Zambians reject socialist “human rights.”
The large group of delegates that is currently dealing with the task of changing the Zambian constitution is reported to have derisively laughed out loud when a “human rights” clause was presented to it for inclusion in the next constitution. The clause basically stated that every Zambian has a fundamental right to shelter, food, water, etc, to be secured by the state. Fortunately, most of the delegates are apparently not educated enough to have abandoned common sense. They instantly and intuitively knew that this was laughable nonsense. One of them even stood up and correctly protested that this would only lead to unsustainably high taxes for the more productive citizens. Another one feared that this kind of idea sounded even worse than the policies of Zambia’s first (socialist) president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.
Most of the older Zambians can still remember what happens when you have policies that guarantee any form of “caring” for the poor: you simply get more people joining the ranks of the poor every day.
The Zambian people are not unique in relying on common sense to know when the educated elite are trying to impose their silly Utopian ideas on them. The people of the USA also rejected recent proposals by their new president that try to implement a (healthcare) Utopia. They too gave the same kind of arguments as the Zambians, driven by a grassroots movement called the “Tea Party” movement.
Unfortunately for Americans, their Marxist president seems to have prevailed so far by already having his hugely unpopular socialist bill passed into law. And in typical elitist fashion, he has decided that he will go around the country to try to explain to Americans why they are too stupid to understand his ideas. And to literally add insult to injury, he even claims that it is his policies that represent “common sense,” even though human history is replete with examples of countries that tried to do just this, always with predictably disastrous long-term results. Mr. Obama believes that Europe has implemented similar policies with great results.
The nation of Greece is already languishing from the inevitable long-term results of such Utopian ideas as we speak, but the American president somehow still insists that his ideas represent common sense.
I think common sense is knowing that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But even more, it is knowing that many people will be lazy when you politically promise to protect them from poverty and its painful effects.
How is this not common sense?
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=8205
May 24, 2010 at 11:49 am
Dear Chanda,
‘Unfortunately for Americans, their Marxist president seems to have prevailed so far by already having his hugely unpopular socialist bill passed into law’.
…I am not an Obama supporter but I do however, support this bill. Greece is a wrong example to cite as you are fully aware that in most countries, Canada, UK, Germany Australia, Japan too many to mention have enjoyed universal health care for years. Greece’s predicament is imbedded within the policies of European Union/Euro-currency. Although, universal health care leads to higher taxes and has severe sustainability issues, society-the poor need basic health care that can/could subsidised. Education for all though private/state based on choice and affordability has been in place for ages based on the argument of human rights, why should basic health be excluded? What is the role of Government in society….? There is a need to scrutinise ideological policies to see how far they go in order to to substantiate such arguments. America is the driver of capitalist initatives….but then again at level of government does the US/Britain/EU…adopt socialistic tendencies and why? This boils down to governance driven by market forces. With currrent high unemployment levels in the West, would you blame any government to take the action like that of the Obama administration? Loook at Zambia for instance, unemployment has never been catogorised as low for decades, basic education and health is subsidised/free but there is always choices for the rich…that fly to SA on tax payers expense. The role government plays is to create some form of balance between public and private. Therefore, your marxist argument against Obama on the health care bill clearly needs furtther exploration in justifying the critical role of goverment in todays society.