By Gary Wickert

Democratic socialism is the new Pokémon Go for millions of American youth. Bernie Sanders received over 13 million votes in a Democratic primary rigged against him by his own party. Over half of all Democrats have a favorable view of socialism, which may explain a string of recent defeats in Kansas, Montana, Georgia, and South Carolina. Last week, a young employee of mine shared her reasons for supporting Bernie. This young Millennial grew up in a recession and watched her parents struggle and become anxious about their futures. She graduated from college with lots of debt and is uncertain about starting a family and buying a home. She has little faith in government and institutions which she has been told are rigged against her.

She come from a family of Democrats, yet she sees through Hillary's faux progressivism and believes anybody who voted for the war in Iraq and has taken money from political institutions she believes have destroyed the lives of so many American families is immoral and should be disqualified from public office. She has become politically selfaware at a time in American history when there is a wave of civil disobedience and violence in the name of "social justice", especially on campuses. As a result, she opted for the message of the inspiring 75-year-old white, democratic socialist from Vermont who received triple the support of voters under thirty than Hillary Clinton did.

That so many Democrats believe in the false promises of socialism is simultaneously troubling and revealing. Ignore for the moment the human cost of collectivism and the utopian delusion of socialism and communism (the goal of socialism according to Vladimir Lenin) over the last 70 years, which includes over 120 million murdered. Socialism is a universally discredited system of the past and the biggest lie of the 20th Century. It is astonishing that, when many parts of the world are licking their socialist wounds and moving away from collectivism and central planning toward free market capitalism (Soviet Union, China, etc.), so many young people either don't or won't the flaws in a system based on completely on faulty principles that aren’t consistent with human behavior and can’t nurture the human spirit.

Socialism promises prosperity, equality, and security, but delivers only poverty, misery, and tyranny. In the same way that a Ponzi scheme or chain letter initially succeeds but eventually collapses, socialism may show signs of success in early stages or within a small population for a limited period.

This initial illusion of success gives government central planning its specious, seductive appeal. Like a pyramid scheme, however, it eventually fails because it is has one fundamental defect – it ignores incentives.

The destructive effect of disincentive is illustrated by the story of an economics professor at a local college whose class insisted that socialism worked. To prove a point the professor announced that all grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A. After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were content. For the next test, the students who studied little studied even less and the ones who studied hard studied little. The second test average was D, and no one was content.

For the third test, the average was F. No one would study for the benefit of everyone else. To their great surprise, the whole class failed. When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when hard work of some is taken to help those who do not work hard, nobody works hard.

My employee was quick to remind me that Bernie is not a socialist – he's a "democratic socialist." "It's not the same, because it's 'democratic'," she said. Putting a word in front of something doesn't change what it is, however. Hamas was democratically-elected in Gaza, even though the eradication of all Jews is in their charter. Bobby Mugabe was elected in Zimbabwe – a country spiraling into an economic crisis so vicious that its citizens have simply given up. Hugo Chavez was elected in Venezuela, one of the most resource-rich countries on earth, now a house of horrors welfare state democratically brought to the verge of total collapse, where even toilet paper is unaffordable for the average Venezuelan. Denmark is an entirely homogenous country roughly the same size and population as the city of Houston. Its citizens cannot afford to buy a car because of a 180% new car registration tax. Recently, its prime minister denounced socialism and lauded market economies. Sweden is not much bigger than Denmark, but the tiny welfare state and its gargantuan federal budget boast soaring high taxes and low economic freedom.

Over time, the greatest enemy of socialism is reality. Certain people will always be pulled toward individualism and success, and others toward laziness and collectivism. The tension between makers and takers always leads to its collapse. Capitalism is criticized as being greedy and less altruistic than socialism. But what could be greedier than taking something from someone else that you haven't earned? Capitalism and the free market aren't perfect, but they thrive only on voluntary transactions, while socialism can only occur at gunpoint. As long as the people having their stuff taking away are in the minority, calling it democratic doesn't change what it is – mob rule. It is the political embodiment of plunder, made possible by the denial of the rule of law, private property, individual liberty, and everything America stands for. To sell socialism to their students, university spider holes which riot when conservative speakers are invited must also teach a hatred of America and what it stands for.

Democratic losses in 2017 don’t mean the party of JFK won’t compete successfully in 2018. The party out of power historically gains seats in mid-term elections, and it's not as though President Trump hasn't provided plenty of things to be critical about. However, the future of the Democratic Party – like the future of America – doesn't lie with Democratic Socialism. As Winston Churchill famously said, "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."