Collectivism 101: The lie of ‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’

Every living being has to work to survive, this is a basic law of nature Leftists like to ignore.
‘Democratic’ socialism is all the rage with the Left these days. A new generation having been deluded into the false notion that they are owed a living simply because they exist. That if the world fails to provide free health care, free housing, free food, free college, etc, etc. That this is a failure on the part of Economic Liberty [please note that term instead of the implied pejorative ‘Capitalism’]. This is a logical fallacy from a practical and moral standpoint that needs to be debunked in order for our civilisation to endure.

It’s a law of nature that one has to work to survive.

The fact is that every living being from the beginning of time has had to exert itself to survive. Every living creature from bacteria to Brontosaur has had to do work in order to exist. That is simply a fact of life. It is simply a logical progression that this rule has to apply to human beings as well. It may not be a popular idea or accepted in certain circles, but that is the practical matter is that one’s existence does not encumber others to support that existence.
Contravening this law of nature is the false proposition that because they live in a particular location that they are entitled to the fruits of someone else’s labour. This is often couched in terms that play on innate compassion that people have for each other. Phrases such as ‘No one should be too poor to live’. There are of course arguments for charity and the like, but that doesn’t encumber society to provide for everyone’s needs

The lie of ‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’

It logically follows that if one has to work in order to live. Then one is not entitled to the labour of others in order to survive. This is not to say that one cannot be compassionate to others, nor does it disavow charity. But that is a far cry from a burden placed on society by those who dwell within it.
The ‘From each according to his ability’ part of an article of the Marxist faith is particularly pernicious in that it takes force or coercion to accomplish this task. Most do not want the fruits of their labour taken from them to be distributed to others. This is why Leftists obsess over depriving the people of their means of self defense, from intergalactic background checks to gun confiscation SWATing.

The phrase ‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’ is adverse to Liberty.

The word slavery is the general term for when one’s time, labour and property are under claim by others. That is the case where one’s abilities are tasked to provide for others. Liberty is the last word one would apply to the plight of people under the oppression of ‘Democratic’ socialism.
The phrase ‘To each according to his needs’ is also immoral in that justifies the redistribution of property in order to fulfil this ‘need’. It is also the antithesis of practical reality. It is an open-ended entitlement that cannot ever be fulfilled. Who decides what are one’s ‘needs’? Who decides how these are to be provided?
In a system of Economic Liberty one is free to produce whatever they want in terms of income or property. This is tightly controlled for most under the oppression of Socialistic Slavery or ‘Democratic’ socialism. While for most, severe limitations have to be placed on the ‘to each according to his needs’ back end. The upper crust of collectivist systems have no such limitations, but that is the exception. For the people, they are either forced to produce or be satisfied with the ‘crumbs’ of whatever revolution is being referenced.

The Takeaway

• Living beings have to exert effort in order to survive, this is a unbreakable law of nature.
• ‘From each according to his ability’ has to be implemented under the threat of force.
• ‘To each according to his needs’ requires limitations made on the promises from Leftists trying to sell their socialistic snake oil to those who want something for nothing.

Both ends of that little phrase are immoral and impractical that violate the basic realities of human nature. This has proven by 400 years of the failure that is ‘Democratic’ socialism.

 Originally published on the NOQ Report