Q&A: Arise, shake yourself off, your impoverished people, a people of slaves and gaunt with hunger
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Arise, shake yourself off, your impoverished people, a people of slaves and gaunt with hunger
Question
Do you think that communism / socialism in the Mapai style is a moral system? That is, beyond the discussion of whether it is a system that brings prosperity or not (certainly not). Is the fact that the government controls everything and there is no property and everyone is equal something that is morally reasonable?
Answer
If it is imposed by force, then in my opinion no. If it is by agreement, then of course yes.
The old world mixed up communism with Mapai-style socialism.
In Mapai-style socialism there was prosperity and success, partnership and mutual responsibility. The government did not control everything; there was private property, etc.
True, there was a full support framework that is less necessary today.
But in the years of national revival it was probably the only formula that made everything we have possible.
Maybe they stopped it too quickly and before its time,
and maybe some of what is missing for us today is the result of having given up comprehensive socialism too quickly.