A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How It Will Trash Your Lives

Paul H. Rubin

Aug 2020 · Bombardier Books

About this eBook

Whenever socialism has been tried, it has led to failure, and often, great human misery. Nonetheless, many young people prefer socialism to capitalism. There are dozens of books and articles explaining the failures of socialism, but these do not seem to have an impact on students. One reason for this may be that the books are written in abstract terms, and do not relate to the lives of the readers. This book takes a different approach. It asks the question, “What will my life be like if I live under socialism?”

Professor Paul Rubin—a leading expert on socialism and capitalism—shows that under socialism:

•     People will be poorer

•     There will be less freedom

•     Goods will be of lower quality but more expensive

•     There will be less innovation

•     The environment will be in worse shape

He also shows that the U.S. is the most productive and richest country that has ever existed, and that the current level of wealth in the U.S. is due to capitalism. Lastly, he demonstrates that many critiques of capitalism (such as, it leads to excessive inequality) are mistaken or ill-founded.

Professor Rubin points out an important paradox. The young people who are the sharpest critics of capitalism are themselves highly dependent in their daily lives on the products of capitalism. These include computers themselves, mobile phones, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Skype, Spotify, computer games, and almost any other modern product. Additionally, the creators of these products are among the “millionaires and billionaires” despised by socialists.

About the author

Paul H. Rubin is Emeritus Dobbs Professor of Economics at Emory University. He has also worked as an economic consultant in Washington D.C. and held several senior positions in the Reagan Administration, including Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers. He has earned several honors, including President of the Southern Economic Association. Professor Rubin has published a dozen books, about one hundred articles in professional journals, and two dozen op-eds in the Wall Street Journal.