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It is easy to laugh at the EFF (and their supporters) and their Communist/Socialist affiliations, but in this article I hope to educate those who don’t yet know what SA will look like under EFF rule.
Communism is the easiest system to sell to people who are poor, not because poor people are stupid or lazy or envious of partaking in the banquets of the rich, but because Communist and Socialist rhetoric sound so reasonable, fair, and workable.
What is wrong with sharing? Why can’t government control private enterprise to ensure affordable prices of basic necessities, etc.? Why can’t people be equal and have enough to cover their needs rather than have an imbalanced society that is run by the greedy at the expense of the needy?
These are just some of the sweet, warm affections of Communist rhetoric, and it hardly takes any imagination to understand that to people who see, on a daily basis, the opulence of the rich and successful, this sort of ‘levelling of the playing field’ that Communism promises is a very attractive proposition to those who feel shortchanged in the Capitalist system.
But then there is that pesky thing we need to deal with: reality.
The reality is that the tenets of Communism are, indeed, workable; the only problem is that they produce super inefficient economies, such that, even though the people in a Communist system fully support its ideals, they soon start conducting themselves in a manner that shows their deep yearning for the freedoms of Capitalism.
Books can and have been written about ‘what Communism is and isn’t,’ and while they provide worthwhile reading, they don’t always get to the core of why Communism has always, still does, and always will FAIL. To understand that you need to understand economics and a bit of history—not exactly the sort of subject the common EFF supporter (or the EFF leaders) readily dabble in.
I’ll give a brief overview of what South Africa will look like as the EFF rolls out Communism and abolish the republic. After this brief explanation, I’m sure anyone would see why Communism is hardly favorable … even for the desperate and poor masses who will experience initial upliftment, and then start yearning for fruits that only grow on the tree of Capitalism.
(Fictitious) News Headlines:
EFF wins by two-thirds majority! Julius Malema decreed ‘The Great Leader’
EFF to start supplanting ‘Imperialist Capitalism’ with Communism
EFF nationalize the mines—JSE in freefall!
‘The Great Leader’ reassures that hardship is “just a transitional phase”
… [The media is now given the headlines by the regime]
The Great Leader receives nation-wide praise for immaculate transformation
Polls show people “have never been this happy”
Between the first headline and the last, we have had a total transformation from Capitalism to Communism—there were some winners, but mostly losers.
The winners were those at the bottom of the Capitalist system. While they had to live off a bit of mieliepap and a packet of salted peanuts under the Capitalist system, they now enjoy meals given to them by the regime.
Each day at 7AM and 7PM they join queues in the township to collect their food parcels thoughtfully provided by The Great Leader and The Regime.
Mondays mornings they get a big scoop of mieliepap and a sizable beef sausage. In the evening, some boiled chuck, rice, and a potato.
Tuesday’s menu is the same, but the beef is replaced by pork.
Wednesday sees the pork replaced by chicken.
Thursday the chicken replaced by fish
Friday the mieliepap and rice are accompanied by a few blocks of dark chocolate and a cup of sweetened hot coffee.
Over the weekends vegetables stew with a fruit on the side are served 3 times a day—to ensure the people receive all their vitamins and nutrients.
To the poor masses, this change from Capitalism to Communism seems like manna raining from heaven. Two (technically) free meals a day, ample variety of meats, and hot coffee! The Great Leader sure kept his promises!
But, of course, everyone must do their best in their individual capacity for The State. So the former poor masses are now laboring away for 12 hours a day, in various physically intense occupations—as befits their abilities. This is to give back for what they receive.
More capable people work in administrative positions or what formerly was known as ‘blue-collar’ jobs, but salaries are a thing of the past.
With no bonuses, no overtime pay, and promotions that are seemingly randomly chosen, efficiency in all sectors drops to an all-time low, as the winter of Communism envelops productivity.
Life takes on a monotonous, regimented fashion, and while nobody is poor, nobody is rich, thus nobody wants to work harder, because there is no point in doing so. One simply does what The State demands, and no more.
You can now see the core problem with Communism: it does not provide the opportunity or incentive for the common man to satisfy his own greed. All that communism does is provide for the common man’s basic needs, and no more. Communism thus removes the incentive for anyone to try harder and get more successful—satisfying their greater propensity for greed as compared to their peers.
Greed can manifest itself even as the desire for alternatives or greater options. Freedom, basically (another banned thing in Communism).
Maybe they want to decide what ingredients are in their daily meals; maybe they want to work towards a higher position with a better salary, perks, and greater authority and respect; maybe they don’t want to work 12 hours a day to live in a little cramped house and get 2 meals a day, maybe they want a house by the beach and 3 meals a day … a car, a dog, a white-picket fence… OPTIONS, basically.
You cannot rise in a Communist system; you cannot break out of the routine, and you can never pay off the debt you own to The State for so tenderly providing for your needs, so soon people start to quietly rebel against the system, and it is the manner in which they do it that is most fascinating!
One will illegally get hold of a bit of beef or a can of baked beans and ‘trade’ (Capitalism, thus illegal in a Communist state—and severely punished) with their neighbors for whatever contraband (packets of instant coffee, small chunks of cheese, a bit of raspberry jam) from ‘the good old days’ they may have illicitly gotten hold of.
Black markets pervade Communist regimes, and the penalty for trading on one is usually torture, imprisonment, or death! Ironically, many officials of the Communist state will dabble in their own black-market trades to get some of what comrades closer to The Great Leader enjoy. So even a Communist government is rife with corruption caused by greed and envy.
Such black markets under the people or the corrupt officials are the seeds of Capitalism again stirring in the economic soil, for the people/ministers have all that they need, but not what they want! And that is where Communism fails so consistently and spectacularly!
Of course, we know this from historical Communist regimes that The Great Leader and his closest comrades at the top of the regime are living with the same opulence as the former leaders of the Capitalist system!
Only now, the greatly diminished ‘wealth of the nation’ is mostly directed to The Great Leader and his cadre, while the scraps and morsels that remain are given to the masses to meet their basic needs. In a Communist system, everyone eats the crumbs that fall from The Great Leader’s plate.
Once you understand these fundamental flaws of Communism, you can see why it always fails.
Ultimately, Communism is the way by which a small group of very greedy people prevent others from exercising their own greed.
Capitalism may look selfish and exploitive, but it has to be to allow people to have the freedom to trade what they don’t want for what they do want, provided they can afford it.
You don’t go to work every day, work your backend off, and then come home tired just so your boss can buy luxury German cars and send his children to university, now do you? So you, too, are greedy, because you want to buy those luxury German cars for yourself and send your children to university.
You may firmly believe that you are being underpaid by your ‘selfish’ boss, and rub your hands together, hoping for the day that Communism puts him in his place, but I can demonstrate to you very easily if you really are being underpaid.
Quit and find a job that pays more!
What’s that? You can’t do that? Other jobs pay much the same for your skills, experience, and qualifications, you say?
Well, would you have earned more if you were a doctor or a lawyer or a CEO?
Yes, you say?
So then, why did you become a clerk instead of a doctor or lawyer or CEO?
You see, it is easy to feel cheated by ‘the system’ or by ‘the exploiters,’ but the reality is that most of us cheat ourselves.
Of course, I am well aware that not all of us have the opportunity to become a doctor or lawyer or CEO, but we can all still rise from our current position, wherever we are in the economy; it just takes a bit more effort than signing a ballot paper, but the results are worth it!
You can, at any time, rise by doing more of what you are already doing. If you are more productive, your boss will pay more to retain you (or someone else will pay you more to go work for them), because you are more productive than anyone else who can do the same work! So you have an advantage that will help you rise above even your field that is saturated with clerks … or rock drillers.
Capitalism is the only system where you can do this, increase your own worth over that of your peers, and leave them behind while you go up the economic ladder.
Communism will only be of benefit to you if you are literally starving now, and once you get bored with the initial ‘manna from heaven’ that The Great Leader provides, you will remember those good old days where you could at least of one day owning and driving a Mercedes, or visiting Paris— because such greed cannot even be dreamed of in a Communist state … unless of course you are the one ruling over it.
So be weary of those who want to bring the ‘benefits of Communism to your doorstep; a life without choice or freedom is the life of a slave!
