Thanksgiving and a Fascination With Socialism By Lewis J. Walker, CFP(R)

Thanksgiving is a time to focus on virtues and the blessings we enjoy as individuals, members of a family and a community, and as Americans. Envy, one of The Seven Deadly Sins, has no place in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Yet, envy seems to be surging in political discourse and in college campus discontent.

Wikipedia defines envy as “similar to jealousy in that they both feel discontent towards someone’s traits, status, abilities, or rewards.” Biblical texts warn of the negative consequences of coveting your neighbor’s goods. Dante’s Divine Comedy pegged envy as “consumed with the idea that everyone and everything outside of self is threatening or diminishing it.” Is that why so many proclaim “the one-percent” as somehow offensive, that their success is an affront to the 99% with less?

St. Thomas Aquinas defined envy as “the hatred of a good enjoyed by one’s neighbor or the rejoicing in his harm. The proud man wants to usurp the lord’s rightful power. The envious man wants there to be no lord at all.”

In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (Parson’s Tale), the Parson asserts that envy is the worst of sins, “for in truth, all other sins are at times directed against one special virtue alone. But envy takes sorrow in all the blessings of his neighbor.”

Many would not associate the word “envy” with current political discussions about inequality and the distribution of wealth. Yet ,when citizens demand more free stuff, they assert that wealth and earnings should be confiscated from someone else to provide them a benefit they did not earn or work for. We have a democratic socialist presidential candidate drawing big crowds, with forced redistribution of income a major theme.

The leftist web site politicususa.com in a 6/3/2015 posting asserts, “In its basic form, socialism is simply organized society in which all major industries and financial institutions are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and corporations.” Regarding Senator Bernie Sander’s quest for the presidency, politicus says, “The reason Sanders is unlikely to win the nomination is because only 31% of Americans ‘react positively’ to the word socialism. However, among 18 to 29-year olds, about half view socialism favorably and only 47% see capitalism as a good thing.”

Socialist leanings pose a danger to the free enterprise system that made America great and that underpins the value of the investments you have made to further your financial independence and peace of mind in your retirement years. Today’s students would do well to study history, recognizing the dismal results of socialism applied. Declared Winston Churchill: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessing. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.”

Journalist Irving Kristol (1920-2009) wrote, “The world has yet to see a successful version of ‘trickle-up economics,’ an egalitarian society in which the state ensures that the fruits of economic growth are universally and equally shared. The trouble with this idea—it is, of course, the socialist ideal—is that it does not produce those fruits in the first place. Economic growth is promoted by entrepreneurs and innovators, whose ambitions, when realized, create inequality.” (“Income Inequality Without Class Conflict,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/18/1997).

If innovations by Bill Gates or Steve Jobs made people who worked for their companies, or bought their stock, wealthy, how is that unfair to those who did not participate? Without a quest to succeed financially and in other respects, if frustrated by government rules and the undue confiscation of earnings, the job creators and risk takers will cease to be productive. Where does that leave the 99%?

Yes, economic risk taking can create bankruptcies and dislocations that hurt workers, yet that is a component of societal progress. You cannot have growth without elements of creative destruction. Students may admire technology entrepreneurs and the tools and devices they create, not recognizing that creative destruction is the handmaiden of innovation. State interference stifles innovation. Look at the pictures out of Cuba—old cars, rundown buildings, boat people trying to get to America.

Envy, repackaged in political rhetoric, is a threat to financial freedom and societal advancement. As we say Thanksgiving prayers in appreciation for our blessings as American citizens, recall what got us here. If alive today, the founding fathers clearly would be concerned!

Lewis Walker is President of Walker Capital Management, LLC. Securities and advisory services offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis Walker is a registered representative and investment adviser representative of SFA which is otherwise unaffiliated with Walker Capital Management, LLC. lewisw@theinvestmentcoach.com

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