The Pilgrims Learned the Dangers of Socialism

Here’s a Thanksgiving message for you. Did you know that socialism could have killed the pilgrims? Originally the pilgrims in America lived in a communal setting where everyone contributed all their crops to the governor, and then it was doled out equally for all. But in an attempt to change things and ensure their survival, Governor William Bradford assigned a parcel of land to each family and told them they could keep whatever they grew. It was at this point the pilgrims began to prosper. Governor William Bradford wrote in his book Of Plimoth Plantation “This had very good success, for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.”

It’s a pretty simple principle–people will work harder if they know they can keep what they produce. And the more their property rights are protected by law, and the less is taken from them through taxes, the harder they will work. Currently in the US most people give up about 50% of their income through various taxes, and those who create jobs (the wealthy) give up even more. How many more jobs would we have and much more prosperous a nation would we be if, like the pilgrims, we could relearn the lesson that the more you let people keep the more they’ll produce and society as a whole will be better off for it?