Dennis Prager celebrated his birthday on August 2, and all of us at Townhall wish our longtime friend and contributor a very happy birthday. In his honor, we're taking a look back at some of Dennis's work over the years — and, perhaps more importantly, at how remarkably relevant much of it remains today.
In a July 2016 video, Prager said that socialism makes people selfish. A decade later, we're seeing that play out in real time, and Prager's warning is more important than ever: it's almost impossible to undo the deeply ingrained selfishness of socialism once it takes root.
"In the contemporary world, it’s taken as a given that capitalism, with its free market and profit motive, is based on selfishness and produces selfishness. Socialism is based on selflessness and produces selflessness," Prager said. "Whatever its intentions, socialism produces far more selfish individuals and a far more selfish society than a free-market economy does. And once this widespread selfishness catches on, it is almost impossible to undo it."
All we need to do is look at the rhetoric from prominent Democrats and Democratic Socialists to see how accurate Prager's assessment is. Bernie Sanders routinely wages war on the billionaire class (he stopped attacking millionaires once he became one), demanding the government take more of their money to distribute it to people who have less (but not until the government takes its cut).
At a time when the billionaire class has never ever had it so good, a new poll finds that 67% of Americans believe the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes. And they’re right.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 17, 2026
Congress: Listen to the American people. Tax billionaire wealth.
Sanders' "Fight the Oligarchy" travel buddy, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wants to give people "free" healthcare and other socialist schemes.
Why do we stand with @AbdulElSayed?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 30, 2026
Because he’s a fighter for:
Higher wages
Stronger unions
Lower bills
and expanded Medicare
…FOR ALL!
That’s why lobbyists are spending against him - and why your support makes all the difference.
Donate & help today: https://t.co/VKhwiKVaCi pic.twitter.com/7nFxNc694g
Abdul El-Sayed said taxing billionaires is on his agenda, after attacking President Trump, of course.
The first thing we're going to do when we win this Senate seat? Hold Trump accountable. Then, onto the real work – taking on big corporations, taxing billionaires their wealth, and guaranteeing healthcare through Medicare for All. pic.twitter.com/Tx6JspUvPV
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 15, 2026
In Texas, James Talarico says healthcare is a human right.
No one should have to crowdfund their cancer treatment.
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) July 19, 2026
My team and I are in the Rio Grande Valley supporting Cindy Banda, a mother of six fighting cancer — and thousands in medical bills.
I’ll fight to lower healthcare costs for everyone — because healthcare is a human right. pic.twitter.com/0YdjKFWFIh
Of course, saying anything that requires the labor of another person is a human right is calling for, bluntly, slavery. Democrats are requiring people to provide their skills and talents to others for free. Or, in the case of Medicare, for reimbursements far below fair market wages.
The Left also points to the rich whenever they want to claim Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg could "save" healthcare for people. Bernie Sanders did this at the end of July.
If voters in California approve the 5% billionaire wealth tax in November, Mark Zuckerberg would owe $10.5 billion in taxes & healthcare would be saved for 3 million low-income people.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 30, 2026
Poor Mr. Zuckerberg would only have $200 billion left to feed his family. How will he survive?
Ignoring the fact that Zuckerberg doesn't have billions sitting in a vault like Scrooge McDuck, the notion that $10.5 billion would "save" healthcare for three million people is laughable. That comes out to just $3,500 per person.
Socialist schemes are mathematically impossible. If the DSA would enact its platform, taxpayers are looking at an annual tax bill of at least $21,000 a year. On the high end, that bill rises to $64,000 a year. The media income for an American is $62,000. How many Americans can afford to lose one-third of their come or, worse, end up owing $2,000 more than they earn?
Prager notes that this is due to a cultural shift that no longer values or praises becoming an independent adult.
"In various European countries and now increasingly in the US, it is becoming common for young people to live with their parents well into their 30s and not infrequently beyond. And why not? In the welfare state, taking care of yourself is no longer a virtue," Prager said. "Why? Because the government will take care of you."
"Therefore: Socialism enables -- and as a result produces -- people whose preoccupations become more and more self-centered," he continued. This means, to paraphrase John F. Kennedy, that instead of asking what one can do for your country, they're asking what the country can do for them.
We now have a generation who want the government to pay for their education, their healthcare, their vacation, their retirement. Those things then become entitlements, and each entitlement becomes a "right."
That leads to a lack of a vital character trait: gratitude.
"You cannot be happy if you are not grateful and you cannot be a good person if you are not grateful. That’s why we constantly tell our children, 'Say ’thank you.' But socialism undoes that. After all, why would a person be grateful for receiving an entitlement – who’s going to be grateful for getting what they’re entitled to?" Prager said.
All you have to do to see this reality is pay attention to the Democrat platform. The wealthy are the reason why everyone else is struggling, they claim. The only solution is to take money from the wealthy and give it to others without requiring the latter group lift a finger to improve their situation. In fact, the Democrats go so far as to punish those who try to better their lives by putting onerous restrictions on businesses, burdensome taxes, and other hurdles that encourage people to be takers, not makers.
The entire ideology is rooted in greed and selfishness.
A decade after Prager warned that socialism produces far more selfishness than free market capitalism ever could, the evidence is everywhere: a political movement that frames other people’s labor and wealth as its entitlement, that turns “rights” into demands for free healthcare, free education, free housing, and free food, and that teaches an entire generation to not only ask what the country owes them, but to stamp their feet and demand their entitlements. Prager was also right that once that selfishness takes root, it is almost impossible to undo. So it's better not to allow it to take hold in the first place.
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