Locus of Control: Socialism vs. Individualism Part I

Locus of control is a psychology term which refers to a person's belief about what causes the good or bad results in their life. An internal locus means that a person sees themselves as responsible for good or bad things that happen in their life because they control their own lives. Socialists focus on an external locus where people are not in control of their lives and the results, good or bad do not come from the individual, but that the control in there lives came from outside forces and in the case of socialism, from a collective. This comparison may seem facile to some, but it is direct, relevant and correlative. This external locus of control was prominent in past cultures and society when the church had much more influence in people's lives and most countries were monarchies. People had little or no say in the lives, were poorly if at all educated, and  where at the mercy of authoritarian whim. 

In the last 200 or so years, we have seen that democracy has replaced monarchies and people have become more independent, educated, and more importantly, informed. In the case of the United States, a rugged individualism replaced feudal and ecclesiastical supplication, peonage and darkness. We had the resources for man to expand his horizons and define his boundaries through sheer will, hard work, and risk. With this came the responsibility for success or failure. The locus of control turned inward. 

We now find ourselves at a point in time where there is transition again. Socialism promulgates the external locus of control, therefore responsibility, and affects to people's lives. Whenever you hear a socialist, or as I call them in today's instance, Neo-Coms, it is always someone or something outside the individual that is responsible for the bad things that may happen to them, and the good things as well. Everyone is a victim. For instance, the wealthy take a beating in socialist circles. They have been blamed for just about everything from the latest credit and financial crunch, to why people do not have healthcare, which is not the issue, but rather who will pay your healthcare bills. Conversely, when good things happen, it's the community that did it, as in it takes a village. 

The layer beneath this mechanism is that socialism and or better put, agents of socialism are dealing with an increasingly ignorant population, in spite of the overload of information, a society that has forgotten and is ignorant about themselves, how they got there, and what made and makes them great. Call it the death of American Exceptionalism. Steve Deace would say we lost our vision. We are both correct. Are socialism and it's agents responsible for this or are they just taking advantage of it? You could argue both. The point is that people are becoming less self-sufficient, self-reliant, have more information available, but cannot discern truth. The rugged individual is becoming extinct and socialism in all it's collective glory is on the rise. I will continue this thread on Friday in Part II of this article subtitled, "Political and Social Entropy". 

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