Peter Schiff - Socialist Compassion vs Capitalist Greed

Peter Schiff and Joe Rogan on attractiveness of socialism.
 

Source: PowerfulJRE YouTube channel.

Joe Rogan:

This is where people are at today. One of the concerns with the way our country is going is, there are a lot of people that are just leaning towards what they feel is the right way to go or all their peers agree is the right way to go, and it's going to lead to a better future. But a lot of the people making these decisions don't have a lot of life experience. You got a tremendous amount of momentum for 18 – 19 -20 year old people. And when they hear something like 'free market capitalism is going to fix the world', one of the things that bothers them the most is that they associate free market capitalism with greed. With greed and money over people. The problem is the way they promoted themselves. When someone says I'm a libertarian, there's a lot of people that automatically say …

Peter Schiff:

Socialists are doing a better job of selling their ideology than the capitalists, and capitalism is getting blamed for a lot of the problems that socialism is creating. But, when people are saying somebody is greedy, we are all greedy in the sense that we all want the best for ourselves and our families. We all want to go out and make money so that we can have a better life and buy more things that we feel will make us happy.

Joe Rogan:

Yes.

Peter Schiff:

Again, what people have to understand is capitalism channels that greed in a very positive way. Because in order for somebody to enrich themselves in a free market, they need the voluntary cooperation of other people. They need to be able to provide the goods and services that are better, lower cost, higher quality than somebody else. And they have to provide employment opportunities. They have to provide people with better jobs than somebody else, because usually you can't have a company unless you can get people to work for you. So you have to have good jobs and good products. It benefits the customers and the workers.

Joe Rogan:

Peter, I agree with you're saying. But what I'm saying is that in the general public's view, when you say free market capitalism, they equate mean. When you say socialism, they equate kind. This is the problem. There's a problem, not even nearly as much as philosophy or fact or history of, like when you are talking about free market, but rather the way the public perceives it. When they think of socialism they think it is good and healthy and warm and loving and inclusive, and they think that's the future. I don't know what socialism have done to market themselves so well.

Peter Schiff:

And they have to understand that socialism is legalized theft. There is nothing benevolent or caring about theft.

Joe Rogan:

Yes.

Peter Schiff:

I don't care if the thief is well intentioned. It's immoral. Capitalism is moral. It's honest. And it's what lifts people out of poverty. The world is littered with examples of socialists that have impoverished people. And you know, there are various forms of socialism. There's communism, there's fascism. Millions ans millions of people have been slaughtered in the name of this failed ideology. And in every country that has embraced it, it has impoverished everybody. They don't share the wealth, they destroy the wealth. They make everybody equal by impoverishing everybody.

Joe Rogan:

But Peter, why is it so attractive?

Peter Schiff:

And then what happens is the rich people under socialism are the people with political connections.

Joe Rogan:

But Peter, but why is it so attractive then? Why are so many young progressive ideologically left wing kids attracted to the idea of socialism? Annd why is capitalism so negative to them?

Peter Schiff:

Why do so many five-year olds believe in Santa Claus?

Joe Rogan:

Because you lie to them.

Peter Schiff:

It's a nice idea. Some guy comes down the chimney and gives you a bunch of presents.

Joe Rogan:

Right, but you are agreeing you lie to them about Sant Claus, that's a willful lie.

Peter Schiff:

But you don't have to tell them, they figure it out. I mean, eventually, the kid is old enough. So this is what happens with socialism. When you are a young guy or a young woman, and you don't have any real life experience, you haven't worked, you haven't had a business, you haven't been out in real world, you live with your parents, you go to school, and socialism sounds good. I mean, in theory it sounds great, but you don't have any real life experience. By the time you are older, and you've been in the real world, and you've paid taxes, and you've seen the consequences, you start to understand more. And then you give up your childish beliefs. The problem with a lot of these older socialists, like Sanders, it's like a kid that never grows up. It's like somebody who is seventy and still believes in Santa Claus. Like they never figured it out. Sanders never figured out that there is no Santa Claus. He thinks that Santa Claus is the US government. And we can get all this stuff for free, if we are just nice.

Joe Rogan:

I would love to lock you two in a room and film it for like six hours …

Peter Schiff:

I would debate any big socialist that you could get on your show.

Joe Rogan:

I am sure you would, Peter!

Peter Schiff:

I'd love to do it.

Joe Rogan:

Socialism has a really attractive, even though it has, what you were saying before, it has all these deaths connected to it and no success, it's got this really attractive .. maybe if we just tried one more time. This is really attractive. It's something that's inside of the people that are compassionate. So like maybe if we tried one more time and get it right.

Peter Schiff:

Yea. It's not my version of capitalism. That's capitalism. What we have now is not capitalism.

Joe Rogan:

When I say your version, I mean the way you describe it.

Peter Schiff:

People who are mean, actual mean people, don't succeed in business. They piss off their customers, they piss off their workers. They lose their customers, their employees quit, and they get better jobs from people who treat them fairly. Customers go where they get a good deal. I want to put my faith in individuals and the free market, not a bunch of bureaucrats. These guys are out for themselves. Don't think they are there to be public servants. They are there to enrich themselves. That's who you have to be suspicious of. That's where greed is damaging. When you take greed and combine it with political power. That's when it is a problem. In a free market, it just helps me. It's government that hurts me.