VERBATIM
The Separatist Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in November 1620
began their new settlement utilizing overtly communist economic
principles. In addition to common ownership of the land, the Pilgrims
farmed corn on a communal plot and divided their harvest evenly amongst
themselves.
This is the theoretical Marxist utopia — minus indoor plumbing, NPR,
MSNBC and portable electronic devices powered by Solyndra solar panels,
naturally. But did this early communist experiment work? Did it
succeed at putting food on the table?
Not according to William Bradford, an early Pilgrim governor of the colony best known today as the “Father of Thanksgiving.”
The communal arrangement initially employed by the Pilgrims was
“found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment
that would have been to their benefit and comfort,” Bradford
wrote in his journal, which was later compiled into
Of Plymouth Plantation.
Why did this arrangement fail? Because as has been the case from
time immemorial, the equitable division of inequitably produced assets
did not sit well with those whose labors yielded the harvest.
“For the young men, that were most able and fit for labor and
service, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to
work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense,”
Bradford wrote.
But enmity amongst settlers wasn’t the real problem encountered at Plymouth — it was a shortage of food. In his book
Mayflower: A Story of Courage Community and War historian Nathaniel Philbrick
discusses how communal farming and common ownership produced a “disastrous harvest.”
Faced with the prospect of starvation, Bradford “decided that each
household should be assigned its own plot to cultivate, with the
understanding that each family kept whatever it grew,” according to
Philbrick.
Not surprisingly this approach replaced infighting and starvation
with harmony and industry — not to mention an abundance of food.
“This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious,
so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any
means the Governor or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of
trouble, and gave far better content,” Bradford wrote.
In other words where top-down planning based on communist ideology
failed — the enforcement of private property rights based on free market
ideology succeeded.
“The change in attitude was stunning,” Philbrick writes. “Families
were now willing to work much harder than they had ever worked before.”
“The Pilgrims had stumbled on the power of capitalism,” Philbrick
added, noting that “although the fortunes of the colony still teetered
precariously in the years ahead, the inhabitants never again starved.”
As the United States moves further away from its free market
foundation this Thanksgiving, the example of Plymouth is worth
considering. It is a cautionary tale — a grim reminder of where the
federal government’s present trajectory is going to take our nation.
Already the “fair share” policies of Barack Obama — who is making
good on his stated desire to “spread the wealth” around — have failed to
produce the promised economic recovery. In fact America’s central bank
is now printing money indefinitely as government’s debt and unfunded
liabilities race past the threshold of sustainability.
The result of this “stimulus?” Income levels are shrinking,
joblessness remains chronically high and economic growth is anemic. And
lurking around the corner are massive tax hikes and the full
implementation of Obama’s socialized medicine law — both of which will
result in additional large-scale shifts from the “makers” to the
“takers” in our society.
Incentivizing dependency has clearly failed to stimulate our economy. From
2000-10, government’s cash assistance to the poor increased by 68 percent —
after adjusting
for inflation. Health care assistance increased by 87 percent, housing
assistance by 108 percent and food assistance by 139 percent — again,
all
after adjusting for inflation. Still, poverty in America climbed from 11.3 to 15.1 percent during that time period.
Government efforts to combat poverty have produced more poverty, in
other words — and based on the ongoing entitlement expansion, the worst
is likely yet to come.
As we gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let’s not
only
remember the lessons of Plymouth — let’s commit to proclaiming the
virtues of self-reliance, property rights and free markets more boldly
than ever. Otherwise we’ll have even less to be thankful about next
year.
***
Howard Rich is chairman of Americans for Limited Government. He is also a syndicated columnist for Liberty Features.
