A resolution from state Rep. Jay DeBoyer condemning socialism and reaffirming the state’s commitment to a democratic republic was approved on Wednesday in a vote by the Michigan House.

While speaking on House Resolution 373, DeBoyer noted that a pillar of socialist ideology is the consolidation of power within government and giving more power to the state. Throughout world history, DeBoyer underscored, this ideology has remained prevalent under the inaccurate belief that the government can make better decisions than people can make for themselves.

“Socialism has always promised justice, no exploitation and power to the people, but the record of policy failure and hardship is as clear as the sky is blue,” said DeBoyer, of Clay Township. “Simply put, what we have seen lately is a marked step towards the departure of ideals that have united and guided our nation for over 250 years. It is imperative we denounce these policies that jeopardize individual liberty, constitutional government and common-sense democratic principles that safeguard our freedoms.”

Socialist experiments have resulted in failure, tragedy, famine and death since 1900. Tens of millions of people died in the Bolshevik Revolution, and at least 10 million people were sent to gulags in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Between 15 and 55 million people starved to death in the wake of famine and devastation caused by the Great Leap Forward in China, and socialist quagmires in Cambodia, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela produced mass executions, prison camps, land seizure and redistribution, stifled speech, secret police, hyperinflation, and crippling geopolitical isolation.

“These weren’t accidents that were caused by natural disasters or some event. These followed a design,” DeBoyer said. “Obviously, there is a difference between a Nordic-style safety net and Joseph Stalin, but caution is still required. Democrat Socialists of America’s own programs go further than social democracy by calling for public ownership of large firms and key industries, and in some documents, abolishing the United States Senate and sweeping changes to both the presidency and to the court system.

“Individualism and free markets built the safest, freest and most prosperous civilization in the history of the world. We should continue to strive for such a system.”