Capitalist To Socialist Professor: “Consent Is The Root Of Morality”

In 1917, amidst the chaos of World War I, Vladimir Lenin declared that “the state is the instrument of class oppression.” Just months later, the Bolshevik Revolution transformed Russia into the world’s first socialist state—an experiment that would spiral into decades of authoritarianism, economic ruin, and millions of lives lost. But was it the failure of socialism itself or the perversion of its ideals by authoritarian regimes that doomed it?

Tonight, we dive into this centuries-old debate with Rutgers Professor Ben Burgis defending the promise of socialism, while Libertarian Institute editor Keith Knight argues that capitalism remains the only true path to freedom and prosperity. 

The Capitalist View: Consent

“Capitalism is a social system based on the explicit right of private property and voluntary contracts between consenting adults.” That was the position of Mr. Knight who emphasized several times that capitalism ultimately comes down to the concept of consent (aka volunteerism).

“Under a system of private property and voluntary exchange, no one can get a penny out of your pocket or a second of your time unless you voluntarily agree to it.”

Hear his full opening remarks:

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— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) March 28, 2025

The Socialist View: Equality

Now imagine a world where “working people collectively own the means of production and decided together how to divide up the proceeds.” This is Burgis’s vision and in it, he says, workers would have a “reasonable level of democratic input.” 

“If the mission was bring about economic equality and equal human dignity for everyone, it failed.” The disparity between the rich and the poor is “morally indefensible.”

Hear his opening remarks:

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— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) March 28, 2025

“Exploitation”

An interesting faultline was exposed around the definition of ‘exploitation’.

To Marx, it’s the “forced extraction of labor by a ruling class.” Listen as our Libertarian Keith fires off questions to get to the root of Marxist logic:

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— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) March 28, 2025

Watch full debate below and subscribe to our YouTube Channel: