How Socialism leads to dictatorship? – A Dummies guide

Socialism starts with a welfare state. People enjoy largesse from the government on several things, education, medicines, etc. But they don’t realise that government doesn’t have any money of its own…there is no such thing as ‘public money’. The government funds this largesse by expanding taxes as much as possible. Soon even that money runs out as more schemes are announced and population and their demand increases.

Then the government, whose sole purpose is to stay in power (it almost always is isn’t it?), and, running short of money unable to increase taxes beyond a point, decides to divide the country into a vote-banks. It identified a group that will vote en-bloc and concentrates the spending on just that group. So soon all the people are paying taxes but a small group of people are enjoying the benefits. This leads to a great social divide and both sides become bitter. The vote bank group continues to vote the government into power knowing that it is getting undue benefit at the cost of the country as a whole. At this point the government begins ridiculous spending programmes like for religious festivals of the vote block community etc.

Soon even this amount of money is not enough as the government needs to keep bettering what it spends on its people and especially the vote bank. The spending is categorised as ‘social spend’ to lend it an air of acceptability, respectability, holier-than-thou attitude and even martyrdom. It makes it difficult for the opposition to interrupt. I mean already the opposition guys have sat in opposition for so long they are scared to be seen anti-people. What it really is, is basically bribing a section of the population at the cost of the larger interests of the country to continue to earn votes. This is the point where reservations and Prime Ministerial statements like “religion xyz has first rights to country’s resources” start gathering FAST pace.

Then the government begins deficit financing, ie borrowing money to continue to spend on stupid and irresponsible schemes and appeasement. With people already taxed out and morale at a minimum the loans are never re-paid and the deficits continue to widen. In several years they reach a point where the government needs to borrow money to just pay the interest on its loans. This becomes a domestic debt trap. At this point the government begs other countries for money. This brings to sovereignty of the country into question as other countries begin to have a higher say in how the country should be run and dictate local social policy and may try to even effect demographic changes.

After a point the government is in a financial state beyond repair and pawns important national assets with other countries (India had been in this stage in 1988-1991). As the government has continued to borrow heavily there is no money left for risk takers and businessmen to setup any industry. Now the country is caught up in high debt, low living standards, high unemployment, international servitude and falling GDP.

Now the government faced with the prospect of losing elections and indeed driving the country into bankruptcy decides to take some hard steps. It forms a select committee and empowered committee and what-not committee and devises a ‘master plan’. However the master plan or the plan requires absolute compliance from everyone or else the country will fail (its on the precipice now isn’t it?). For this purpose new civil servants are taken on to monitor progress, the government sets curbs on freedom of speech to avoid dissent, lest the plan not be bought by the gullible public. Newspapers have a civil servant sitting with the editor to ensure that no news item calls the ‘plan’ into doubt. Production quotas are implemented, consumption quotas are implemented and a ration card is given. People’s lives, what they eat, what they study, where they work and everything else is decided by the government. Taxes are raised sky high (India had Income taxe of 97.5% under the Indira government, if I am not mistaken?).

Soon even for small things, people need to get permission of their local civil servant. To get water, food, milk, medicines, doctors appointment, drivers license, gas, fuel, power, buying a house, making changes to a house, school admission, even to drink a pint of beer…virtually everything! Afterall the ‘plan’ is very sensitive and quotas need to be guarded VERY carefully. Plus it’s the patriotic thing to do! This makes a local officer powerful enough to harass literally anyone. Soon he begins to demand favours from people who come to him for permits, soon permits change into little bribe money, soon little bribe money changes to a LOT of bribe money. While the relatively better off can pay, most people cant. This leads a higher social divide where the opposite was the case. The high tax rate begins to incite tax avoidance and people begin to hide money, or send it to swiss banks. This is not difficult since a corrupt civil servant can be found anywhere.

Soon the industrialists who were providing employment and were helping country to grow are bankrupt (no loans, no demand and excessive civil servant interference!) and the government takes over their businesses. Many-a-times a few key industries are taken over and un-strategic industries are left to run at only a nominal profit. India has privatised banking and airline sector at points in history. This creates further fear…the industrialists now decide to pander to government whims, “or else…” they are privatised,, because the ‘plan’ requires it, and it’s the patriotic thing to do.

To ensure compliance by the public the government implements draconian laws and subverts the justice system. All this is still cloaked in the veil of serving the motherland, saving the motherland and patriotism. This makes it difficult for anyone to make a politically correct argument against this. By this time the vote bank community has realised it folly in putting its vote bank credentials (religion, caste, income group, regional identity) ahead of the country, but now sadly its too late.

Now that the administrative and judiciary branches of the country are completely subverted, the government turns its attention to the military. This is one branch that the policy makers badly need to ensure discipline is enforced with a iron fist. After all the grand ‘plan’ is still in intensive care and cant tolerate dissent…and it is the patriotic thing to defend the plan at ALL or ANY cost. So the armed forces are elevated to a great height. It gets unlimited funds for which no accounts are asked for. The army chiefs begin a fiefdom and live the lavish life. No questions asked. In return they squash whatever protests are put up. The deaths and protests are never reported as by now only state owned media remains.

Finally the politician’s attention turns to the legislative bodies. Elections CANT be held in such trying times…the country would never be able to handle the expense…plus if someone else got elected how would the all important ’plan’ be implemented?! No no that wont be right, the ‘plan’ is necessary for the country! Not having elections is the patriotic thing to do. So administration shifts to a small group of people whose authority cannot be challenged. Their credentials are secret and activities even more so. Opposition is brutally quelled and more and more power is centralised. Note that these few people live lavish lifestyles to ensure that they are mentally limber to implement the ‘plan’. This group of self-sacrificing people running the county is called…lets say…”the politburo”.

Now several years have passed and no one really remembers what the plan really was or what it was supposed to achieve. The systems, businesses and economy have been completely destroyed by this point. People are hungry, inflation is high and there is anarchy. Now details of the ‘plan’ are completely forgotten and quelling the growing dissent becomes the priority. After all, any protests or violence may lead to unnecessary deaths of innocent people. So to stop that is the government’s patriotic duty. The army is called onto the streets, even as internal bickering on the best way to handle the situation tears the politburo apart. The members then decide to vest the power to implement the ‘plan’ (this is now just a word…even the original papers are lost in some civil servants file…which is just as well as the plan is hardly applicable to current time anyway) to a powerful leader. Someone who is feared and who would be obeyed. The most likely choice would be either some thug in the current politburo or the army chief who has had long experience in quelling protests. Soon all powers are handed over and either the politburo members are ‘eliminated’ or made irrelevant or just travel to live in Switzerland where their hard earned money of so many years is stashed anyway. Now the country is in dictatorship.

This is how a country moves from socialism to dictatorship in a few years. It is up to people to decide what they want…a free market economy (NOT laissez faire) which survives on mutual respect and profit, where we have maximum governance and minimum government, freedom of speech or do we proceed on a path where perhaps our grand daughters virginity will need to be bartered to some unscrupulous civil servant for a gas connection? Nip socialism in the bud, let all vote bank people know, the largesse they enjoy is the proverbial last supper.


(Of course I am not saying this will always happen or all vote banks will respond or behave in the same way.All I am saying is that IMHO socialism carried to a certain degree has the potentional of being incredibly dictatorial and destructive.)