Staff Reports
John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, claims that "socialists are taking over" the United States, which poses a "threat" to the rights enjoyed by Americans.
These statements were delivered by Mackey on Thursday, during an interview he had on a podcast with Reason Magazine. Mackey has previously criticized radical socialist programs, so this is not the first time he has done so. In the past, he has said that his perspective on economics might be characterized as "conscious capitalism."
Naturally, and as many of us are aware, socialists want a large government; they want the government to oversee every element of our lives, including healthcare that is provided by the government, "community policing," which is just another term for getting rid of the police, controlling what is instructed in schools through the teachers union, getting rid of capitalism, and raising taxes to fund all of their fantasy policies, including raising taxes on corporations, that will only be passed on to the consumer.
Some of the politicians that advocate for these socialist policies try to portray them as "helping the working class," and at times, they include the middle class in their messaging. However, this is not the case at all, and it is important to understand this. There have been several attempts to implement socialism, all of which have been met with dismal failure. More people have been driven into poverty by socialism, whereas more people have been brought out of poverty by capitalism. Some of these politicians on the extreme left, as well as the people who support them, desire socialism so that it can eventually develop to communism. During the time of the Soviet Union, this strategy was utilized in an effort to attack capitalism while simultaneously promoting communist ideals. It was a failure.
However, Mackey does have a valid argument despite the fact that it has not worked, will not work, and will never work. There appears to be a trend in the United States that is far to the left, and if we choose to ignore it, those behind it will do all in their power to achieve their goals.
Mack has been quite vocal in his disapproval of the academic community's promotion of socialist views, which he describes as "generally hostile to business." In addition, he has reiterated on several occasions that he believes capitalism to be "the greatest thing that humanity has ever done."
