In a sharply worded commentary published on American Thinker, author D. Parker makes the case that economic freedom is the clear victor over what he calls the ‘cruelty of communism’ — and that the left’s current surge in popularity rests on historical amnesia and misleading polls.
Parker, an engineer and longtime conservative writer, opens with a blunt declaration: ‘Say it loud and proud: Economic freedom beats the cruelty of communism.’ He acknowledges that ‘crazy communism is a threat,’ but insists its lies are ‘easily beaten with the reality that it’s nothing but societal slavery.’
A return to ‘square one’
The piece expresses disbelief that ideas widely discredited over the past two centuries are being seriously debated again. Parker references the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre as historical touchstones that should have settled the argument — yet he sees the current political climate as a retreat into what he terms ‘historical amnesia.’
He tempers this with skepticism about recent Democratic primary successes, pointing to what he describes as ‘bogus polls’ and a ‘very suspicious bias reaching back a few years.’ Citing data from political analyst Patrick Ruffini, Parker notes that August polls have overestimated Democratic support in each of the last six election cycles, with errors ranging from +1.5 points in 2018 to +6.0 in 2020.
The economic argument
Despite what he calls ‘incessant propaganda from the national socialist media,’ Parker insists the U.S. economy is strong. He cites full employment — defined as roughly 4 percent unemployment — stable macroeconomic growth, lower taxes (especially for those earning tips, overtime, or Social Security), and rising real incomes that he says declined under Biden but are now recovering under Trump.
He also points to Federal Reserve (FRED) data showing the current probability of a recession in the next 12 months at just 0.04 percent, noting that this model has accurately predicted the last three recessions.
Who pays for the ‘freebies’?
Parker argues that socialist promises of free health care, housing, and other benefits conveniently ignore a fundamental problem: someone has to produce the wealth to pay for them. He invokes the famous maxim ‘from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs,’ noting that the first part — the production requirement — is always omitted from glossy propaganda materials.
He warns that once property rights are crossed for one group, they are crossed for all, and that wealth redistribution is a ‘double-edged sword’ that cuts both ways. Any handout, he says, comes with strings attached and can be throttled or cut off at any time to force compliance. The worst-case scenario, he adds, is ending up in a concentration camp.
Parker references a recent Laura Ingraham video with the warning: ‘They’re coming for YOUR PAYCHECK.’ He argues that millionaires alone cannot fund the promises being made, and that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) isn’t being upfront about costs.
Citing a Federalist report, Parker claims the DSA is ‘fully aware of the horrors of socialism’ but doesn’t care as long as it gains power. He writes that socialists know about the failures of socialism — including the evils of Castro’s dictatorship — but pursue power anyway, hiding behind promises of free health care and housing to justify any means necessary, including jailing, starving, or killing opponents.
Language as a weapon
The commentary urges conservatives to reclaim the language battle. Parker notes that the left has long exploited positive-sounding words like ‘progressive’ while painting ‘capitalism’ as a pejorative. He advocates reversing that trend by using the term ‘communazi’ — a coinage from 1939 — as an ‘in-your-face refutation’ of the left’s claims.
He also disputes the left’s self-description as ‘anti-fascist,’ pointing to dictionary definitions that describe fascism as a strongly nationalistic movement favoring government control of business, or a system where property is privately owned but all industry is regulated by a strong national government. By that definition, he argues, fascism is a collectivist left ideology, not the opposite of socialism.
Instead of defensive language, Parker calls for promoting positive phrases like ‘economic freedom’ and ‘free enterprise’ — a system he says has worked for 250 years and lifted millions out of poverty. He cites a video from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation that poses the question: ‘What do you call a person who is not free to live their life as they see fit but is controlled at every level by someone else? The answer is a slave.’
Parker concludes by urging conservatives to force the left into a debate over socialism’s record — one he believes they are ‘bound to lose.’
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/economic-freedom-beats-the-cruelty-of-communism/