During the recent Democratic primaries there was a lot of glib and mindless talk about the joys of socialism by Senator Bernie Sanders and his gang of merry men and women. Bernie appears to be a harmless senior citizen, but the stuff he proposes is nothing more than the best of Marxist thought, if there is such a thing.

Put simply, in a socialist economy the government owns the means of production, which includes money, industries, railroads, airlines and all the things that make an economy go. Production is controlled by intellectuals, central planners and bureaucrats who decide what will be produced, and not by consumer demand or other market forces. In a socialist economy there is little incentive to control costs, either on the part of producers or consumers because the state pays for everything.

In socialist states emphasis is on collective action to ensure the success of the state rather than on individual rights. Because socialism promises more than it can conceivably provide, socialist states are more inclined than capitalist states to be authoritarian. Granted, there is no unemployment in socialism, but income is low. But who needs money, the government pays for everything.

In a capitalist society government may regulate business to some degree but does not own businesses. Production and prices are controlled by market forces and shortages of goods are virtually unknown. Profits are not a dirty word in capitalism because they allow businesses to expand, hire more workers at good wages and allow both workers and managers to live a good life. Wealth is not a limited resource. Capitalism creates more wealth and hardworking and intelligent individuals can rise to the top no matter what their birth or original station in life.

Capitalism works in tune with human nature because people work harder when they work for themselves. Socialism works against human nature because: without a stake in the game workers seldom do their best. Capitalism rewards innovation, industry and intelligence. Socialism rewards mediocrity.

Sen. Sanders looks to Scandinavia as an example of the socialist paradise he wants to create here. Apparently Bernie has been campaigning so single mindedly that he hasn’t kept up with current trends. From 1975 to the mid 1990s, Sweden had a go at creating a socialist paradise. The top marginal tax rate rose to more than 100 percent forcing author Astrid Lindgren of Pippi Long Stocking fame to pay over 100 percent of her income in taxes. During this same period Sweden fell from being the fourth richest nation in the world to 13th.

Sweden and Denmark both started getting their acts together in the 1990s and today many economists consider both nations less socialist then the good old United States. Sweden has introduced school choice and partially privatized its social security system and lowered its top tax rate to a more sustainable 55 percent. Denmark has made qualification for social safety net benefits more rigorous and cut the duration of unemployment benefits. Both nations also have lower corporate tax rates than the United States.

In reaction to Sander’s praise of Denmark for being a socialist paradise, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen recently said in a speech at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government that “Denmark is far from a planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.” There is no minimum wage and wages are set by market forces. Demark imposes less regulation of business than either Washington or Albany and the libertarian Cato Institute rates Denmark as having more economic freedom that the U.S.

What about those nations where socialism has been a success? China and Vietnam are nominally socialist states although their leaders allow free markets to flourish as a way of catching up with the West. The problem is that free markets generate subversive ideas about personal freedom in citizens. China censors the internet and the threat of jail hangs over those who do not toe the party line.

In our own hemisphere we have the socialist paradises of Cuba and Venezuela. Cuba has hung on for 56 years and equality reigns supreme because everyone, but the leaders, is equally poor. In Cuba dissent is tolerated until you say or write it, then you are imprisoned. Venezuela is relatively new to socialism but even with the largest oil reserves in the world, the government has managed to strip the shelves of food and other goods worth buying.

You have to admire how a socialist government is able to control individual greed for luxury items like food and toilet paper. And there is something very socialist and egalitarian about citizens joining together to dumpster dive for food leftovers.

So Sanders supporters, be careful what you wish for. If you prefer the right to equal poverty for all, few or shoddy consumer products, food shortages, universal but substandard medical care, and a government that may want to resort to authoritarian measures to get you to accept these things, then support the senator from Vermont. Hey, a guy who never held a real job until he was 40 and then hit the gravy train as a politician must know a lot about economics and life, right?

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com