On an upcoming episode of mtvU’s “Stand In” liberal comedian turned political commentator Bill Maher will lecture a UCLA political science class on the merits of socialism.
Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, will give students his perspective on government, “spitting in the face of right-wing critics,” according to MTV, and arguing that, “We already have Socialism in America.”
Maher better known among conservatives for calling former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin a c**t and recently for claiming, “Ann Romney has never gotten her ass out of the house to work.”
In a preview of the show, which is set to air on Monday, May 7 at 12 pm EST, Maher claims, “All countries in the world today are hybrids between capitalism and socialism – all successful democracies in the West, anyway.”
Maher points to a number of our country’s entitlement programs to claim we already have socialism in America, therefore we should embrace certain aspects of the ideology.
“The government does nothing but pass out money to people, but they hate that word socialism,” he says.
We can only assume the “they” Maher repeatedly cites in the preview is referring to conservatives.
Of course Maher’s reasoning is an overly simplistic way of looking at politics and economics.
Just because we have some government involvement in the economy, does not mean we should support a system where government becomes responsible for every aspect of our lives.
Perhaps the most ignorant statement Maher makes while trying to educate the students is when he tries to differentiate between” American socialism” and “European socialism” by claiming the difference is that “theirs works.”
Ignoring America’s history or success without socialism, let us look at a few of the ways in which European Socialism “works” in areas Maher mentions:
Greece has spent the last several years in and out of default because of their inability to pay their debts.
Italy and Spain are also on the verge of defaulting and will likely require bailouts soon from their European counterparts.
All of this means that the Euro currency continues to lose value, and Europeans must work harder for less.
Furthermore, on the issue of Healthcare, a study earlier this year found four patients die of thirst or malnutrition in UK hospitals every single day.
Almost every new medical innovation is discovered in America because government price controls limit research funding and medical access in European countries.
In other words, European socialism does “work” better than “American socialism,” but only if the definition of success is the creation of a less wealthy, less free and less healthy population.
MTV ought to choose guest lecturers more wisely in the future. Empty indoctrination doesn’t benefit the students on screen or the viewers.
