Too many Americans have forgotten the lessons of the past. Let’s remind them.
Death, taxes, false prophets selling socialism as a panacea — these are the inevitabilities of human life. No matter the scale of its most recent failure, or the number of people who, chastened, insist that the End of History is nigh, socialism always seems to return for more. There is no such thing on earth as a lesson permanently learned, or an argument perennially won. As night follows day, so the past’s most disastrous ideas come back to seduce and insinuate. Our era is not exempt from these rules. No era is. Once again, we are charged with fighting off the menace.
This time, the wolf has shown up in wolf’s clothing. As I write, the Democratic Party’s primary season is being dominated by a man who, far from rejecting the socialist label, has proudly embraced it. And why wouldn’t he? In poll after poll, the members of his adoptive Democratic Party have expressed more-positive views toward socialism than toward capitalism. Those who object to Bernie Sanders’s rise have proposed that he is staging a hostile takeover of the party. But that, alas, is not quite right. Bernie has made his arguments, and his arguments have been well received. Americans are forgetting what they had learned.
Before long, Sanders may be making his case before the entire nation. And, when he does, National Review will be prime among those who stand up in response and say, “No! Not this time. Not next time. Not ever.” This magazine was founded to resist collectivism of all sorts, be it home or abroad, and that is exactly what we will continue to do. Week by week, year by year, decade by decade, we work to remind Americans of what is true and what is important, the better to help them reject the timeless siren songs of untrammeled statism and the perfectibility of man.
In the past year, we have published a number of special issues in which we have pressed the argument against socialism and in favor of free markets and individual liberty. At National Review, in homage to our inaugural editorial, we like to talk about “yelling Stop!” And yet, we are not merely against what Bernie Sanders and co. wish to impose on the nation; we are for something infinitely better. The United States is in the enviable position of having the greatest constitution and the most dynamic economy that the world has ever seen. To sacrifice this blessing on the altar of socialism would be an act of enormous vandalism and incalculable ingratitude. America is, as it has always been, the last great hope of mankind. Protecting it as it was designed is a sacred obligation.
In the United States today, we focus a great deal on elections and on personalities, and not enough on ideas. If we are to survive, this will need to change. At National Review, we are fortunate to have a readership that cares deeply about our mission and has sustained it for more than six decades. Today, we are asking again for sustenance.
For those who would like to support NR’s ongoing efforts to battle resurgent socialism, personified by Bernie Sanders (and so many other presidential aspirants and Democratic officeholders), make your selfless and generous donation here. If you prefer to send a donation by check, make it payable to “National Review” and mail it to National Review, ATTN: Defeat Socialism, 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY 10036.