“If you look at the reasons why socialism has failed, you don’t have to look farther than North Korea, China, and the USSR.”
That's according to Tim Draper, slated to speak 15 minutes about the topic of “Where good ideas come from”, and adding in a few minutes to discuss why Bernie Sanders' campaign and ideas for socialism will spell disaster for the USA.
Catch Tim Draper's extra-length Startup Grind appearance here, and read our highlights below.
From Frustration to Idea to National Movement
Draper kicked off about the source of great ideas: frustration. According to the DFJ Partner, the three biggest areas of frustration are in front of our faces: medicine, education and government.
After mentioning his frustration with government, Draper went on to express his views on why an impending socialist regime as suggested by Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders would result in disaster for the USA.
Selective Utopia
Tim Draper, an outspoken critic of big government and advocate for free markets, was highly critical of the utopian dream harbored by quasi-socialists; to him, Bernie Sanders. For Draper, what starts off as good intentions can turn into a bloated welfare state, with few checks and balances for governments
Well, that's if you hear half the talk. A few minutes after the firm stance against socialism, Tim Draper dove into a paradox, proposing a sort of Basic Income.
“Everyone in America should receive a $15,000 allowance from the government, and to receive it, they must work in some capacity.”
But there's more.
“The people that I’ve met in my life that have been the most unhappy, were those who didn’t work”
Trouble in Paradise
The crowd, mostly comprised of entrepreneurs with firm beliefs in the free market and capitalism, surprisingly had mixed reactions to his talk. To some, it may have sounded like Draper was to announce his candidacy for president next - but the session ran out of time before this could happen.
We'll stay tuned for the Tim Draper - Bernie Sanders debate on socialism and the free markets maybe in an election or two.
Tim Draper is a prominent venture capitalist who has achieved a dizzying amount of success through the various investments led by him and the DJF team, like Baidu, Tesla, Skype, Theranos, and twitch.tv. He’s the founder and backer in both venture capital, as founding parter at Draper Associates (DFJ), and education, with Draper University - a school that has set out to teach entrepreneurship.