Socialism, Communism, Oligarchy, Kleptocracy

As the Red Scare, Joe McCarthy worshipping Republicans use words like “socialist” and “communist” as epithets rather than a description of reality, it’s probably a good time to examine words and how they relate to the truth.

After years of government of, for and by the Elite, Obama wants the rich to pay a little more in taxes to offset the reverse Robin Hood redistribution of wealth going on since the 1980s which has created the greatest economic disparity in the world for a ‘democratic’ industrialized nation.

The problem (one of many) with ‘trickle-down economics’ is it’s a proven failure. Prosperity which begins at the top never trickles down. Never has and never will.

Now, the big globalist banking bailout to the tune of trillions and counting is not, as some have claimed, “socialism for the rich.” It’s not socialism.

According to my trusty American Heritage Dictionary socialism is: A social system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are owned collectively and political power is exercised by the whole community.

So, socialism is actually a utopian dream and has nothing to do with highway robbery, which is in fact what the financial bailout is in reality.

Indeed, one could argue the bailout of private banking interests for their ponzi scheme, rabbit-out-of-the-hat economics could be more accurately described as Communism for the rich.

Again, according to my trusty dictionary, Communism is: a system of government in which the State plans and controls the economy and a single often authoritarian party hold power.

Golly, it seems like Socialism and Communism are opposites.

As a matter of fact Communism seems like the first cousin of Fascism: Totalitarianism marked by right-wing dictatorship and bellicose nationalism.  

And of course Totalitarianism is: a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute control over all aspects of life and opposition is outlawed.

Now, considering The People were overwhelmingly (the right and left) against this bailout as configured, counseled their “representatives” against approving the massive redistribution of wealth from the public treasury to private coffers and then had no say at all in the dispensation of the matter, it cannot be argued by any person of common sense the bailout was Socialism for the Rich.

What it was plain and simple was kleptomania perpetrated by the powers of oligarchy.

Oligarchy: government by the few.

Kleptomania: an obsessive impulse to steal.

So in a society where the rich are always stealing from the non-rich and decisions are made against the people’s wishes by a few elites – what is that called?

The Way of the World.

Frankly, we could only hope and pray Obama is a socialist.

What we have here is classic Republican fat-cat hysteria, which trickles down to the minimum wage for god’s sake. The whack-jobs on the right are always yammering about how a minimum wage hurts business and interferes with the free market.

But what has hurt business and interfered with the holy church of the ‘free market’ is the greed of gamblers whose point is money, money, money and people be damned. Instead of lending money to customers to build, improve and create, the banksters used their depositors’ money to buy crap, play roulette, and cover their inevitable losses; to be players instead of enablers.

Obama’s policies from healthcare to the economy to pubic service in exchange for education to the environment to energy are not socialism, let alone communism or any other booga-booga words the Republicans want to throw out into the marketplace of propaganda.

Obama’s policies represent something mildly democratic.

But any form or level of demotic power is the enemy of elitism: The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment.

When you look at how the wealthy in this country have been coddled and worshipped and protected; when you see how they expect preferential treatment for no other reason than wealth, when they scream “class war” in fear of paying a fairer share of the public good, after they have waged and won class war against the less fortunate and enjoy such systemic, entrenched and codified favor – can there be any doubt about the kind of system we live under, in spite of the mythological egalitarian rhetoric of our society?

Let’s end the oligarchic kleptocracy. Let’s end the fascism. Let’s end the communism. Let’s not let them take the next step to totalitarianism.

Let’s settle for nothing less than a bit of mild democracy.