Rival Gangs

"Why do you kids live like there's a war on?"
--Doc (West Side Story)

In a timely follow-up to our recent post, this article observes that socialists of different stripes (e.g., communists vs fascists) tend to dislike each other. Yes, they all advocate the use of aggression against private property and liberty. But the various socialist sects disagree on how that violence is to be administered and how the stolen loot is to be divided.

As Mises smartly noted:

"The worst thing that can happen to a socialist is to have his country ruled by socialists who are not his friends."

Thus we have Stalinists vs Trotskyists, Soviets vs Nazis, communists vs fascists, etc.

Differing brands of socialism foster what amounts to rival gangs, fighting each other to gain authority over all.