From makeameme.org
hattiehughs14 asks in this post: @hattiehughs14/week-05-questions-central-planning
In the past, many socialist countries have ultimately turned to totalitarianism. Some say that the United States is on the verge of having a socialist government. If that does happen, how does the U.S. avoid a later transition into totalitarianism?
Socialism, by definition, gives more power to the government through the specialization and free enterprise of goods and services. Power shifts in general usually tip the already wobbly balance of power between government and citizens. That is what leads to totalitarianism, where the government controls most aspects due to its over-extending power. However, we live in the United States, our government was built on the premise of it, not over-extending itself. So, let us imagine a scenario where the majority of elected officials are socialist. These political leaders try to change aspects of the government, to give the government and subsequently, themselves. This will already be a challenging task because changing a law that is firmly set in place takes, time, effort, and staying in the office to see it through. If anything the socialist party does negatively affect the country, the citizens will not vote for them the next term. In addition, a president or elected official can be impeached at any time. There's also the state to consider. Many laws are controlled at the state level. This means that socialism would have to exist at the state level as well in order to completely seize control. In addition, the American people will also reject the idea of totalitarianism, and protest. With the internet connecting people in not only America but the world. People would speak out and protest. And in some extreme cases, riots can break out. What makes America unique is its freedom. The American people have built a society around the concept of having freedom, the idea of losing some of it would make the American people want to vote, protest and fight against the totalitarianism threat. To summarize, not only is our government built around preventing the takeover of totalitarianism, but it's people, in a way, are trained to oppose it.