Kerby Anderson

James Piereson declares that “Socialism is a hate crime.” He uses this phrase often used by leftists against them because of their admiration of socialism.

He thinks “it is remarkable that, despite its long record of failure, socialism is now more popular than ever among college students and in progressive precincts of the Democratic Party.” He believes that anyone with just a bit of curiosity can open a history book and see the millions who have died or were imprisoned by socialist governments. If you know someone who needs a history lesson about socialism, I recommend his short essay.

The facts he shares come from noted scholar R.J. Rummel who documents political violence and totalitarian movements. Rummel is also known for having coined the term “democide” to describe large-scale government killings for political purposes.

The Soviet Union appears to be one of the greatest mega-murderers. Of the 61 million killed, 43 million were killed by Stalin, mostly via labor camps and government induced famines.

China’s death toll came in waves. In the first phase of Mao’s rule, he wanted to destroy the property owners and therefore killed millions of landlords. In the Great Leap Forward, millions more were killed via murder, torture, and starvation. The final total is approximately 50-60 million.

He also tallies up the death toll from “the minor leagues” of socialism. That would include Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, and North Korea. Venezuela is different simply because of the relative absence of democide, but citizens there suffer as well.

Socialist policies always fail because it is impossible for central planners to allocate capital, goods, and services efficiently. He concludes with his question: Is socialism a hate crime? The record speaks for itself.