Socialists say capitalism kills. They’re lying.

The Black Book of Communism is a devastating accounting of the death toll of that odious ideology. Modern socialists, however, claim that capitalism kills more people every five years than communism did in a century. Are they correct?

Every now and again, one comes across the argument that capitalism kills just as many people, or more, than socialism has ever done. The idea is well encapsulated in … claims to tot up “The Annual Human Cost of Capitalism”. It alleges that at least “20-million easily preventable deaths annually” are attributable to capitalism. Over five years, it argues, this is more than the 94-million deaths, which The Black Book of Communism attributes to communism since 1917.

For all its “gotcha” appeal, it is just rhetorical sleight of hand. For one, it compares apples with oranges. For another, if these death statistics are accurate at all, they are not attributable to capitalism. Let’s consider these points.

… the two counts – 20-million every five years and 94-million since 1914 (or 1917) – are not at all comparable.

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