism as if history had not happened.

Bernie Sanders & many of the other Demo candidates for president have stated that €œhealth care is a basic human right.€� Where did this human right come from? Unlike passive rights, such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion, the press & so forth, the €œright€� to free health care, education, transportation, etc. imposes a non-negligible cost on others. The person or persons designated to work to pay the taxes to provide €œfree€� health care for someone else, most often only submits as a result of coercion (we are going to seize your property &/or put you in jail if you do not pay up).

We are told that all of the €œfree€� stuff being promised will be paid for by someone else who will have to pay a mere 70% in taxes. We are expected to ignore all of the evidence from around the world that people will go to great lengths €” through either legal or illegal actions €” to avoid paying such high rates. And that such high rates always result in less, not more, revenue for govt over the long run. People everywhere object to becoming tax slaves.

The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that Bernie Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the fact that these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes than the U.S. The Swedes also are less socialistic than many places in the U.S. with their universal voucher system for schools & their largely private pension system.

There is an almost unlimited demand for med care, unlike for most goods & services. Therefore, demand must be rationed by price, form of treatment or queuing €” there are no other options, €” & the socialists have no answer for this problem. In the former Soviet Union, the masses were given greatly inferior medical care, with extensive queuing €” while their socialist masters were given timely & somewhat better care. For those who had something really serious, Western doctors were the solution. Remember Fidel Castro using Spanish doctors despite all of the bragging about the Cuban medical system.

The Canadians, whose med care is rationed by queuing, go to the U.S. for more timely & better treatments (90& of the Canadians live within 150 miles of the U.S.). The British have a national health care system that rations by queuing & form of treatment. There is a parallel private health care system for those who wish to pay for better & more timely treatments. The U.S. has a govt-operated socialist health care system for veterans that has been plagued by cost overruns & poor treatment for decades, despite both Dems & Repubs claiming they are going to clean up the mess €” which never happens. How is extending a VA type system to everyone going to make things better?

The bottom line is that slavery destroys basic human liberty & was only economically viable in pre-industrial societies. Modern forms of slavery €” whether we dress them up & put lipstick on them by calling them €œdemocratic socialism€� or whatever €” require ever-increasing levels of coercion.
If more members of the press were better schooled in history & thus understood that socialism is just a variant of slavery, many those spouting socialist platitudes would be exposed for what they really are.

€¢ Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth & Improbable Success Productions

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ve-and-they-d/

The (British) National Health Service may have its faults, but I've
never seen it described as a form of slavery before.

The author of this article is clearly unhinged.

--
Max Demian

It happens that Max Demian formulated :
The (British) National Health Service may have its faults, but I've never
seen it described as a form of slavery before.

The author of this article is clearly unhinged.

It doesn't actually say or suggest that.

"David P" wrote in message
...



The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that
Bernie Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the
fact that these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes
than the U.S.

Norway $74,000
US $62,000
Sweden $52,000
Denmark $52,000

hardly significant, is it

tim

"tim..." wrote in message
...


"David P" wrote in message
...



The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that
Bernie Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the
fact that these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes
than the U.S.

Norway $74,000
US $62,000
Sweden $52,000
Denmark $52,000

hardly significant, is it

And they arent really very homogeneous either anymore.

Actually if you are going to call political solutions to the unruliness of
people who are otherwise civilised, then yes, but really what you are
describing is oppression not slavery. How free do you want to be?
Many people seek out religious solutions, willingly making themselves
slaves to a doctrine of some kind, Some are just drawn to being dominated
and this has a sexual origin, quite often.
Slavery to me is as the bit in your post says, when against their will
their freedom and property are bought and sold by owners.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"David P" wrote in message
...
The return of slavery
By Richard W. Rahn, April 22, 2019, Washington Times

There are some plagues that mankind seems to be incapable of fully
destroying. One of these plagues is slavery, which has existed since man
moved from being a hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Slavery is the condition
where an individual is deprived of much of the product he or she produces &
often all or much of their property. The ancient Greeks held slaves. The
Romans held slaves. The Chinese held slaves. The Ottoman Turks held slaves.
Serfdom, a less restricted form of slavery, existed in Europe from the fall
of Rome until it was finally abolished in Russia in 1861. The harsher forms
of slavery existed in Europe & most of the rest of the world until the 19th
century - when it was peacefully abolished in many countries, such as
England, or through violent clashes, such as the U.S. Civil War.

By 1900, most of the "civilized" world had abolished slavery & serfdom. But
then a more lethal variant emerged under the more benign names of socialism,
fascism & communism. The implementation of these ideologies resulted in
govts causing the deaths of somewhere between 100 & 200 million of their own
citizens in the 20th century.

As in the 19th century, the peasants revolted, & late in the 20th century,
those living in Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union rose up & tossed
off their yokes.

The peoples of the world had the opportunity to see the economic
destruction, loss of personal liberty, & sheer misery that the various forms
of slavery caused (including those called socialism or communism); yet, here
we are, 3 decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with allegedly serious
politicians calling for the re-imposition of socialism as if history had not
happened.

Bernie Sanders & many of the other Demo candidates for president have stated
that "health care is a basic human right." Where did this human right come
from? Unlike passive rights, such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion,
the press & so forth, the "right" to free health care, education,
transportation, etc. imposes a non-negligible cost on others. The person or
persons designated to work to pay the taxes to provide "free" health care
for someone else, most often only submits as a result of coercion (we are
going to seize your property &/or put you in jail if you do not pay up).

We are told that all of the "free" stuff being promised will be paid for by
someone else who will have to pay a mere 70% in taxes. We are expected to
ignore all of the evidence from around the world that people will go to
great lengths - through either legal or illegal actions - to avoid paying
such high rates. And that such high rates always result in less, not more,
revenue for govt over the long run. People everywhere object to becoming tax
slaves.

The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that Bernie
Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the fact that
these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes than the U.S.
The Swedes also are less socialistic than many places in the U.S. with their
universal voucher system for schools & their largely private pension system.

There is an almost unlimited demand for med care, unlike for most goods &
services. Therefore, demand must be rationed by price, form of treatment or
queuing - there are no other options, - & the socialists have no answer for
this problem. In the former Soviet Union, the masses were given greatly
inferior medical care, with extensive queuing - while their socialist
masters were given timely & somewhat better care. For those who had
something really serious, Western doctors were the solution. Remember Fidel
Castro using Spanish doctors despite all of the bragging about the Cuban
medical system.

The Canadians, whose med care is rationed by queuing, go to the U.S. for
more timely & better treatments (90& of the Canadians live within 150 miles
of the U.S.). The British have a national health care system that rations by
queuing & form of treatment. There is a parallel private health care system
for those who wish to pay for better & more timely treatments. The U.S. has
a govt-operated socialist health care system for veterans that has been
plagued by cost overruns & poor treatment for decades, despite both Dems &
Repubs claiming they are going to clean up the mess - which never happens.
How is extending a VA type system to everyone going to make things better?

The bottom line is that slavery destroys basic human liberty & was only
economically viable in pre-industrial societies. Modern forms of slavery -
whether we dress them up & put lipstick on them by calling them "democratic
socialism" or whatever - require ever-increasing levels of coercion.
If more members of the press were better schooled in history & thus
understood that socialism is just a variant of slavery, many those spouting
socialist platitudes would be exposed for what they really are.

.. Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth &
Improbable Success Productions

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ve-and-they-d/

On Thu, 25 Apr 2019 11:40:50 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

The Nordic countries are often given as the example of the world that
Bernie Sanders & his fellow candidates wish to create. They overlook the
fact that these small homogenous countries have lower per capita incomes
than the U.S.

Norway $74,000
US $62,000
Sweden $52,000
Denmark $52,000

hardly significant, is it

And they arent really very homogeneous either anymore.

Good Lord! Is there really NOTHING that you will NOT auto-contradict, you
clinically insane senile pest?

--
Kerr-Mudd,John addressing senile Rot:
"Auto-contradictor Rod is back! (in the KF)"
MID:

On 24/04/2019 22:45, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
It happens that Max Demian formulated :
The (British) National Health Service may have its faults, but I've
never seen it described as a form of slavery before.

The author of this article is clearly unhinged.

It doesn't actually say or suggest that.

I know it doesn't specifically mention the NHS, but it claims other
universal (or near universal) healthcare systems as slavery.

--
Max Demian

On 24/04/2019 22:39, Max Demian wrote:

The author of this article is clearly unhinged.

You didn't have to quote the whole bloddy thing back at us though did you?