10 Socialist Arguments Destroyed
9. Socialism is less corrupt than capitalism
In a socialist state, the leadership will either become corrupted or be replaced by corrupt people, and this would prevent the goals of socialism from ever being realized. A well-known aphorism says, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The government of a socialist state would be more susceptible to corruption than others, because a socialist state has a broader scope than other states, and the government plays a much bigger role in the people’s lives. The absence of private economic activity would enable political leaders to grant themselves coercive powers. Socialism requires totalitarian methods, including a political police, in order to achieve its goals.
The history of socialist dictatorships has taught us that the leaders of the socialist movement had idealistic motives at first, but they would become corrupt or resort to totalitarian methods once in power. The kind of state structure they set up would eventually attract a new generation of leaders motivated by cynical ambition rather than any ideals, and these new leaders would enact repressive measures while at the same time giving up attempts to implement the original goals of socialism.
