I wished we would do this more often. Given that I have an extreme revulsion of communism and socialism, I thought it would be useful to make myself consider conditions when I would accept these sorts of systems, or in fact, enjoy these sorts of systems. Here is the start of a list, but I am not sure I would want to deal with a place like #1, since my most treasured part of the world I live in is its diversity – from its geography, its cuisine, its music, its weather, and its people and personalities. That said, it comes at a cost.
Things to Make Me Accept Communism
- All citizens were like me, in virtually every aspect.
- I was free to leave the system.
- The communism was chosen voluntarily by all involved.
- The system was applied to its logical conclusion – not just on income, but on all other things we were unequal on. Otherwise, it would be morally more repugnant to me.
- It is the year 2500 and not 2009 (in terms of our material abundance).
- People were mind readers.
- There was no leadership, just rule by rules and machines. In other words, no one was more equal than others.
Gosh, it hurts me to even think more about it. But at least those are some necessary conditions. How about for you haters of private property and the rule of law? What would you like to see in the world for you to deal with that kind of social order?
All citizens would NOT be like you. They would all be like Mike Bloomberg. No trans-fats.