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The Problem with Socialism

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The Problem with Socialism

By: Thomas DiLorenzo
Narrated by: Bob Souer
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About this listen

Remember when socialism was a dirty word? Now students at America's elite universities are parroting socialist talking points and "sure thing" Hillary Clinton is struggling to win the Democratic nomination against a 74-year-old avowed socialist who promises to make the nation more like Europe. What's happened? Do Americans need a reminder about the dangers of socialist ideology and practices?

Thomas DiLorenzo, economics professor and senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, deconstructs the retrograde ideology that has suddenly become disturbingly hip in The Problem with Socialism.

©2016 eChristian (P)2016 eChristian Political Science Politics & Government United States World Economic inequality Economic disparity Military

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All stars
Most relevant  
excellent book . After listening to this I've realized my pro socialist friends are very naive and uneducated about the way real socialism is . History will tell you facts for the against argument . very short and enjoyable to listen to ,some very good points made to add to your own debates .

short and to the point

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Not propaganda, just straight facts, history and citations, creating the credability that socialism lacks.Should be a compulsory in education system, as a wiser democracy is a more prosperous one.

Should be a compulsory in education system

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Explains the failures of socialism with multitudes of examples with accurate statistics and cites relevant economists and philosophers.

A really good read (or listen) - it's a shame the people who think they want socialism probably won't try it.

A good explanation

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For what this book may lack in length, it makes up for in sheer content. I've never come across such a wonderfully concise and easily followed critique on the short comings of socialism, combining theory with case study and opportunities for further reading. In a time where most younger people have a strange fascination and fondness for socialism, this book seems the ideal remedy. Buy it twice and pass it on.

Every young person needs a copy of this book...

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This is an excellent book. It is short and gets right to the point without any fluff. It covers a wide array of topics. It is accessible. It destroys all the common socialist arguments without getting bogged down in technicalities or too much detail. It is good for beginners who might be daunted by a larger work such as Mises’ “Socialism”.

The performance was adequate. It was a little monotonic and lacked passion. It felt at times that the narrator was not familiar with the subject matter and therefore placed emphasis on the wrong words. The pauses between sections and paragraphs were not long enough. His pronunciation of the name “Mises” was cringeworthy. Overall though, it is well narrated, very clear and with high production value.

Concise and Powerful

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An excellent read (or listen) about the problems Socialism, leads to. Best, the writer doesn't insult the socialist thinker, but points out very well the evidence that history has given us (but is simply not taught to young students, for reasons explained). The writer explains why socialist ideas, which seem completely logical and even compassionate simply do not deliver. In fact, as is seen all over the world, contrary to helping the poor, Socialism impoverishes the poor. If that statement frustrates you, and you think capitalism is 'evil' as I have so often encountered, then this book is for you, as even if you are not convinced, you will understand why Conservatives believe they are the party for everyone and everyone benefits more from capitalism. It would be a very different world in a Socialist world.

Some of the middle chapters are deep in history and may seem irrelevant to today, but remember that they are only irrelevant because we haven't had a Socialist century. You need to keep this in mind during the explanations.

A great summary of the 'mis understood problem with socialism and a book that Socialist should read and all students, even if you decided to reject the findings. It will leave you less angry and more understanding of you political opposites.

A must for 'anyone' interested in politics! Especially those would don't understand conservatisms compassion

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This book does a great job of debunking so many lies of the Socialists and the Leftists.

Well worth listening to!

DiLorenzo supplies you with fact after fact after fact to bolster your arguments against the pernicious Socialists and their sympathizers.

The unfortunate thing about this book is that it had to end.

This is well researched and well written. DiLorenzo clearly has an in-depth grasp of how retrograde a force Socialism is.

Listen and learn.

So Many Lies of The Socialists

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So seldom I have ever been inclined to pause an audiobook as frequently as this, but I found myself making notes on the countless laughable and ridiculous comments made throughout. One could write a review that rebukes all the erroneous points the author makes but frankly such a response would be as long as the book itself and I think it suffices to simply share some of highlights among the drivel in this book.

Right off the bat, the author gives the awful impression that he has never read so much as a sentence of WWII history by stating that "fascism is a type of socialism" and that the Nazis were socialist. (Presumably the author assumes this hilariously incorrect latter point merely because "socialist" is in the Nazi's full name, which shows about as much inquiry as one who assumes a zebra crossing must be a stripey African mammal). How gobsmacked the author will be when he one day discovers the Nazi's driving contempt for the socialists.

At another point the author implies that any teachings against socialism is often disallowed in socialist countries. Meanwhile, one can't help but wonder if this man has ever heard of a little thing called McCarthyism.

He also goes on to quite explicity state that he believes people don't have a right to free education, nor free healthcare. I have no words for this one.

Later, he suggests that trying to fix the system to alieviate poverty is less effective and less desirable than relying on charity (in part because it results in a less "community" atmosphere). He seems not to comprehend the obvious - that a system reliant on charity is a broken one.

He also states that socialism leads to more births out of wedlock, as though people choosing not to get married is a bad thing. And then doubles down by mentioning some statistics about how, in such countries, fewer children live in a heterosexual 2-parent household, as though that too is a bad thing.

He hilariously suggests that socialised healthcare is a bad idea, because as we can all clearly see the US health system (the only one in the developed world that isn't in any way socialised) is the prime beacon of a functioning health system. He also states, contrary to the evidence, that socialised healthcare is not affordable, when in fact the US pay enormously more on healthcare per capita than any other country.

In a chapter titled to the effect of "how socialism causes pollution", he states "businesses in a capitalist economy actually have strong incentives to preserve natural resources." I hope the silliness of this comment is implicit.

Predictably, he also constantly refers to the soviet union throughout the book, using it as his convenient quintessential example of a socialist country. While he's at it, he may as well constantly refer to the egg-laying platypus when describing the behaviour of mammals.

He says also that minimum wage is unjust to workers, especially low skilled workers, who have now lost their one competitive bargaining chip. Rightio, I suppose he expects "will work for £3 an hour" to be atop everyone's CV then?

As I say, it would take a very lengthy review indeed to respond to all of the author's claims in this book, but hopefully the handful highlighted above get the point across. This is a dreadfully misinformed, ahistorical book that neither understands what socialism is nor pieces together causes with effects in any believable way. I would urge anyone considering reading this book to instead read the graffiti in a public toilet - it would be both more entertaining and more insightful that what Mr DiLorenzo has to offer. And in turn, I would urge the author to please read a history book... literally ANY history book.

The densest book of drivel I think I've ever read

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