Socialism, Etc.

Dear Victorious,

Can you tell me what's so bad about socialism, communism and other forms of government that seem to be demonized? I hear people blaming President Obama, for example, of being a socialist. So what if he is? How do we conclude that socialism is a bad thing? What form of government does God want us to have?

Nathaniel R. - Clear Lake City, TX

Dear Nathaniel,

Of course you can look up the definitions of socialism, communism or other forms of government. But I think the reasons why people demonize them have more to do with our perceptions of what they are (or aren't) than anything. Of course, those perceptions may or may not be based on reality. In fact, they may be more based on our observations of circumstances (i.e., how those models have been applied elsewhere).

For example, all of the models of communism that we've seen applied in modern times have basically put the governments in charge (control) of everything. By giving the governments all the control, the people have lost an excessive amount of freedoms - such as freedom of religion or freedom of political persuasion.

For example, all of the models of socialism that we've seen applied in modern times have made people too dependent on governments for their basic survival. In turn, they have made governments too large and unmanageable.

Of course, these other models are all perceived as threats to capitalism and democracy ... which are two ideals that many Americans hold fast too. We apparently believe that anything which isn't capitalism or democracy are bad ... because we perceived those model to be the very best.

Ironically, if you go back to the Old Testament, we can see that God's ideal for our form of government is none of the models that we currently consider. God wanted His people to submit Him alone. (You might call that a theocracy.)