On the heels of America's 250th anniversary as an independent free nation, the incredible in the popularity of socialism and communism within the American political culture has caused many to question whether or not the ideal around which America was founded has all but been extinguished.

At the heart of this cultural shift to the Left sits a popular acceptance of the ideology of collectivism, generally seen as socialism, coupled with a popular rejection of the philosophy of individualism, again, generally seen as capitalism.

Because both socialism and capitalism have been predominantly defined by the Left, each is perceived as a 'system' - whether political or economic. In fact only socialism is a system, while capitalism represents a 'condition' free of systematic encumbrances.

To illustrate this principle, Leonard E. Read, founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, published an essay in 1958 entitled 'I, Pencil' in which he clearly demonstrated how no single individual, group, or central planner is capable of producing something as simple as a pencil.

And yet, pencils exist, thanks to what some might understand as the 'invisible hand of the marketplace,' but which is in fact a very visible process when attention is called to its particulars.

As podcaster Glenn Beck recently put it: "Here's the key: No one was in charge. So if no one is smart enough to plan a pencil, who is smart enough to plan an entire economy?

"Socialism says people at the top are wise enough to run your life. Capitalism says something much humbler and far more radical: nobody's that wise - not king, committee, computer, nobody..."

Of course, this is the last thing that those on the Left want to hear or acknowledge. As the erasers of all things Right, they do everything possible to erase such knowledge from the pages of history, metaphorically using the very pencils they are incapable of creating to do so.

When the simple perception of how a pencil comes into being is so threatening to socialists and those on the Left, you can bet that they themselves know that there are no arguments or evidence that can sustain their ideology.

Because socialism invariably leads to poverty death and destruction while capitalism sustains life and creation, it is paramount that the understanding of these distinctions is not just explained or intellectually understood, but directly perceived in a way that is Just Right.