[Gathnet] Federalism and Socialism

[Stuart D Gathman]

Please critique this essay. 


  Socialism and Federalism

You can be a good American, and subscribe to any of a huge variety of
political and religious beliefs.  There are however, at least 3 popular
beliefs which no one can subscribe to and also be a good American.   I
will discuss these later, but first I want to explain how Socialism is
actually compatible with our Constitution.  Or, more accurately, can be
compatible within Constitutional limits.

The restriction is very simple: the Federal Government has no
Constitutional power to run or mandate socialist programs.  The States,
however, do.  This principle is called Federalism, and the 10th
amendment is most often cited as making the principle explicit. 

By Socialism, I mean government schools, government health care,
government daycare, government welfare, and many more services run by
government officials and paid for by tax revenue.  Conservatives often
jokingly refer to Blue states like California as the "Peoples Republic
of California".  While conservatives believe that Free Markets are
better, blue states are nevertheless within their States Rights to run
their state the Socialist way. 

Personally, I am a Red state person.  But I can understand why some
people prefer the other.  I don't like bureaucrats telling me what
doctors to see.  But other people do like professionals telling them
what to do on most areas of their life.  Usually this is because they
wish to devote their full attention to something else: art, music,
sports, study.   I think almost anyone would hate extreme socialism that
dictates your career, who you marry, what you study, or what you do in
your leisure time.

One "ism" that you can't subscribe to and be a good American is
"National Socialism".  This is socialism that wants to impose its system
by force on the entire nation, and the world.  Unfortunately, this is
the kind we have in Washington now.   I believe this National Socialism
can only be defeated by the seeming impossible: red and blue making
common cause to preserve our Constitution.   This will require
conservatives to tolerate socialists states (although they can continue
to insist that free markets are better).  This will require socialists
to help remove socialist programs from the Federal Government.  This
will also let blue states tailor socialist programs their own way
without Federal interference.   (And of course continue to insist that
government programs are better than free markets.)

It is possible to run a fiscally sound socialist state.  Denmark is an
example (as are many northern countries).  However, a common problem
with socialist states is runaway spending and bankruptcy (free market
states have different problems).  The Federal government has no
Constitutional power to make states "bail out" a bankrupt fellow state. 
This will keep fiscal idiocy confined to state boundaries.  (Other
states may decide to bail out anyway, though I don't recommend it - it
rewards idiocy.)  One thing for socialists to note: socialism + open
borders = bankruptcy.   The only way for open borders to work
economically is with free markets.  Denmark has a decades long waiting
list of people hoping to get into their system.

Now I get politically incorrect.  You can be a "moderate" or liberal
Muslim and a good American, but you cannot be a good Muslim and a good
American.  This is because classical Islam demands that the entire world
be under Islamic rule and Sharia law.   A good classical Muslim must
work to destroy America and bring it under Islam.  That is the Islamic
vision for world peace.

You cannot be a good Marxist and a good American.  In fact, you can't be
a good Marxist and a good citizen of any country.  This is because
Marxism calls for  the destruction of the current system to make room
for new growth.  The Marxist cure for disease in the forest is a forest
fire.

America is under attack by all three of these enemies.  Red and blue
must make common cause to preserve our country.
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