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Mike Winther talks about asking what the proper role of Government is and what economic system we should have. He emphasizes understanding what socialism is and knowing why it’s right or wrong. He also talks about the type of mindset we should have about socialist programs in agriculture.
Some of the items he features include debate and truth, agricultural policy, socialism, and limited government. He also talks about price and economy, subsidies and fairness, and the burden of proof with quality standards.
You’ll Learn:
- [01:02] Sophists were people in ancient Greece who engaged in debate, but they weren’t concerned about truth. Debate was a game.
- [01:55] When we debate both sides of the issue, it’s easy to walk away from a topic without an actual opinion.
- [02:38] Is there true belief that we should advocate for agricultural policy?
- [03:01] We should ask what the proper role of government is and what economic system we should be operating under.
- [04:07] We spend a lot of time in the area of practicality but not enough in the area of principle.
- [04:36] Socialism is an economic system characterized by government controlled capital or forced redistribution of wealth.
- [06:41] Why might socialism be considered a bad thing?
- [07:26] Socialism violates a number of biblical principles. It violates property rights. There’s a Biblical argument for limited small narrow taxation.
- [09:30] Socialism creates poverty. Nations that have free market systems are wealthier.
- [11:57] Taxes reduce production and make prices go up. People also need to be paid to be the redistributors. This reduces the number of people who are actually producing goods and services.
- [13:13] The welfare state reduces production.
- [14:17] Socialism violates property rights, creates poverty, and promotes envy and covetousness. It creates a mindset of givers and takers.
- [14:53] The study of political science is how we allocate the pie.
- [15:50] Socialism also produces idolatry. It creates an idol or a dependency.
- [17:29] Socialism has become a dominant factor in our society because it’s promoted in the educational system, it’s promoted in the media, inviting people in groups into socialism is also a way to promote it.
- [18:53] We’ve invited farmers into the Socialist system by giving subsidies.
- [20:31] Stabilizing prices is a common argument.
- [22:07] Price is the key to the economy.
- [28:32] Government providing insurance subsidies is like price fixing.
- [30:07] Who defines what quality is with a government enforced standard?
- [31:41] There may well be a limited role of government for environmental protection.
- [33:23] There needs to be a burden of proof for the argument to a high standard.
- [34:25] All of these questions come back to the proper role of government and what economic system we should have.
- [35:00] There should also be a level playing field for government protections. We need a consistent mindset for government programs.