Trump Wants Intel. Influencers Want NFL Outrage.
Over the past couple of weeks, conservatives have pointed out that New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has, more than once, said the people need to “seize the means of production,” which is the socialist economic foundation of communism.
Socialism is a step towards communism. When the government takes control of production or control of companies, we’re in the realm of public ownership and public control of a company.
In 2008, one of the precipitating events of the Tea Party movement was the bailout of General Motors where the government took control of over 60% of the company and, with Barack Obama’s election, exercised control over the shape of things to come. From pushing GM into electric cars to deciding which GM brands to shutter, the government played a role. It was socialism that, along with bank bailouts and other economic policies, sparked a revolt of American taxpayers.
When the government begins taking ownership of the private sector, it coerces companies to do things that are in the political interests of the powerful, but that are not necessarily in the interests of employees, shareholders, or basic economics. Government control not only breeds inefficiency, but also corruption.
As socialist governments take more and more control over companies, decisions stop being economic and start being political. As socialist governments expand their grip on the socio-economics of a nation, you head towards communism without revolution and society stagnates. China tried to blend communism with increased capitalism and has been rolling it all back. Capitalism breeds desires for freedom and wealth generation leads to independence and creativity. The byproduct of capitalism has been too much for China’s communist regime and the regime has been arresting the wealthy, confiscating wealth, shutting down businesses, and punishing citizens deemed harmful to society — those who typically use their creativity in ways that do not benefit the state.
Trump supporters are right to call out Mamdani’s desire to start state run grocery stores, seize the means of production, and use government resources to compete against the private sector.
In that light, I can only hope the Trump Administration is internally floating a trial balloon about the government taking a ten percent stake in Intel. This has happened before. They float a trial balloon. It is roundly excoriated by the President’s supporters. The President’s team then declares it fake news, was never going to happen, and moves on.
