Conservative author and activist Ben Shapiro spoke at the University of Minnesota this week, despite protests from campus progressives. During his talk, he offered a sharp distinction between socialism and capitalism.
As usual, a massive security presence was required for the event.
Anders Hagstrom reports at the Daily Caller:
Hundreds Of Police Officers Protect Audience At Ben Shapiro’s St. Paul SpeechConservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s appearance at the University of Minnesota went off without incident Monday night, thanks to 100 cops who surrounded the lecture hall with concrete barriers.Dozens of protesters gathered outside the lecture hall in an attempt to prevent people from attending, but they were held back by police, City Pages reported Tuesday. The largest obstacle to attendance, however, was the venue itself. U of M students requested a larger event venue for Shapiro’s speech, but the administration relegated him to the smaller 400-person venue after students protested and claimed he was a white nationalist. As a result, there wasn’t enough room for many of the students who wished to attend.“We’re besieged because of our views,” Abdi Mohamed told, who was turned away from the venue for lack of space, told City Pages. “We have to have this militaristic guard just to share a couple opinions.”
Shapiro noted that many college-aged people today seem to want socialism. But as he pointed out, socialism is the opposite of freedom.
From the FOX News Insider:
‘Socialism Itself Is Tyranny’: Shapiro Addresses MN College Students Amid ProtestsIn his speech, Shapiro touched on a number of subjects, including the “tyranny” of socialism.”Capitalism is good because capitalism is freedom,” Shapiro argued. “Socialism is bad because socialism is tyranny. Not ‘it’s an aspect of tyranny.’ Socialism itself is tyranny.”He explained that the core principle of socialism is that an individual’s labor is owed to society.”The notion of socialism is that you do not own your own freedom, you do not own your own time, you do not own your own labor, you do not own your own work, you do not own the products of your own work,” Shapiro said.He said the notion of capitalism, on the other hand, is that you own all of those things and must engage in a free exchange with others who do not owe you anything.
Watch the video below:
We shouldn’t be surprised that so many young people today find socialism appealing. They have been told all their lives that everything must be fair. Now they are being told by people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren that college should be free and that poverty is the fault of people who have more wealth than others.
Featured image via YouTube.
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