SOCIALISM: INTRODUCTION Socialism is a huge subject to research because of its many applications in the past is a continuum from a total country (e.g., Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba), to a public school system such as that of the United States, to partial nation applications such as the Nordic countries of Europe. In all cases, there appear to be several common tenets: Centralized planning and control, a small group of elites making all the decisions, and equality of outcome objective for everyone but the elites.
This series looks at multiple aspects of the continuum in terms of objectives, actions and results.
On a total country basis, history shows that it begins with a promise of prosperity with no oppression where everyone obtains the fruits of plenty. Everyone is treated the same, it is nirvana. But it never comes to pass. The elites become tyrants, everyone slides to the lowest common denominator, everyone is oppressed except the elite, innovation is stifled for lack of incentives, the economy declines, and social services begin to evaporate.
China since 1976 might be an exception. After the disastrous Great Leap Forward followed by the Cultural Revolution, they adopted capitalism as their economic system with communism as their system of governance. It is a very interesting story that consumes four segments.
The series also spends considerable time looking at socialistic aspects or proposed aspects in the United States. This includes three segments on the K-12 public education system plus one on U.S. universities, one on universal healthcare, one on our Founders perspective of socialism, and two on the creep/drift of our country towards socialism (segment 7 and epilogue 1). Eight segments in total with half on education which in large part will determine our country’s future.