Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy...?

Question

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

I recently came upon this quote of Sir Winston Churchill, and I'd like someone to elaborate in detail on what did he mean by uttering this statement. I feel that the message contained in this quote is very deep, and I jujust want to know what it is. Why would Sir Winston denounce socialism? As an idea, it doesn't seem to me bad at all. In the USA, people have got the right to vote, but they are homeless and sleep on the streets, whereas in a Socialist environment they care more about your social and economic rights. But since Sir Winston uttered that quote, I'm sure there is something wrong with that ideology.

Thank you for your contributions. It's very interesting to read them. Someone has commented that 'Capitalists believe that every person who works hard for a living has a right to live the best life possible', but I just want to add something: I really hate how capitalists *use* people (use as in 'exploit'); every day when I go to work, I walk past a man holding an ad showing a direction to the nearest barber shop ('Barber - 10 yards to the left', the ad reads), but I feel so sorry for that man: he's always there, standing in the middle of the street, whether it's raining, hot or cold. And think - is it fair to pay the minimum wage such as £5.50 per/hour for people who came over from E.Europe and work hard? I mean if I had my own company, and I was making good profit, I'd be very altruistic, and pay people about £9.50 per hour. I think Marx once said 'There is no crime a capitalist wouldn't commit, if he knew for sure it will generate him a 100% profit'.

Actually, the quote reads '“there is no crime a capitalist wouldn’t commit for a 500% return on investment'.

Answer 1

It's all politics. Socialism is a "radical" ideology; people are afraid of it. Churchill hated and feared communism, and communism and socialism, despite their differences, are often associated in people's minds. Socialism is a rational system; in fact, some of the elements of our own government and economy draw upon socialist ideas (welfare, government regulation of industry, etc.)

Answer 2

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Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy...?
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

I recently came upon this quote of Sir Winston Churchill, and I'd like someone to elaborate in detail on what did he mean by uttering this...

Answer 3

Socialism requires a small group of people in government to make a decision on how to distribute resources, essentially determining the price and value for things, while capitalism essentially involves everyone in the economy deciding the price and shaping the economy.

There are winners and losers in capitalism, but with socialism there are always far more losers because no matter how well informed or clever they are a small group of people are never able to correctly allocate resources. Often the excuse for a failing economy is then that the politicians (socialists) required more power, but the soviet union is the ultimate example of a failed planned economy.

As Enoch Powell wrote of the national plan in 1968 "Three things we can know about the national plan, first its conclusions will be wrong, dead wrong. Secondly they will be enacted to do the maximum damage because they will be enacted nationally. Thirdly the policies will be pursued long after they have been proven wrong because of all plans the national plan is the least flexible and of all people politicians are the slowest to admit to their mistakes".

Answer 4

Winston Churchill Quotes Socialism

Answer 5

The quotation is fictitious.

The first three clauses are extracted from a part of something he said in Perth, Australia, in 1948; the third of those is actually the title of an article written in 1909 by economist James Laurence Laughlin (with two words added in the middle for grammatical purposes). The final clause is one sentence taken from a speech in the House of Commons in 1945, almost three years before the first portion.

References:
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
[Speech in the House of Commons, October 22, 1945]

“Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy.”
[Speech (May 28, 1948) at the Scottish Unionist Conference, Perth, Scotland]

“SOCIALISM A PHILOSOPHY OF FAILURE”
[J. Laurence Laughlin, , Scribner’s Magazine, May 1909, pg. 613]

Answer 6

Winston Churchill On Socialism

Answer 7

There are certain dangers in socialism. Man needs competition to motivate, to bring out his best attributes. People think that socialism would kill the drive to improve and thus evolve. The problem now is that the only thing that seems motivate mankind is financial gain. In a perfect world, man would be motivated by a thirst for knowledge or a desire to help his fellow man. Maybe someday we will find a balance. This is only short explanation of a very deep and complex statement. Knowing the context may shed more light on the subject.

Answer 8

Well first because he belonged to a privileged class who would definitely find himself uncomfortable in a socialist country.

In a way, socialism is a philosophy of failure (of capitalism) and it would be intellectually dishonest to say that envy had nothing to do with it. It's essentially a reaction against privilege. It does involve the equal share of misery but also of pleasure. And really, how do we justly decide who deserves more pleasure and who deserves more misery? Should it be based on birth,race, sex? All these are arbitrary markers that should never be mistaken for divine will but often have been.

Socialism may not be the ideal solution but I don't think Sir. Churchill had the answer either.

Answer 9

“Fascism, Nazism, Communism and Socialism are only superficial variations of the same monstrous theme—collectivism.” Ayn Rand

Answer 10

"Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money," Margaret Thatcher

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/thatcher.asp#brbxM88isipjflVq.99

Answer 11

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