The Ethics of Socialism

From Cuba, we are hearing that corruption has reached epidemic levels:

A common refrain heard on Cuban streets is that the difficulty of making ends meet has turned ordinary Cubans into petty criminals.
Stealing from state workplaces or operating small, illegal businesses is so common that Cubans dismiss it as an almost acceptable part of daily life.

This is a problem in any socialist economy. Most people find it impossible to earn a decent living from their jobs working for the state. They have to steal or work in "unlicensed" jobs or private businesses in order to survive. Of course, the Castro regime will have some convenient excuse for the island's sick economy:

In his November 2005 speech, the aging Cuban leader blamed the problem in part on the so-called "Special Period," Cuba's term for the austerity after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, its main trading partner.

And I am sure that the left both here and in Cuba will blame the US embargo, in spite of the fact that Cuba can trade with the rest of the world.

Socialist economies are rife with corruption, because socialism itself is corrupt. It is a failed system whereby a handful of government officials make all of the decisions concerning the economy. It is based on the flawed premise that the state is entitled to fruit of every man's labor and private property is forbidden. Power corrupts and it inevitably leads to mass poverty and inefficiency. Sadly, this is exactly where some people in the US would like to lead us. Even to this day, we are seeing efforts by some of the state governments, such as California, to impose state-run health insurance on employers and employees. That such measures will lead to worse, not better health care, and spawn massive corruption, is inevitable. And we are also hearing noises coming from Washington in favor of increasing socialist security taxes.

The only way for the government to run an economy is to leave it alone. Provide for the national defense and for the rule of law. Enforce contracts and have an independent judiciary. All else should be handled by private decisions by private individuals.