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Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

Socialism - The Road to Serfdom - By Laurence F. Sanford

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Categories: ASCF News ASCF Articles

Comments: 0

By Laurence F. Sanford, ASCF Senior Analyst

August 22, 2022

Photo: flickr.com

The United States is on the socialist road to serfdom. Recent government actions on this road to hell include: doubling the number of IRS employees to monitor U.S. citizens; Wuhan virus (Covid-19) lockdowns; climate change hysteria; throttling carbon based fuels; funding of green energy to the benefit of Communist China; drug price controls; massive federal spending to debase the currency; and a two tier system of justice.

The book “Road to Serfdom” was written by F.A. Hayek in 1944 during World War II as a warning that every step away from free market capitalism toward government planning was a step away from freedom and a step toward totalitarian dictatorship. Hayek was concerned that government wartime control of life would be carried over to peacetime and that people conditioned to following government orders in wartime, would continue following government orders in peacetime.

Socialism, Fascism, and Communism are of the same totalitarian philosophical school. This school paints a fantasy picture of heaven on earth with all people made happy by abolishing or controlling private property rights, and by the government owning, planning, or controlling the means of production and property. Individual rights and freedoms are eliminated as the government controls and redistributes wealth. In other words, the government confiscates wealth from one group of citizens and gives it to another group of citizens deemed more worthy by the elite.

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect” by Bob Rotella describes how the golfer can not be perfect. To succeed the golfer must strive, with mind and spirit, to seek perfection. All major religions have the same creed of seeking perfection with God. A human, a people, a nation are not perfect. The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution acknowledges human imperfection with “in order to form a more perfect union”. That slavery existed worldwide, including the United States, was a blight on humanity. But Americans in the course of “striving”, eliminated slavery at terrible cost in blood and treasure.

Capitalism is the only economic system compatible with human dignity, prosperity and freedom. The private profit-seeking sector has resulted in the greatest prosperity for more people in history. If government control were the key to prosperity, then Communist societies would be the richest in the world, whereas in fact, they are the poorest. When the Soviet Union fell, did the newly freed captive nations continue with Communism? Yet Progressives continue to believe that the government can fix everything. And as usual, progressive utopian visions lead to dystopian realities. How is green energy working out in Europe? How is inflation working out for the average American?

Fear” is a common feature of totalitarian rule. State Intelligence ministries, such as the KGB/FSB/Gestapo, instill fear and stifle dissent in the population to ensure political control. Deviations from state thought are not allowed. As Beria told Stalin - “Show me the man and I will show you the crime”.

We are seeing in America the manifestations of totalitarian rule.
Cancel Culture routinely shouts down conservative speakers on campus, with the school administration doing nothing to protect the concept of “free speech”.
Silicon Valley social media distorts and bans viewpoints that do not conform to Marxist progressive ideology.
Government doublespeaks Wuhan Virus medical treatment and lockdown
opinions.
The Judicial system has evolved into a two tier system where Capitol Hill trespassers rot in jail and Black Lives Matter rioters, who burned down cities, escape prosecution.
The malicious mainstream media is the propaganda arm of the Marxist progressive agenda. “The 1619 Project” rewrites history.

Cuba, North Korea, and China are ruled by the communist party. China is more of a fascist state since it allows private businesses, although it controls them through mandatory CCP personnel in the organization. Pure communism allows for no ownership of private property. The end result is always the same - poverty and misery of the people.

The best way to measure a country’s worth is to measure “people flow”. How many people are coming to the country versus how many people are leaving? Millions of people are flowing to the United States and Europe. How many people are flowing to Cuba, North Korea, China, Russia, Venezuela?

DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) is a Marxist progressive socialist program to supposedly level the playing field. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet said “the devil has the power to assume a pleasing face”. The more appropriate acronym should be DIE because socialism means people will die, both physically and spiritually. Progressives believe the elite should control because they are smarter than you and I. “Animal Farm” written by George Orwell in 1945 is a fairy tale of farm animals overthrowing the human farmer so they all can be equal. Of course, after the overthrow, no such equality happens, and the pigs take control over the other farm animals. Orwell also wrote “1984” which is frighteningly prescient of today.

Summary - Of the People, By the People, For the People
The United States has a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” with freedom and prosperity.
Totalitarian socialism has people who are simply cogs of the government with dystopian dictatorship and poverty.

We have met the enemy and he is us.

Citizens of America - Unite

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