Socialism… Still Not Cool

There is a disturbing trend of politicians and their enablers trying to make socialism cool again. Larry White gives it a fitting label — “Murder Chic.”First came the “communist party” shirts — a clever-enough cartoon depicting Stalin, Lenin, Marx, Castro, and Mao having a rowdy time.Then those hideous fur hats came into vogue.But perhaps most unsettling is Kristen Ghodsee’s new book, Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, which has the truly Orwellian subtitle, “And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.”Let that sink in for a second…Luckily, few are falling for the propaganda.Ghodsee’s book sales are in the basement (#432,614 in Books and #776 in Communism & Socialism alone), while Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World is already ranked #1 among new releases in the “Beers” category; 38,000th (and climbing) overall — a full week before the release!The book is a hilarious new broadside by the The Independent Institute’s Ben Powell and his co-author Robert Lawson.“In Cuba… the central planners decided they only need two kinds [of beer]… Both taste like Budweiser that’s been left out in the sun.”Powell and Lawson know that academic arguments did not cause the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rather, it was the superiority of goods and services available in West Berlin that forced the Soviet tyrants to let their people go… shopping. The book demonstrates this with flair—comparing the swill from former Soviet-bloc countries to the diverse and alluring brews of the free world.What better way to dismantle the new wave of socialist propaganda than to launch Socialism Sucks to the top of the Amazon best-seller rankings before its launch?Ben Powell returns to the show this Sunday to share his journey “drinking his way through the unfree world.”Want to annoy a commie?A good buzz may be the most effective form of persuasion out there.Help set Ben and Bob’s book to #1 in the Communism in Socialism category. Listen to the show now.