Commonwealth Policy Center

Is socialism good for the United States? Bernie Sanders, the leading Democratic candidate for president, thinks so. Socialism is the economic system where the government controls production and redistributes the wealth of citizens. Sanders is proposing free healthcare, free college education, and forgiveness of student loan debt. Sanders says that “Income inequality is the great moral issue of our time.” But why not addiction, or violence, or corruption? Socialism stirs up class warfare and is based on the envy of those who have wealth. But Sanders himself is a millionaire and owns several homes. The problem with socialism is that it disregards human nature, the incentive to work and save, and the spiritual truth that we live in a fallen world. Socialism may sound good on paper, but when it’s put into practice it leaves citizens worse off.