Socialism and Coercion

I saw an Instagram reel posted by Dante Munoz (@thedantemunoz) in which he argues that socialism is simply the employees owning the companies that they work for. To those who advocate for socialism, Walter E. Williams said “…I have absolutely no problem with people wanting socialism. My problem is when they want to drag me into it” (2008, p. 63). If socialists were simply people who went around establishing worker cooperatives, the pro-liberty crowd or “free-market ideologues” as Paul Krugman calls them, would have no objection. If workers’ cooperatives provide superior working conditions and productivity in a mostly free market, then privately-owned businesses would disappear on their own. Real socialism, however, requires government action to confiscate private property and force people to work in cooperatives whether they like it or not. Although “free market ideologues” like Ludwig von Mises believed that governments were necessary for a functioning modern society, he understood that “The characteristic feature of [government] activities is to compel people through the application or the threat of force to behave otherwise than they would like to behave…” (1974, p. 55). When socialists say they want the workers to own the means of production, they mean anybody who tries to start a privately owned business will be arrested and punished. Socialists may respond by saying “Who cares? We’re using force to achieve a better world. Besides, it’s the business owners that are engaging in coercion!” That’s a topic for another time, but we should be clear that socialism is the theft of private property through intimidation and coercion.    

— Colin Braman

References

Ludwig von Mises (1974). Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War. Liberty Fund. [originally published in 1944].

Walter E. Williams (2008). Liberty Versus the Tyranny of Socialism: Controversial Essays. Hoover Institution Press.