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The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (Politically Incorrect Guides) [Paperback]

Kevin D Williamson
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 10, 2011 Politically Incorrect Guides

Stalin’s gulag, impoverished North Korea, collapsing Cuba...it’s hard to name a dogma that has failed as spectacularly as socialism. And yet leaders around the world continue to subject millions of people to this dysfunctional, violence-prone ideology.

In The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Socialism, Kevin Williamson reveals the fatal flaw of socialism—that efficient, complex economies simply can’t be centrally planned. But even in America, that hasn’t stopped politicians and bureaucrats from planning, to various extents, the most vital sectors of our economy: public education, energy, and the most arrogant central–planning effort of them all, Obama’s healthcare plan.

In this provocative book, Williamson unfolds the grim history of socialism, showing how the ideology has spawned crushing poverty, devastating famines, and horrific wars. Lumbering from one crisis to the next, leaving a trail of economic devastation and environmental catastrophe, socialism has wreaked more havoc, caused more deaths, and impoverished more people than any other ideology in history—especially when you include the victims of fascism, which Williamson notes is simply a variant of socialism.

Williamson further demonstrates:

Why, contrary to popular belief, socialism in theory is no better than socialism in practice
Why socialism can’t exist without capitalism
How the energy powerhouse of Venezuela, under socialism, has become an economic basket case subject to rationing and blackouts
How socialism, not British colonialism, plunged the bountiful economy of India into stagnation and dysfunction—and how capitalism is rescuing it
Why socialism is inextricably linked to communism

If you thought socialism went into the dustbin of history with the collapse of the Soviet Union, think again. Socialism is alive and kicking, and it’s already spread further than you know.

Frequently Bought Together

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (Politically Incorrect Guides) + The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism + The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal (The Politically Incorrect Guides)
Price for all three: $41.06

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Editorial Reviews

Review

[This book will] ". . . sound the alarm to alert all patriots and arm them with the facts they need to fight the good fight."

\\bit.ly/fXILVJ --Prudence Paine, prudencepaine.com

"Eviscerating. Williamson outlines the fine hashes socialism and Communism have made in the countries in which they have been imposed." --National Review

"Required reading." --Mark Levin Show

From the Inside Flap


What’s the central characteristic of socialism? That’s easy—it’s failure.

From North Korea to the American public education system, from Venezuelan oil companies to ObamaCare, the reports of socialism’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Although the Soviet Union collapsed in ignominy, the central planning impulse that guided it endures in countless industries and government policies throughout the world. As Kevin Williamson explains in this myth–busting book, socialism never works because it can’t work. It assumes the authorities have all–knowing planning abilities that human beings don’t possess—and can’t possess. This central flaw has resulted in crushing poverty, devastating famine, and even mass murder. And yet the socialist “dream” is spreading—including here in America.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Regnery Publishing (January 10, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1596986492
  • ISBN-13: 978-1596986497
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.8 x 8.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
(58)
3.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
163 of 196 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This is it. December 30, 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just finished reading this book cover to cover... if you want THE best-packaged book that explains to you why socialism destroys civilizations, this is it. You cannot beat the price for knowledge and insight that government education fights hard to hide from you. A great complement to "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell, and loaded with logical and empirical firepower that will make you invincible in debates...if you can remember all of it!
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107 of 132 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and thought provoking December 28, 2010
Format:Paperback
Despite the treatise presented by the reviewer mianfei (who sounds like he has some dogma issues of his own), I wholeheartedly recommend this book. If you live in a world where your government delivers efficient, cost effective services with no unintended consequences you probably won't like this book, but if you live on planet Earth there is much insight to be gained from this book. Particularly for those of us who don't spend our lives studying political theory, this is a good primer that cuts through the clutter of the chattering heads on TV. It's easy to yell "Socialist!" at someone you view as too liberal, but it's not particularly useful, and most people don't understand what socialism really means. This book goes a long ways towards defining it, explaining its attraction to a certain class of people, and why socialism ultimately destroys those systems it seeks to perfect.
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97 of 121 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Body Counts January 3, 2011
By Rizzuto
Format:Paperback
In The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism, Kevin Williamson goes beyond the typical critiques of socialism that often over emphisize the body counts that 20th century socialists managed to accrue. While the body count is still present, Williamson manages to strike the root of socialism by explaining the practical reasons why it is, in all of its incarnations, destined for the dustbin of history.

Looking at socialism from a decidedly Austrian perspective, Williamson tackles a range of issues from the inherent flaws of central planning to Labor Theory of Value, as well as socialist/progressive sacred cows like public schooling and universal healthcare.

Great for the casual reader as well as the seasoned political veteran. Another fine addition to an already great series of books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect guide to socialism
Someone who thinks Obama is a socialist knows nothing about socialism, and shouldn't write a book about it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Oivind
5.0 out of 5 stars Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism
I wanted to understand Socialism after having worked for a Brokerage Firm as a teletype operator a while ago watching my coworker buy and sell stock all day making 1/4 point here... Read more
Published 2 months ago by BravoBilly
4.0 out of 5 stars The Politically Incorrect Guide To Socialism.
Excellent book that shows the flaws of Socialism even in its evolved form. It hasn't worked and it won't work.
Published 3 months ago by Patricia Milligan
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Though I agree with the author's exposure of Socialism as a failure, the book itself is not the best choice for those seeking clarity on this subject. Read more
Published 3 months ago by anonymous
3.0 out of 5 stars Less than I'd Hoped For
I first became aware of Kevin Williamson and his book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism" through an interview he did on CSPAN's Book TV. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Tim
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
This book contains a lot of facts I knew and others I verified about a subject usually off limits. The failures of socialism and the inevitable fascist nature of socialist... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ace Rimmer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism (Politically Incorrect...
If only more people could read this book so many dumb policies could be avoided. In simple examples the book shows the futility and harm caused by Marx's ideas.
Published 10 months ago by Plato
1.0 out of 5 stars Less content than a TV political ad
The PIG guide to socialism is thought-provoking and easy to read. As a popular level book that reads like a set of blog posts--one that may, admirably, even get readers to continue... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Danni102
3.0 out of 5 stars Collection of Factoids
A good collection of factoids about socialism, but not a clear plot about the effects of socialism building to climax, just a collection of facts. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Paul
5.0 out of 5 stars Had to bump it up
i own 5 of these PIG books. I plan to purchase this book as well as the Vietnam PIG book. We all know these gangs of liberals just wait for conservative books to be publish and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sparrow
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Why not a "Politically Incorrect Guide to Fascism"?
The one new thing that I learned about fascism when I read Goldberg's book, "Liberal Fascism," is that fascism is a political system rather than an economic system. Goldberg's point was that fascism was not necessarily militarist or even right wing but his emphasis on the fascism of... Read more
Nov 18, 2012 by NotAPartyGirl |  See all 6 posts
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