Dear anti-capitalist millennials: Read a history book

While scrolling through Facebook recently, I noticed a GoFundMe page that an acquaintance from high school had shared. It had been created by a self-proclaimed “proletarian,” which is a term used in Marxist theory to refer to a member of the working class in a capitalist society. This person was seeking funds so that he could get on his feet and pursue a job that would help free the United States from “the shackles of capitalism.”

Various polling over the past year has shown that some millennials are embracing socialism over capitalism, without fully understanding what it means. A self-described socialist made a serious run for the Democratic nomination this year, and attracted thousands of young followers.

Last year, the Economist reported that “forces sweeping through the capitalist economy are also sweeping through politics: the old party machines are imploding, and political entrepreneurs have the wherewithal to take over old parties or to build new ones. Anti-capitalism is once more a force to be reckoned with.”

Whenever I encounter a legitimate socialist or communist, I wonder if they have ever studied world history. Have they not heard about the tens of millions who died of starvation in Communist China and Soviet Russia? What about the political dissidents who were murdered during both regimes? Have they never heard about the millions of people who fled communist East Germany for the capitalist West? (I never heard of anyone in the West attempting to go to the East, by the way). What about all of the people who flee North Korea for South Korea? Are they so ignorant that they are unaware of these events? Or are they so blinded by ideology that they have somehow convinced themselves that they don’t matter?

Regardless, the important lesson to remember is that communism is awful. This is because the foundational premises are flawed.