For all I know, Ben Daniels, of the International Socialist Organization, is a great guy. In his Sept. 6 guest column in The Badger Herald, he seemed genuinely compassionate and interested in helping the less fortunate in our country and around the world. He seems to be a patriot and seems to care about making America the best country it can be. He's accurate in saying that the policies of the current administration are harmful to our nation and should be reversed immediately.

Ben's problem — and that of socialists in general — is that they see companies making profits and assume the masses are being exploited, somehow. His diagnosis of the problems facing our nation is wrong, and the solution he prescribes would undoubtedly make the lives of the people he wishes to help decidedly worse.

By stating the production and distribution of goods is controlled by a self-interested minority, Ben implies that most people have no choice in what they buy. Socialists think a majority of people should have a say in what goods and services are produced.

Contrary to what the ISO would have us believe, every single American has an important say in what goods and services are produced and sold in this country. In fact, we have the only say in what gets produced. Every time you go to Walgreens and buy a bottle of Gatorade, you're casting a vote to have more Gatorade produced. Every time a farmer orders a new tractor, he's telling John Deere that he thinks new tractors should be produced. When a particular class fills up within the first few hours of registration, UW students are telling the administration that they should offer more classes similar to the one that already reached capacity.

The system I described above, the one in which we participate every day, is far more democratic than anything socialists have to offer. Our capitalist system lets every American have a say in what goods and services are produced and at what price those goods and services will be sold. At times it may seem cold and calculating, like when businesses lay off a large number of employees or discontinue a certain product consumers really enjoy. But these apparently heartless events are the necessary side effects of our incredibly efficient system.

When these side effects happen to a relative or loved one, the promises made by groups like the ISO sound incredibly tempting. It's easy to envision an unfortunate layoff of thousands of employees as the result of some scheming executives in a dark boardroom. It would be nice to think state-controlled production would create a better world with equality for all.

However, believing an idea because it is comforting does not make that idea any more or less truthful.

The socialist analysis of the problems facing our country is clearly wrong, but the harm caused by socialism doesn't stop there. The solutions proposed by the ISO actually lead to a worse standard of living for the very people they wish to help.

In practice and in theory, state control of production leads to an inefficient allocation of resources and inevitably causes the scarce resources at our disposal to be wasted. Lower output in the economy obviously leads to lower consumption of goods and services by the citizens of the socialist government, which is precisely what Ben and his organization wish to avoid.

Our country is far from perfect. There are serious economic and political problems that need to be addressed and solved if we wish to make America a great nation for all its citizens. However, the solutions provided by the International Socialist Organization are severely flawed and exacerbate the very problems socialists wish to alleviate.

Corey Sheehan ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics and history.