We were told the story of Thanksgiving ad nauseam in
elementary school – the Pilgrims arrived in America, and facing an unexpected
harsh winter, almost starved to death. They were then saved by the Native
American Indians, who showed them how to grow corn and catch wild birds. And
then the first Thanksgiving feast happened. End of story.
But is that what really
happened ? Not at all. The original pact that the Pilgrims entered into
together called for all their product (produce, clothing, et cetera) to be put
into a “common store,” and every one would get a “common share.” In other
words, the Pilgrims were socialists – they did not get to keep their earnings,
instead they had to “spread the wealth around.”
So how did that work out for the Pilgrims? Not so well. Why
plant crops when you will still get fed? Why sew clothing when you will still
be clothed? Soon, the nonworking Pilgrims outnumbered the working ones. So
quickly after the socialist experiment started, the Pilgrims were cold and
hungry. Not surprising, right?
Faced with potentially being wiped out by dwindling food
stock in winter, William Bradford (the leader of the Pilgrims) decided to toss
out the socialism model, and usher in a free-market model. The Pilgrims were
all given a plot of land to do with what they pleased, and naturally after that
no one went hungry or cold. More specifically, now that Pilgrims could buy and
sell (and own) goods, there was a motive to be a productive member of their
society, and so that society flourished. The Pilgrims short socialist
experiment was over, and the long and glorious history of capitalism in America
was beginning.
What’s the moral of the story? Socialism has been tried, and
it quickly failed. Miserably. Why go back to ideas that were abandoned in the
17th century? Be thankful this year that while our capitalist system
is under attack, we have the freedom to protect and preserve it. You and I have
learned this lesson, but people in power have not. Feel free to spread this story
around.
Have a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving.
[SOURCE
1]
[SOURCE
2]
[Read
Rush Limbaugh’s own telling of the Pilgrim’s failed socialist experiment.]
