WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ben Shapiro spoke to hundreds of conservative students Thursday afternoon at the 40th annual National Conservative Student Conference, hosted by the Young America’s Foundation. Shapiro is the number one requested conservative speaker in America, and a New York Times bestselling author. Shapiro is an example of bringing “true intellectual diversity, to the university,” said Grant Strobl, YAF national chairman, in his introduction. Shapiro was greeted with a standing ovation and chants of “USA” from conservative students.
Shapiro addressed the myths of the socialist democratic party.
Democratic socialism is not the same as socialism. However, Democrats can never explain why. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others have been asked repeatedly to explain the difference and they never can. Socialist programs redistribute. This is not the same as a socialist country.
Democratic socialism is not in fact force. As long as you state what things are, then they become those things, joked Shapiro. If you say a man is a woman, they he becomes a woman. “Voting for the use of force is still they use of force,” Shapiro said.
Socialism is fairer than capitalism. Socialism is not fair, it is deeply unfair. "Socialism seeks to destroy the system of actions and consequences," asserted Shapiro. Socialism asserts that we should help people in need. “Charity is about my duty to you. Socialism is about my right from you.” Why should rights change because of income status? Socialism violates three of ten commandments: idolatry, theft and jealousy. Why should you care if the guy next door is rich? “Rich people don’t get rich by stealing from poor people because it turns out poor people don’t have money,” said Shapiro. I’m on board to fight poverty, I’m not on board to fight income inequality, Shapiro asserted.
The truth about building a socialist system on top of capitalism is that capitalism creates the strength, and socialism builds a welfare program on the back of the capitalism and sucks the strength out of capitalism.
Socialism works for medicine because the American system is failing. However, the American system of medicine is not actually, a free market system. It is deeply regulated. Any free market system involves a price that you know as a customer and make a decision based on that price. The American system of medicine involves negotiation between health insurance companies and health care providers. However, for the majority of Americans who are insured by their employers, if they lose their job, they lose their insurance.
Capitalism is a giant failure. “Virtually no American lives in poverty by global standards. Poor people in America are still rich people everywhere else,” Shapiro asserted. Wealth is not created by socialism, suffering is created by socialism. “Every single person in this room should be able to take their money and put it where they want,” said Shapiro.
Shapiro closed his speech, outlining the counter argument to the false claims that are asserted by the Democratic Party.
“You can be a moral person and not be a religious person,” said Shapiro, asserting that the counter argument to socialism is the moral argument. “Capitalism has created better, fairer, more moral way of life.”