Shavian Notions Revisited: The Wealth Tax and Other Mistakes
Written 11/15/07, Revised Oct, 2012, Revised Mar, 2013
The world
is said to be constantly struggling, sometimes couched in the Marxist idiom, to
equalize or minimize differences in wealth among the various citizens. Most of
the world is poor. We are reminded of those activists like George Bernard Shaw[1] who married into great
wealth, became a financial success in the theatre as a play right, but
stubbornly urged British and other governments to confiscate property and money
and redistribute them into some manner to produce ‘equal incomes.’ He was never
able to satisfactorily delineate this plan when challenged, but did support
Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler and others who had any socialist views as alternatives
to the post Victorian Imperialism of his age. [2] He supported the pogroms
of the Soviets and other measures. He enjoyed his money when he basked in the
sun in the French Riviera.
Echoes of
Shavianism [a new word] reappear periodically like crab grass in the spring and
reamplify the theoretical underpinnings and wobbly buttresses of modern
socialism and worse. The latest outburst of ‘we must share the wealth’ comes
from yet one other wealthy elite: Warren Buffet.[3] The notion that the
aggregate wealth can be equitably divided and positive results sustained in a
restructured society as must be demonstrated by the perpetuation of reasonably
equal income norms and ownership is, of course, a farce. We need to read little
history to show that: [1] such redistribution is impossible and has never been
satisfactorily consummated and [2] wealth could spontaneously be redistributed
in the hands of those adept in business and other economic skills thus
defeating the system. We have only to revisit the ‘land reform’ efforts
of Lenin or measures by Mao, Castro, Ortega, Diem and others to show that this
is the theatre of farce. The far left have failed miserably.
What the
far left and their apologists refuse to consider is that places like the
People’s Republic, Viet Nam, modern India and the like that have risen above
abject poverty are the direct result of wealth and power being assumed by
talented capitalists only after a firm dismissal of the feudal system and other
forms of authoritarianism and replaced with capitalism. The left remain solidly
invested in the past in fantasy playgrounds of Bernard Shaw, Karl Marx and
Chairman Mao. The poor are clearly better off in China after Mao’s Follies were
dismissed. The same is probably true for much of Russia although Putin is
trying to reinstitute the KGB as government in the shrunken remnants of the old
Soviet Union. Some group is putting to death his opponents in the old Stalin
manner.
The
teaching of history is: Those with talent and the ability to create wealth must
own the assets and control necessary resources and make the decisions that will
ensure that the wealth of the general populace will rise and be sustained. This
must occur with unequal wealth per citizen. This is the converse of Marxism,
which confiscates the wealth, concentrates it in the hands of the usual party
loyalists and thus fulfils Trotsky’s Prediction[4], which brought him a whack
with an alpine ax in the head in Mexico. Was Tony Soprano around that far
back? Leon Trotsky was not wrong—he correctly predicted the current state of
most of Africa, much of South American, the latent Eastern Europe satellites
and Soviet Clients and other places. How many Marxist dictators have we had in
Africa since 1950? 100? 200? How are the poverty levels going? Increasing?
The
ostensible noble social essence of Shaw and others has been infected by crass
murderers and other such undesirables and was obviously co-opted for political
power. Frequently, well-meaning persons are used as stooges for criminals and
dictators. Stalin and his party members lived in splendor compared to the
average citizen. Brezhnev’s family and friend were prosecuted for usurping the
state wealth by Gorbachev. And, to be reasonable, the quest for power in modern
times requires vast wealth so we must not be shocked or unimpressed that
politicos will Grunt and Grab[5] for money using any
excuse available to get political power.
Those
like Buffet, Shaw, Bill Gates and others apparently feel some guilt or have assumed
a god-like quality of mind created by their business successes that enables
them to clearly see the resolution to social problems. They seem to know
exactly what to do. This view, however, is not a solution and history clearly
demonstrates this lesson in fullness. They have the situation deliriously
backward.
Wealth
confiscation and estate taxes becomes merely another layer of oppression with
other serious counterproductive factors, and the monies extracted are mostly
squandered by governments in expensive social programs. We have spent 6
trillion dollars in social programs and are told by the far left that we are
getting poorer every day. Who won the War on Poverty? Where did the Great
Society go?
There is
no hope for the poor if they continue to listen [and vote] for the sordid left.
There are many reasons for poverty such as drug addiction, crime, sloth, social
disease, and other matters most of which are tolerated if not explicitly
celebrated by the liberal Democrats in our government.
If you want
to rise above poverty then the first thing you must do is reject the teachings
of socialism and Marxism and their veiled versions. Success comes from
education, ambition, savings and hard work. Any one of these defeats the
liberal mechanism of failure that keeps them in power.
Here is
what Shaw offered in 1928 as he embraced Marxism:
As to the mass of oppressive and unjust laws that protect property
at the expense of humanity, and enable proprietors to drive whole populations
off the land because sheep or deer are more profitable, we have said enough
about them already. Naturally we shall get rid of them when we get rid
of private property.[6]
That is
the prize that left liberals and their allied Marxists naturally seek.
rycK
________________________________________________________
[1] From whom Shavian, or in
my usage Shavianism was named. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw
[2]Bernard Shaw, Random
House, 1992. Vol I: A Search for Love (1988 - 486 pp. ISBN: 0394525779);
Vol II: The Pursuit of Power (1989 - 421 pp. ISBN: 0394575539); Vol III: The
Lure of Fantasy 1918 – 1951.
[3] http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/buffet_estate_tax/2007/11/14/49586.html.
Buffett Backs Estate Tax, Decries Wealth Gap.
[4] Trotsky criticized Stalin
for failing to institute Communism world wide and enjoying the fruits of
capitalism for his cronies. He was murdered for this affront.
[5] The incessant quest for
other people’s monies using political power.
[6] The Intelligent
Woman's Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism and Fascism;
Published: Pelican Books, 1937; http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/shaw/works/guide2.htm
Published: Pelican Books, 1937; http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/shaw/works/guide2.htm
