There is a fascinating discourse going on over atThe Volokh Conspiracy regarding communism and today’s left. Eugene Volokh understands communism first-hand, and his opinion is one of experience and knowledge.
From my own personal experiences, I can tell you communism will work in an environment where small groups of people are willing to share everything regardless of ability to share in production. They must also be willing to live at a standard lower than their neighbors who aren’t part of the commune. They will have to depend on someone to provide all the things they need to improve their lives beyond the basic subsistence level. Gilligan’s Island was fiction.
I believe we have some people in this country who could take the first big step toward the realization of a thriving socialist society, though, if they were only willing. I would think most families would do quite well on an annual income of $40,000. That’s not enough to do a lot of unnecessary things, but would provide ample support for housing and food, a quite a few extras.
At $40,000 per annum, support for twenty-five families would cost one million dollars. I don’t know what each of these folks are worth, but if Barbra Streisand, Michael Moore, and all their friends pooled their extra income each year, my guess is that we could feed and house everyone in the country who didn’t already earn $40K a year.
What did George Clooney earn for his last flick–$6 million? More? Wow! On his own, he could take care of 125 families and still walk away with a cool million! How many major films are produced each year, with how many stars receiving big paychecks? Maybe the Dixie Chicks would like to donate all the money from their current tour, and live on the pittance they receive from record sales.
I don’t begrudge these people whatever they can make. That, my friends, is capitalism. I do begrudge them the platform they have to tell us all how we should be doing more.
Personally, I’ll wait and follow their lead.