The promise of free stuff is a powerful incentive for the weak-minded.

Earlier this week the Left Party, led by Elif Eralp, captured 25.3 percent of the vote in state elections and is now in talks with the Social Democrats and Greens to form a governing coalition with them at the helm.

The rising cost of housing in Berlin was a central issue in the campaign, which the Left proposes to fix with a mix of public housing construction, rent controls, and, most radically, seizing ownership of 220,000 housing units currently owned by private companies.

Sound familiar?

The state seizures of private property would be a major disincentive to invest in much needed new construction in the city. The government would also have to compensate landlords for their lost property, which would leave fewer funds available for the construction of new social housing that the Left also wants.

Free people want choices. Competition gives us those choices. Why should the free people of Berlin and New York have to suffer in order to once again learn the lessons taught by the restrictive and destructive nature of socialism.