Have you ever noticed how politicians can’t seem to open their mouths without dusting off old, worn-out buzzwords from the 20th century? In the West, leaders love scaring people with "Chinese communism," "Russian authoritarianism," and warnings that if we aren’t careful, the government will take away everything we own. Meanwhile, Eastern elites frighten their populations with "decadent Western capitalism" and claim that freedom brings nothing but chaos. But if you strip away the ideological propaganda and look at the actual numbers, the picture becomes entirely different—and frankly, a bit ridiculous. Who Is Actually "More Socialist"? Let’s take France as a prime example. In popular culture, France is celebrated as a pillar of Western democracy and liberal capitalism. Yet, if you look at government spending as a percentage of GDP, France spends nearly 57% of everything it produces on its social safety net, pensions, healthcare, and massive bur...
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