Why Socialism Is So Beloved In Academia -- And Why Its Belovers Are So Wrong
The people I know who are most passionate and grateful to live in a democracy and under a (more) capitalist system are those whose families escaped from the USSR, Romania, or Cuba.
The College Fix interviewed a Romanian-born academic, Professor Florin Curta, "one of the world's most distinguished scholars in medieval history and archaeology - and is co-founder of the University of Florida's medieval and early modern studies center, where he directs its certificate program."
He talks about growing up under a communist regime and the rise of socialism in America, and his observations are similar to those of my other friends from Cuba and the Eastern bloc:
Tell us about growing up in communist Romania. What was the quality of life?Curta: Stores were completely empty. There was no food. There was a black market where you could buy some things, but obviously at much higher prices. Besides the fact that there was no food, every now and then electricity would be cut off in the apartment, at a sudden moment in time. You would not know when and for how long. Sometimes there was no running water at all, and there was no warm water at all. We're talking about life in an urban environment, we're talking about an apartment, not one or two, but thousands in which people lived in such conditions. I was in college in that time, and I remember actually studying in the library with gloves on my hands because it was so cold. So not a happy place.
Socialism appears to be a popularly embraced ideology in American academia. Why do you think this is? What is so tempting about this mindset?
FlorinCurtaCurta: I think that there's an idealism that most people in academia, specifically in the humanities, share. We live in an era of ideological morass, especially with the collapse of communism that has left no room for those idealists in the academic world. No matter how you can prove that system doesn't work, with an inclination to go that way perhaps because most people associate socialism with social justice, while the former is an ideology with concrete ideas and concrete historical experiences, while social justice is a very vague abstract notion.
You have to understand, the difference between ideas and facts is what is of major concern here. As my father used to say, it is so much easier to be a Marxist when you sip your coffee in Rive Gauche, left-bank Paris, than when living in an apartment under Ceaușescu, especially in the 1980s.
And about the high price of "free" education:
But what about "free college education for everyone," which is one of Sanders' campaign promises? Shouldn't people have access to free higher education?Curta: My answer to that is very simple. I went through 20-plus years of school in the old country, under communism, for free, but I had no food on the table.
What the free college idiots don't understand is when college is free they won't be allowed to attend. I prefer unable to afford to not allowed. You can get the money eventually. You will never get permission once it is denied.
Ben at May 5, 2016 5:57 AM
Related on journos
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/scalliwag/200908/why-most-journalists-are-democrats-view-the-soviet-socialist-trenches
Eduardo at May 5, 2016 6:10 AM
The only Cuban I know, I went to nursing school with. He'd been here 5 years, taught himself English from watching tv, bright guy. He was not enamored of capitalism, he'd insult our medical system etc frequently. Which begged the question why he came here.
momof4 at May 5, 2016 6:14 AM
Ask yourself how hared you are willing to work for me. That's socialism for you.
MarkD at May 5, 2016 7:06 AM
Watched a little segment on Cuba (maybe 10 years old) and the Cubans shown were proud that their country:
1. helped them buy the monthly groceries they were allocated,
2. limited wages so no one earned more than another on either of their two jobs,
3. allowed them to buy the available products in their stores (no toasters, no basic electronics, maybe a vacuum cleaner every now and then),
4. provided "free" hospital (you needed to take certain items in like toilet paper but ...), and
5. of course were very complimentary of the government, the inspectors that made sure they only got what was allocated, ...
Bob in Texas at May 5, 2016 7:11 AM
I can spell, but I can't type. How hard are you willing to work for me?
MarkD at May 5, 2016 7:18 AM
Here's a Polish joke from the 1980s:
Momof4, your Cuban came here to avoid being sent off as a Castro slave in the medical field. When you read of Cuban medical personnel working in foreign countries, it's either so their wages can go to the Castro's, or to pay down the Castro's debt to those countries.
I R A Darth Aggie at May 5, 2016 7:27 AM
I'm outraged.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 5, 2016 8:30 AM
I heard a good progressive on NPR last night, bemoaning the fact that she could not afford to go to medical school in the US, but over-the-moon about how she was going to medical school in Havana - for free!
For free - in other words, paid for by the labor of indentured, brown-skinned Cuban campesinos. Why to progressives hate enslaved, dark-skinned people so much?
llater,
llamas
llamas at May 5, 2016 8:38 AM
I'm sure I read this somewhere before, but I suspect the reason a lot of academics (and not a few students) support socialism is that they think it will reward the things they think they're good at.
I suspect that's part of what's behind some students' push for "free" college. Hey, being a student beats working down debt, doesn't it? But if you think about "free" college for more than five minutes and you're not horrified by the idea, you probably don't think about much.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at May 5, 2016 8:41 AM
"Socialism is wrong," is such a sophomoric oversimplification, it's not even deserving of a response, but I will respond anyway.
We have socialism. It pays for our infrastructure, for emergency services, and other things that most of would consider indispensable in a civilized society.
Don't like socialism? Get your fucking car off the road right now. You may drive on unpaved ground. If you get robbed, don't you dare call the police. House on fire? Grab a hose and get to work, but don't call the fire department.
And don't even think about applying for social security when you reach retirement age.
Patrick at May 5, 2016 9:02 AM
The meaning of socialism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt7urGdlr_Y
(Transcript below for parts)
A little long, but worth the reading:
This is a common trope on the left: “Socialism” sounds scary, but we’re really talking about things like public schools and public highways (see Patrick). Education blogger Jerry Webster, writing at About.com, headlined his post on nationalizing teacher-pay decisions “Give Socialism a Chance.” Writing in the arts and humanities journal Helium, Daniel Reneau asks, “Like public schools? . . . Then say, ‘Thank you, socialism!’” Other writers on the left have similarly argued that the popularity of the public schools suggests that Americans are more comfortable with socialism than they let on.
As indeed they are. The public schools constitute one of the most popular instantiations of socialism in American life, though Social Security and government-funded transportation systems no doubt rank nearly as high. ... The public schools are not a random or inexplicable failure. They are a classical socialist failure, with massively misallocated resources, an ensconced bureaucratic class, and a needlessly impoverished client class.
Public schools fail for the same reason that all socialist enterprises fail: lack of information. As we know from the Labor Theory of Value, socialists of the Marxian bent hold prices to be at some level objective. Somewhere out there, in the economic ether, is a universally true and just price for any given prescription drug, rent-controlled apartment, semester’s tuition, or credit-card fee. In part, this is an outgrowth of socialism’s pretense that it is a scientific system for understanding and organizing a society. For the socialist, a product has a certain value, and it is a moral imperative that the worker be compensated at a level equal to the value of the thing produced.
Stinky the Clown at May 5, 2016 9:47 AM
Don't like socialism? Get your fucking car off the road right now. You may drive on unpaved ground. If you get robbed, don't you dare call the police. House on fire? Grab a hose and get to work, but don't call the fire department.
But not government-issued vouchers to pay for private schools! That's different! We EARNED that! We DESERVE that!
* eyeroll *
Kevin at May 5, 2016 10:10 AM
"But not government-issued vouchers to pay for private schools! That's different! We EARNED that! We DESERVE that!"
1985: Reagan wants school vouchers issued
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 5, 2016 10:41 AM
From my experience, the academics generally expect that under socialism they would get more rewards and liver better and be the ones to decide how resources are spent. I find that in general true of people who support socialism. They think they are smarter and therefore should be the ones to tell everyone how to live their lives.
I find one of my friends from high school's thoughts to be funny. In thinks if something is worth doing then you should be able to afford a nice life on that.What is worthwhile seems pretty arbitrary to me.
The Former Banker at May 5, 2016 10:02 PM
"under socialism they would get more rewards and liver"
I don't care how many onions you fry it up with, I am *NOT* eating that.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 5, 2016 10:34 PM
You guys miss me when I'm not around.
If only you'd read more carefully the first (third, fifth) times, such as October 26, 2014 1:47 PM, when I've laid it out.
Crid at May 6, 2016 1:32 AM
"But Posner is just as critical of right-wingers. He points to the conservative Jeane Kirkpatrick, who predicted that “communist regimes, unlike right-wing autocracies, would never evolve into democratic societies."
I'm scratching my head trying to think of a good example to prove Kirkpatrick wrong. Any suggestions?
Isab at May 6, 2016 10:54 AM
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