You. Over the past century, estimates of deaths under communism range from 85 to 100 million people. To many, the collapse of the Soviet Union and increasing economic freedom in China show the failure of Marxism. Yet many remain convinced that peaceful and productive communism is possible. When asked about the Soviet Union, they may respond, but that’s not real communism. Believing that dictatorship was the problem, stalin was the problem, not Marxist ideals.

But communist dictatorships are not an accident. Rather, they’re the natural outcome of Marxism. Put into practice, you, the friendly Communists, might think you’re nonviolent and wouldn’t create an authoritarian regime if it were you in power. But if you’re truly dedicated to bringing about communism no matter what, you would don’t believe me? Let’s imagine your communist revolution, be it violent or democratic. Congrats. Welcome to power. It’s time to organize your new classless society.

The first thing you might find is not everyone is so happy you’re there. Society didn’t unanimously settle on your vision. So many people aren’t going to give up their property to be socialized rudderly. But you don’t believe in their right to private property anyway. So no matter off to the gulag with them, what was theirs is now the people’s. That wealth might sustain the proletariat for a while, but eventually you’re going to have to start producing new goods for the people.

From each according to their ability, to each according to their need. But if people don’t get to keep what they make, they don’t have an incentive motivating them. Not to worry. The new socialist man will take care of that. Without capitalism driving him to be greedy, his mind will be refocused to take care of all the people. Except that didn’t happen in any attempt at communism ever. Because man’s greed might be heightened by society, but millennia of evolution have also driven a desire to collect goods for oneself.

So how do you motivate people to keep working and provide for society? Those that don’t meet their quotas off to the gulag. And those gulags better be pretty bad too, if you want people to be incentivized, not to end up there. And if you don’t get your gulag sending decisions just right, you might end up crippling your production instead starving millions. And if indeed conditions start to deteriorate, you can’t let the people know it’s better elsewhere.

Or else they’ll want to leave, worsening your production difficulties. So hello Iron Curtain and shooting runaways at the border. You don’t have to have a violent evil goal to end up with evil. If the demands of reality necessitate violence and evil to bring about your goal. Stop comparing the supposed evils of capitalism and reality to communism in your fantasy and start comparing the realities of both. One has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

The other has killed 100 million of them. I’m Joseph Klein. Thanks for watching. .