Every time and place where socialism has been attempted has ended in full and catastrophic failure. They tried socialism in the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), China, Cuba, Chile, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola to name but a few notable case studies. The only predicable outcomes were the deaths of millions of people, suppression of basic human rights, tyranny and autocratic one party states.
As far as the professed promises of socialism namely equality and milk and honey are concerned, there is of course equality of misery and grinding poverty. This is why people flee this system at every opportunity. It is also revealing that the movement is always in one direction from socialist nations to free countries and never the reverse. It is an undisputable fact that people fled Cuba on makeshift rafts to escape the clutches of the brutal socialist regime. On the other hand though, we have hardly ever seen people clamor to migrate to Cuba since 1959. So when all has been said and done, it is clear that invariably, the sole beneficiaries of the spoils of the evil system of socialism are the ruling elites, family members, cronies and hangers on.
Despite the sad part of socialism, Marxism, collectivism, or whatever name you want to give it, its defenders and the countless useful idiots are constantly in denial. It is similar to continuously going out with someone who previously cheated on you in the hope that things will work out differently this time.
Although it is unequivocally evident that socialism fails every time it is tried, its apologists continue to give all sorts of excuses in its defence. We are told that: Oh if only country X had correctly applied the teaching of Marx or Lenin, then the people of that country would be enjoying a lifestyle comparable to that of paradise. That is always the refrain.
Socialism is alluring because it appears to be both beautiful and moral on the surface. It offers everyone the right to work, justice, good education, peace, good health, freedom and happiness. It promises a utopian world. Who in their right mind would reject that?
This past week, I was reminded of the allure of socialism when I read a story in one of our local weekly newspapers about a floundering community cattle herding scheme in the Okavango Delta. In order to ward off wild animals, the architects planned to pool the cattle in their area and have them herded centrally. To be fair to them they conceived the scheme in good faith. They should not be shocked, though, that many animal farmers are not joining in.
We must recognise that many farmers, even subsistence farmers, wish to individually care for their private property, which includes cattle. They are aware that they cannot entrust a hired hand, who they cannot hold accountable, with the care of their animals. It is not rocket science but simple human nature.
This is the reason why efforts to group people into collectives always fail. The Okavango experiment is of course based on suasion and does not even come to close Ujamaa or Mao’s collectivisation in China. However rational human beings are not drawn to projects which belong to everyone and no one in particular. So whether you work hard in a communal project or you do not, is inconsequential because the reward is the same for both hard workers and laggards.
This is the reason for the failure of syndicates, cooperatives and village development trusts because they lack a specific owner with a controlling stake. If the Okavango Delta Trust is looking for a successful scheme, they should rather be parceling out pieces of land for the same farmers for use in private grazing. That way the farmers would be quick to buy in.
