But the lie about making things “free” is only one in a series of lies told to impressionable men and women eager to be manipulated by disingenuous politicians desperately craving power over their lives. Lenin and Stalin are alleged to have used the descriptor “useful idiots” to describe people like this who are lied to, and then become willing accomplices in the destruction of their own freedom. Here is a short list of the three lies I hear most often told to Lenin’s “useful idiots” to convince them to play along:

1.) “It’s not socialism, it’s democratic socialism.” Huh? I hear this absurd statement all the time and cringe in horror. When a “useful idiot” repeats this he is really saying that he either has no understanding of what the critical components of socialism are (with or without the “democratic” modifier) or he does understand what socialism is and is lying about it to disguise his real intentions. Folks, this really isn’t complicated. The resources and means of production in an economy are either owned by the people or they are owned by the government, and the critical component of socialism is the government’s ownership of the resources and means of production. Of course, the lying political-class socialists don’t want you to know that they have eyes on your money, your healthcare freedom, and your business, so they add modifiers to the word “socialism,” hoping to transform you into a “useful idiot” propagandist by taking the edge off of the word “socialism” and gleefully watching you repeat it with a smile. “But what about Denmark?” the “useful idiots” frequently ask in response, to the delight of the lying politicians selling them this snake-oil. Denmark is a MARKET ECONOMY, not a socialist country. The resources and means of production in Denmark are owned by DANES, not the government. Don’t believe me? Just ask Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen who, after growing tired of his country being slandered with a false “socialist” label, said, “I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.”

2.) “Socialism is about sharing.” Sharing? Sharing is a voluntary act where individuals donate their time or resources to other people whom they choose. Socialism is the exact OPPOSITE. Socialism is the government TAKING other people’s time or resources, against their will most of the time, and often by force, and giving them to people whom the government chooses, not you. Again, calling this process “democratic” by disingenuously referring to it as “democratic socialism” does absolutely nothing to change the fact that socialism is, by definition, the theft of your time and resources by government. Also, calling it democratic socialism because people can vote for the people who will then confiscate their time and resources does nothing to change the fact that this is neither “sharing” nor “democratic.”

3.) “Socialism works when the ‘right people’ are in charge.” The “right people”? This lie is the most dangerous of all of them because it makes a rational person wonder what the body count has to be before the “right people” are eventually found. After 65 million deaths in China, 20 million in the Soviet Union, two million in both North Korea and Cambodia, and millions more dead all over the world, one wonders how many more have to die before these elusive “right people” are found? Can you imagine how public opinion would change if the sell-out mainstream-media, and the sheltered academics in our university system, reported honestly on this topic? The bottom line is that there are no “right people.” The corrupting nature of absolute power is inherent in a world full of fallible men and women. The only solution to the corrupting nature of power is to limit it, not to expand it, hence the genius of our founding fathers. Don’t be a useful idiot!

Originally published at ConservativeReview.com.