The 20th century was the best of times and the worst of times. On the dark side, as many as 270 million citizens were estimated to have been killed by governments that describe themselves as socialists — on the left and the right. On the bright side of the 20th century was the success of free market capitalism, which helped lift well over one billion people out of poverty.
So why do so many scholars condemn capitalism and lean into socialism? Even the brilliant free market economist Tom Sowell started out as a Marxist. So, what changed his mind?
“Facts. Before I was a Marxist, I was an empiricist, and I stayed an empiricist. And with the passing years, as I looked into more and more things, I saw the difference between reality and the rhetoric. Unfortunately, so many people today, including at the leading universities, don’t pay much attention to evidence,” Sowell told FOX Business in 2019.
Economist Thomas Sowell appears on FOX Business Network during an interview. (FOX Business / Fox News)
A recent survey shows a large number of college students prefer socialism to capitalism, with almost half praising oppressive countries such as Cuba over the U.S.
Big Money Show Co-Host Brian Brenberg saw it firsthand as an economics professor. I asked him why socialism still has pull for so many college students.
Families and prospective college students visit the University of Mary Washington for a campus tour. (iStock)
“College is one of the only places where bad ideas can keep living because they never get tested against reality. So, professors, they study these things, they love the ideas of what socialism promises. They never have to do them in real life. They spend their academic career filling kids’ heads with these ideas. Kids who gotta go out in the real world” Brenberg said.
Urbana, Illinois, April 17, 2016 – Students are out on the Quad lawn of the University of Illinois college campus in Urbana Champaign (iStock)
Six years ago, I asked Tom Sowell if we’d have to suffer through socialist policies before rejecting it.
“I do have a great fear that in the long run we may not make it.”
Now, I love Sowell. He’s one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met, but at the same time, I’m hoping he’s dead wrong on this point.