SWhiting - my reference to the massive number of deaths and misery caused by socialism is explained by the drag on economic growth and living standards caused by having more socialism. A 1% difference in annual GDP growth will, other things being equal, cause millions of premature deaths of children and old people over the space of several decades due to worse medical care, lower living standards, worse diets, less availability of food and clean drinking water, less medical research, lower production of medicines and pharmaceuticals, less skilled medical professionals, more risk taking due to lower time preference and higher interest rates etc.
Economic growth saves lives. Knowingly retarding it by implementing socialism is equivalent to culpable mass murder. People who through no fault of their own are ignorant of economics can be forgiven for making this mistake, however such people should not make pronouncements which require economic knowledge if they clearly don't have it. Educated people who *have* studied the economic theory & consequences of socialism vs capitalism have no such excuse. They are consequentially, if not morally, equivalent to mass murderers.
There are areas of legitimate dispute as to whether more or less free markets are a good or bad thing e.g. medical insurance, the legal system, national defence, high pressure/misleading sales etc. But on the whole, the case is overwhelmingly proven that socialism across the vast majority of industries and services results in more poverty, worse products at higher prices, and thus more deaths and misery. Also, given that most socialists equate wealth with "real freedom", socialism makes people less "free" and more powerless too.
