Peyman ADL DOUSTI HAGH
Advocate | Author | Karate Instructor
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Book Format:
Author: Dinesh D’Souza
Book Title: “United States of Socialism“
Publisher: All Points Books
Published: 2020
Chapter: 6 (six)
Pages: 290
The Objective of the Author:
Bernie Sanders was a key figure in perpetuating socialism in the US who exploited others for financial gains, such as buying several properties.
The author believes political actors like Sanders caused the socialist system to encompass all facets of the US economy and must be replaced with a libertarian political economy.
It is an enigma for the author of the socialist system reviving during human history. Especially the US defeated the former Soviet Union, and no one should expect socialism to wake in his adopted home town the US.
Introduction:
Page 15-“socialism involves a restraint on economic freedom and on individual freedom in general-meaning you no longer have the right to keep what you earn, or what you want, or even say what you think-the socialist answer that, in restricting your freedom, socialism advances a different type of freedom: the freedom of a people to govern themselves through democratic self-rule.”
The author uses the above frame of thought to define socialism which is ambiguous and does not make sense whatsoever. How does socialism restrain the economy and infringes on individual freedom? How does socialism advance a people’s freedom to govern themselves through democratic self-rule?”
The author fails to illustrate what he means by socialism and what he means by capitalism.
Overall, it is the responsibility and accountability of every citizen to pay their taxes to their government to support the judicial system, the executive body, and the legislative body.
The author disliked Ocasio-Cortez’s recommendation: “You have a right to a job, a right to an education, a right to a dignified home, a right to a dignified retirement, and a right to healthcare” because the author asserts it is an entitlement mentality. Page 22
The author lives in the US and is aware of gun violence as a number one threat to US domestic safety and security. Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett published their book “The Spirit Why Equality is Better for Everyone” asserted in their research book that gun violence in countries that they have one form of the socialist system is low compared to the US economy, which has the highest gun violence in the developed world.
Mr. Dinesh D’Souza said he dislikes the recommendation of Ocasio-Cortez for a right to a job. Let’s discuss this idea of what happens when people have a job. They are less likely to commit crimes because they have much to lose.
Let’s discuss the idea of education. When people have proper education, they are enlightened and approach complex questions harmoniously with others. The chances of gaining employment, not relying on social assistance and creating jobs are going upward compared to someone who needs proper education. Higher education means better jobs, income and paying taxes.
Let’s discuss the notion of a good home. When people have a good and clean home, they are most likely to be good citizens and engage in civic activities because they are part of their communities. They are taking care of their homes and neighbours.
Let’s discuss the promotion of dignified retirement. When people are working, they deserve to save money aside to use during cold seasons when they cannot work. Only some people have the right kind of financial advisor to help them. Thus, the government is responsible for providing financial security for people during their old age. Plus, people pay taxes when they work. It is time to rip the benefit from their past work.
Let’s discuss the right to healthcare. When people are working and paying their taxes, it is financially wise for the government to take over the role of healthcare because the cost of healthcare is expensive. Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko” illustrated how private healthcare insurance hired doctors to decline surgery for cancer patients. However, when there is universal healthcare, patients’ health comes first, and people live a happy and vibrant life.
The author dislikes socialism because “capitalism has allocated virtually all its reward to the very rich, the “top 1 percent.” Consequently, we must cure this market failure and adopt socialist schemes to redistribute the rewards.” Page 23.
The author claims, “Think about it this way: most people would not dream of going into their neighbour’s house, eating from his refrigerator and helping themselves to his wallet. It’s just not right. So, the only way to involve honest people in a theft scheme is to convince them that their neighbours have been stealing from them. Their neighbour has filled his refrigerator with provisions that belong to you.” Page 30.
The above statement clearly states that he is a sexist person. He uses possessive pronouns as his in his sentence.
C. Wright Mills, in his book “The Power Elite,” illustrates how the 1% is controlling the legislative body to control the US economy by paying fewer taxes.
Let’s talk about food in the refrigerator. On Thursday, February 23rd, 2023, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) released a report about the “Loblaw Companies Ltd.’s fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations on Thursday as the Canadian retailer was boosted by its pharmacy business and a continued demand for groceries. The company says it earned a profit available to common shareholders of $529 million.”1
Dalhousie University’s report “predicts a 5% to 7% food price increase in 2023, with the most substantial increases in vegetables, dairy, and meat. The report forecasts that an average family of four, including a man (age 31-50), woman (age 31-50), boy (age 14-18), and girl (age 9-13) will spend up to $16,288.41 per year on food, an increase of up to $1,065.60 from what was observed in 2022.”2
Therefore, it is a reality that the rich have a full fridge with people’s hard-earned monies because the cost of food increased, and Loblaw made $529 million profit from people.
Chapter One:
The author says, “Marx called America a “bourgeois society” and later noted that capitalism had developed in America “more rapidly and more shamelessly than in any other country.” Page 33.
The author asserts that the US had economic growth due to individuals like “Benjamin Franklin. The founders, let’s recall, were not career politicians or mere “men of letters.” They were scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and builders – in other words, practical men of varied talents.” Page 40.
As I (Peyman) mentioned in my book review for:
Book Format:
Book title: “The Problem with Socialism“
Publisher: Regnery Publishing: A Division of State Media
Copyright © 2016 by Thomas DiLorenzo
Pages: 226
Chapters: 1-16
The History Channel released an article titled “Slavery in America” that began in August 1619.1 On September 20th, 2020, the History Channel released an article titled “How Slavery Became Economic Engine of South.” It illustrated how “slavery was so profitable, it sprouted more millionaires per capita in the Mississippi River valley than anywhere in the nation. With cash crops of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, America’s southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation.”3
Therefore, it was not the capitalist system which caused economic growth in the US. It was the slavery system which exploited workers to work on the land and not receive any form of wages.
Most importantly, the European settlers stole lands from the First Nations. Therefore, the European settlers did not work hard to acquire land.
The author attacks Bernie Sanders’s character by saying, “main output to that point was a child produced out of wedlock with a woman named Susan Campbell Mott.” Page 42.
“The Federalist. “The first object of government,” Madison writes in the tenth book of The Federalist, is “the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property.” Page 49
“Hamilton in the twelfth book of The Federalist continues this theme. He notes that all statesmen now recognize “a prosperous commerce” to be “a primary object of their political cares.” Consequently, “by multiplying the means of gratification,” the new government can ensure that “the assiduous merchant, the laborious husbandman, the active mechanic, and the industrious manufacturer…all orders of men, look forward with eager expectation, and growing alacrity, to this pleasing reward of their toils.” Page 49.
The US political system adopted the federal system, which allows each state to have its legal jurisdiction and ignores the other states’ legal jurisdiction. The federal political system is the most dysfunctional because the systems are disconnected and contribute to the slow motion of the political process. After all, each state safeguards its interest against another state. Thus, the US economy is moving slowly, which may lead to an economic crash.
The author discusses the noble idea of the self-made man. The author should say the self-made person.
In 2016, Netflix’s documentary, “13th,” illustrated how the US legislative body legislated laws to keep African-Americans behind bars. How can African-Americans prosper in the US while the executive body victimizes them?
During the COVID-19 crisis, African-Americans faced a higher proportion of employment rates than other races.
Therefore, the notion of the self-made person does not exist because we are not living in a meritocracy.
Chapter Two:
The author illustrates a vital point s a warning sign for other nations that they are not a republic system. George Washington “understood that the American Revolution was not merely a rejection of British monarchy; it was a rejection of monarchy itself.” Page 63
I completed a diploma in Heraldry at the Center of Excellence; the online academic institute also mentions the US political system rejects the monarchy system and its values and merits.
Therefore, the US foreign policy will always threaten the countries with a monarchy system.
The author says, “Surveys show that American take socialism more seriously than ever before. A Gallup survey from 2019 has 51 percent of US adults saying socialism would be a bad thing for the country, but a respectable 43 percent say it would be a good thing…Gallup, surveys from the post-World War II era recorded only 15 percent of Americans saying they wished to see the country “go more in the direction of socialism.” Page 64
Why are more Americans asking to move toward socialism compared to post-World War II? Let’s look at the author’s statement in a retroreflective. Jean Jacques Rousseau asserts private property is a source of social inequality because it creates a class system. A class system means those who have power and those who do not have power. The source of power stems from private property. Therefore, a class system creates a barrier the class does not have from happiness. To remove the barrier for all classes by creating a classless society begins to abolish private property.
What does 1% of the US power elite have? They have private property who are controlling the US legislative bodies on how to pass laws to pay fewer taxes.
On February 28th, 2023, Salesforce reported paying “Matthew McConaughey $10 million a year to act as a ‘creative adviser’ despite laying off 8,000 employees last month.”4 McConaughey is not bothered by the fact that 8,000 people lost their jobs, and he makes $ 10 million a year.
Combining Rousseau’s political philosophy with the current affair of the US, like Matthew McConaughey’s $10 million a year to act as a ‘creative adviser.’ Naturally, people want to have job security and would advocate for socialism.
Chapter Three:
The author says on page 100, “America went from class socialism to identity socialism.” The US moved from class socialism to identity socialism because identity is a source of a barrier for a subculture to be accepted in society as an equal partner in a heterosexual, white male-dominated culture. During the COVID-19 crisis, a higher proportion of African-Americans lost their jobs compared to white people in the US.
The author says on page 102 that Italian communist Antonio Gramsci’s “Hegemony” was Gramsci’s key concept. He insisted that the capitalists did not rule solely on the basis of economic power. Rather, they rule through “bourgeois values” that permeated the cultural, educational and psychological realm of society. Economics, Gramsci insisted, is a subset of culture.”
How to distinguish socialism from communism:
The author says, “Marx thought that a proletarian uprising was the only way to have socialism and then communism. Marx advanced his theory as scientific.” Page 111
Socialism is not the same as communism. They are two distinct concepts. Socialism allows having private property. However, communism abolishes private property because it creates a class system leading to societal inequality.
Let’s call communism science-fiction, and socialism is a science because communism is a way of romantically approaching social, political and economic. However, socialism is extracting the lessons from communism to produce sound policies for everyone’s benefit.
The author verbally abuses them for not sharing his views and begins name-calling them; on page 116, he says, “Opposite messages, delivered by the same type of idiot. In some cases, delivered by the very same idiots themselves.”
On page 121, the author admires England for colonizing India because England built a railroad in India.
The author is shortsighted in his conservative views because when England colonized India, it exploited its natural resources and the railroad built to plunder India’s resources at higher speed. Consequently, India needed to catch up in modern times of development.
It is a well-known fact India has advanced mathematics compared to other countries. When England attacked India, it caused India’s institutions to fall apart.
Chapter Four:
Why is socialism work in Scandinavian countries? At the beginning of chapter four, the author refutes the idea that socialism works in Scandinavian countries. However, on page 153, the author says that “The Finnish use the term talkoot, which means “doing work together” or more generally, “we are all in the same boat.”
Therefore, the Scandinavian countries have a culture of working together as a team. However, the US needs a culture of community rather than focusing on individualism.
On page 158, the author says that Canada has universal health care and is falling apart. Canada has universal healthcare, and it is untrue what the author says. Canada will never have a two-tier healthcare system because the constitution protects universal healthcare.
Chapter Five:
The author dedicated this portion of the chapter to claim that capitalism is social justice warrior by claiming that “the vote costs him nothing except inconvenience if going to the polls or sending it.” Page 186
According to political philosopher Immanuel Kant, the vote has power because it enables voters to elect a candidate to the office to represent their views in the legislative body. Like this book’s author, how can anyone think that vote costs nothing?
The author says, “Consumers have the right to vote for the products they want and, in this sense, to elevate the entrepreneurs who produce those products. If they make foolish choices, that is regrettable, but it is their right. Capitalism, like democracy, is rooted in popular will and popular consent. Thus, capitalism, like democracy, is a form of social justice.” Page 187
Capitalism is not like democracy. Capitalism is focused on economic growth by keeping costs down, such as paying employees the least amount. Thus, the employer or owner of the means of production begins to exploit workers. Aristotle discussed the notion of democracy as a concept of socialism. Therefore the capitalist system is not social justice because the capitalist system is designed to exploit workers, and the social justice system is designed to reduce the degree of the exploitation of people in the capitalist system.
Chapter Six:
The author discussed the ovarian lottery as baseless in the US and claimed that people in the US live in a meritocracy, and their hard work determines where they stand on the mountain of success.
The author says that he was convicted because the law enforcement agencies decided to use all kinds of legal tactics to make him guilty of crimes he did not commit because of his campaign contribution to US President Trump, who was elected to the White House.
The author says one day, US President Trump invited him to the White House and pardoned him for his crimes because Trump found the guilty verdict was baseless.
In conclusion, the ovarian lottery is confirmed by the author’s above claim because those individuals who do not have a connection in high places were found guilty due to their ascribed status and live with a guilty verdict for the rest of their lives.
The ovarian lottery determines whether someone will have a good life or not.
The book’s author requires exploring the world from a broad perspective to feel people’s pain to understand the world.
Endnote:
1CBC/Radio Canada. (2023, February 24). Loblaw earns $529m in Q4 profits as Canadians struggle with rising food prices | CBC News. CBCnews. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/loblaw-revenue-q4-2022-1.6757480#:~:text=
2Humes, K. (2022, December 5). Canada’s food price report 2023 predicts families will spend up to $1,065 more on food next year. Dalhousie News. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.dal.ca/news/2022/12/05/canada-s-food-price-report-2023-predicts-canadian-families-will-.html
3History.com Editors. (2009, November 12). Slavery in America. History.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
4Yahoo! (n.d.). Salesforce has reportedly been paying Matthew McConaughey $10 million a year to act as a ‘creative adviser’ despite laying off 8,000 employees last month. Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 3, 2023, from https://ca.news.yahoo.com/entertainment/salesforce-reportedly-paying-matthew-mcconaughey-201018075.html
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