Colinxy: A Unified Typology of Socialisms - Class, State, and Race

For more than a century, the word socialism has been stretched, twisted, weaponised, and diluted until it has lost almost all analytical value. In modern discourse, “socialist” can mean anything from Scandinavian welfare policies to Stalinist purges. “Fascist” and “Nazi” are used interchangeably, despite representing fundamentally different worldviews. Marxists deny the lineage of Critical Theory. Fascists deny their socialism. National Socialists deny their collectivism. And the result is predictable: conceptual chaos.

Corey Smith: China and Qatar Give Billions to US Universities – What Do They Get?

When authoritarian governments have access to American campuses.

Five hundred and twenty-seven colleges and universities have accepted foreign gifts and contracts for a total of $62.4 billion – that we know about. China has given more than $4 billion to US universities, and it’s only the fourth highest on a list displayed on the Department of Education’s new online portal. It shows how much money American universities have received from foreign gifts and contracts, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to ensure these institutions are transparent about funds from outside the country. Getting universities to disclose information, however, is the easy part.

Dave Patterson: Venezuela After Socialism

What will the United States do to ensure there is no Maduro redux?

Smoldering buildings and destroyed military vehicles — the targets of US air attacks in the early-morning hours of January 3 — are the only evidence remaining that American military forces had swooped in and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. That may be a problem. Without a strong US presence on the ground in Caracas and throughout Venezuela, can a government emerge that will be democratically constituted, cordial to the United States, and focused on ridding the country of transnational organized crime and terrorism, and the likes of Hezbollah? These are the challenges to be faced in the next few months.

An Opportunity for Venezuela

Colinxy: Cucumbers versus Grapes - The Great Proof of Socialism?

The famous “cucumber versus grape” experiment, popularised in a TED Talk clip, has often been cited as evidence that beneath the surface, all creatures (including humans) harbour socialist instincts. The experiment involved capuchin monkeys performing a simple task: when rewarded with cucumber slices, they were content—until they saw another monkey receive grapes for the same effort. Suddenly, the cucumber was rejected, thrown back at the researcher in protest.

Paul Mueller: Venezuelan Tragedy - Socialism, Entitlement, and Tyranny Are Connected

Once prosperous and cultured, Venezuela has become destitute, crime-ridden, and hopeless. Young socialists should take heed.

The shocking capture and extradition of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife over the weekend is the culmination of months of US pressure on the regime. President Trump and other administration officials have labeled Maduro and his close associates “narco-terrorists,” accusing him of leading a huge criminal organization and profiting by violating US laws, selling large quantities of illegal narcotics which may have potentially killed Americans.

But while the future of the Venezuelan regime is uncertain, it is worth taking a few minutes to understand how Venezuela got to where it is today and what Americans can learn from its descent into a tyrannical/criminal regime.

John Stossel: The Complete Guide to Socialism vs Capitalism (Myths Explained)

People find fault with capitalism. Many think they’d prefer socialism.

Why? Because they believe absurd myths about it.

Click to View

Barrie Davis: Socialism or Rationalism?

I have become increasingly aware of a global Black Hole regarding an explanation for the changes to New Zealand’s constitutional direction. Mention has been made on Breaking Views of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. It is concerning that specifics are lacking in the mainstream media and moreover we do not get to vote for the people in these global organisations.

Ani O'Brien: Why the 'privileged' Left is enchanted by socialism....

Divergence of dissatisfaction: why the 'privileged' Left is enchanted by socialism

In 2020, I wrote the below (scroll down) analysis of why Americans vote for Trump. Especially why the working classes have had a sharp turn to the Right and enthusiastic support for the 45th and 47th President. Still recovering from a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that had been declining since 2018 or so, I called for empathy and understanding for these voters. I figure it is only fair that I do the same for the substantial bloc on the Left who are veering toward a different kind of populism; one that embraces the repeatedly failed socialist system.

Soham Patil: Why do we work?

Socialists are obsessed with eliminating the need to work. They contend that it amounts to coercion that is oppressive. However, they fail to understand the implications of what it means to choose to work and why working is a necessary part of life.

Working in the context of a job refers to exchanging labor for money. Most jobs work on a voluntary basis where an employer and employee agree upon the nature of the work and wages to be paid. Such an agreement is found because an employer realizes he values the labor of the employee more than the wages he must pay, while the employee realizes he values his wages more than the amount of work he must contribute to his job. When these conditions are satisfied, a job is created, and work occurs in exchange for monetary compensation.

JD: Which Will Beat Luxon’s Government?

JD writes on BFD as a Guest Post:

In the 18th century, economist Adam Smith advanced a theory often considered to be the basis of capitalism. When people work in pursuit of their own betterment and personal profit, the ‘invisible hand’ of the market creates the greatest good for the greatest number.

Since then socialist economists from Marx and Engels onwards have tried to deny this fundamental truth and advance the alternative idea that the state alone should drive the economy and level the playing field to the benefit of all.

Ele Ludemann: “Socialism is always and everywhere an impoverishing phenomenon”

A few months after our second son died we got a phone call asking us if we would be interested in hosting an AFS student.

We were and a few months later a young Argentinean came to live with us for a year.

There is a huge element of luck in these relationships. We hit the jackpot, his family is now ours, they have all been to visit us and we have been to Argentina 11 times.

Flat White: Jacinda: just go!

The Ardern regime in New Zealand has been an embarrassment to the West. During her short tenure as Prime Minister, she has single-handedly created a new era of State-sanctioned racism and overseen a relentless campaign to erase or re-write history.

This destruction of New Zealand, which includes its name, has been done to serve Marxist activists who want nothing more than to fuel racial tension and line their pockets with guilt-ridden cash. The rot of these movements has been eating away at every branch of government. Even the water that falls from the heavens has become fodder for her government’s racially motivated agenda via the heavily criticised Three Waters project.

Muriel Newman: State Control of Vocational Training

In mid-December the Government launched their public consultation on the establishment of Workforce Development Councils - see HERE.  

The proposed changes are a seismic shift that will give the State full control of vocational training.

Industry Training Organisations (ITOs), which since 1994 have been delivering the training industries need, are being abolished and replaced by a centralised government-appointed body.

Chris Talgo: TIME Magazine Goes All-in on the Anti-Capitalist Great Reset

On October 23, TIME magazine dedicated an entire issue to the little-known but very radical globalist quest known as the Great Reset.

What is the Great Reset? According to the World Economic Forum, its chief sponsor, “There is an urgent need for global stakeholders to cooperate in simultaneously managing the direct consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. To improve the state of the world, the World Economic Forum is starting The Great Reset initiative.”

Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, penned an article for the special edition of TIME that focused exclusively on the Great Reset, titled “A Better Economy Is Possible. But We Need to Reimagine Capitalism to Do It.” This article reveals the crux of the Great Reset.

NZCPR Weekly: United Nations Agenda 2030

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

In this week’s NZCPR newsletter, we outline how Jacinda Ardern is embedding the United Nations Agenda 2030 into our legal and regulatory framework, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Dr Oliver Harwich expresses his concerns about New Zealand’s underperformance – and the difficulty in openly discussing it, and our poll asks whether you support the UN’s Agenda 2030 being incorporated into New Zealand laws and policies..

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Chris Talgo: Climate Alarmism Versus the Scientific Method

In early June, the World Economic Forum unveiled the Great Reset. The Great Reset is a farce having very little to do with saving or conserving the environment and everything to do with crony capitalism and forcibly imposing unreliable and unaffordable green energy schemes on the world. In short, the Great Reset is the Green New Deal on a worldwide scale.

Like the Green New Deal’s advocates did at its rollout, those pushing the Great Reset are using fearmongering and unwarranted doom-and-gloom predictions to make people believe it is the only way to avert a global apocalypse.

NZCPR Weekly: Modern Socialism

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we reveal how Budget 2020 signals a Government ‘reset’ – a radical plan to transform New Zealand into a socialist state, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Dr Bryce Wilkinson explains why Government-led economic recoveries don’t work, and our poll asks whether you feel confident about New Zealand’s economic future.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Clive Bibby: The government's plans post Covid 19 are not what they seem

A weekend article written by Steve Elers of Massey University's School of Communications includes some interesting observations of the Prime Ministers character. I would recommend it to anybody who is concerned about the prospects for this nation as we try to reassert ourselves post Covid 19.

Elers attempts (successfully in my opinion) to establish a link between the ideological beliefs that formed the basis of the Prime Ministers former career (pre parliamentary politics) and those that drive her in her current position as Leader of this country.

He suggests that it is impossible for "the leopard to change its spots" and that the position she held on most issues and advocated for pre 2008 would most likely be the same today as it was then.

NZCPR Weekly: New Zealand's Democratic Vacuum

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we raise concerns about the democratic vacuum that has been created in New Zealand and the lack of scrutiny over how Jacinda Ardern is using the virus crisis to impose her socialist world view onto our nation, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Frank Newman explains that if the government is genuine about wanting to get New Zealand working it should get rid of the Resource Management Act, and our poll asks whether you believe taxes should be increased to pay for the cost of Jacinda Ardern’s lockdown.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Guy Steward: The Left is Wrong about Fascism

It’s heartening to see the landslide victory of the Conservatives in the UK with support across different socio-demographics. It shows amongst other things what voters disenchanted by the frequent failure of left-wing parties can do when there are viable alternatives. May we see something similar in New Zealand in 2020.

And it’s fascinating to observe the reactions—especially of vociferous left-wingers—to resounding defeats like this. It reveals their political integrity or lack thereof. 

Street protesters tend to come across as less rational, less adult, in their reduction of everything to accusations. Granted that duplicity is no one’s preserve, and everyone occasionally wears the hypocrite label. Yet the political left at the street level take the cake, because while their banners display moralist statements like “Say no to racism”, they are quite OK with lying, smearing, slandering, misrepresenting, inferring evil intent, hating, threatening, and cursing anyone considered too “right” or conservative. …but please “Say no to racism!”.