Why Socialism Sucks In Theory And Practice

We’ve all heard the line before: “Socialism makes sense in theory but doesn’t work in practice.”

Well, Socialism sucks in theory as well. Here’s why.

~

[TheWhyMinutes]

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” - Winston Churchill

[anthonymorris]

"I can't wait until I finish this raft so I can finally escape all this capitalism". What no one said, ever.

[christianv]

"That wasn't real Communism" actually means:

"If only I had been the dictator, I would've succeeded"

[israelrivera]

I am not a socialist but isn’t that what happen with capitalism now? 1:42

[KeithOlson]

The biggest issue with *_ANY_* permanent power hierachy is that it will *_ALWAYS_* become more and more corrupt over time, and the larger the hierarchy and the longer it has been in existence, the more corrupt it will be, as anyone who craves power will take steps that more average people would never contemplate--which tends to make them more successful and thus noticed favourably by those above them. This is why it is so vital to separate religion, business, the military, and any government, as they tend to limit one another due to differing focii. With Marxism/Socialism/Communism, all four are condensed into 'The Party', which eliminates any checks and balances. Oof.

[ExpatriatePaul]

I was a young U.S. Army Sgt. in West Germany when the Iron Curtain suddenly dropped in Nov 89, and dealt with some of the people who immediately fled the Soviet states personally. Had anyone told me back then that 30 years later, scores of Americans would be strongly advocating for Socialism, I would've laughed in their face.

[TrekkieChannel]

Funny. I grew up (and spent my whole childhood) in a socialist country (Czechoslovakia) and I am trying to explain this very often to American leftists. Even though I have literally LIVED through it (and therefore I can confirm everything you said), for whatever reason none of the leftists ever believe me. "That sounds more like fascism and not socialism", "well maybe socialism failed in your country, but if the CORRECT PEOPLE took over ...", "you don't know what you're talking about", or my favorite "educated yourself". I find it hilarious that a person who has no idea what socialism is is telling to a person who lived in socialism that he should educate himself about socialism. Or when I tried to tell to one person my lived experiences, actual things which happenned to me, I got told it was just "far right propaganda". It's sad that American universities created so many brainwashed people

[AlexWohlbruck]

So you described two problems with "socialism" :
1. (1:25) "The majority decision wins"
This is simply the concept of democracy, something most people agree is a valuable trait of society

2. (1:40) "[Socialism] degrades your humanity, treats us nothing other than a producers and consumers, making you feel like a cog in the machine"
This is literally how people feel right now, in their day jobs, under the system of capitalism. We work for abysmal wages to produce shit we don't need.

This is the most low-effort, blatant propaganda piece I've seen to date. PragerU should hire you man.

[KuunLan]

Funny.. Replace "collective" with "corporation", and "cog in the machine" with "walking bag of money that needs to be taken"... and you have a pretty good description of American Capitalism.

[thomassabados]

Let's take a stroll down memory lane. Indiana once had a socialist commune called New Harmony. It failed. 350 like minded people couldn't pull it off. In summary, the producers got the same income as the slackers. The producers left, leaving only the slackers.

[Pinpadprompts]

My cousin joined a commune. He is an electrician and a builder with numerous qualifications and skills; an extremely hardworking and talented tradesman.

Unfortunately, most of the community were avant garde artists, slam poets, biodynamic vegetable growers, charismatic philosphers etc.

Needless to say he was worked like a peasant by the rest of the community for years without any form of reimbursement. Well he might get the occasional basket of wonky cucumbers etc. needless to say he left the commune, leaving behind several houses he had built for free while his wife shacked up with a dopesmoking philanderer.

A system that rewards freeloading is doomed to be dragged down by freeloaders.

Ironically it is the "working class" in these communities that suffer the most.

[Vineature]

I like that both sides of this debate use the same imagery for their opposition.

[nyx]

How are your first two points any different from what we're doing here now? Your ideals, creativity, and goals are ignored in favor of the whims of the small collective known as: the elected politicians who "represent you". Elections, decisions, policies are frequently decided by simple majority in democracies.

For your second point, the economy already treats people like producers and consumers (cogs in a machine). If you can't find a job, can't work, or don't want to work for whatever reason, you have no value to the economy and society looks down upon you.

The main reason why Marxist-style socialism doesn't work is because educated elites, known as the "vanguard party", make the important decisions, have the political power, and represent the workers. However, this necessarily means that the workers themselves don't actually have power. The purpose of a socialist state is to transition to communism, and eventually render the state non-existent. But why would any system of power intentionally weaken itself? Why would any leader want to dissolve their position of power? People change when they obtain even a little bit of power over others. Like the famous quote by Lord Acton says, "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely." This style of socialism doesn't work because it ignores human nature and past/current examples in history.

[theAmazingJunkman]

The most important history lesson I ever learned is that “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Edit: it’s also important to consider that power does not have to belong to someone to corrupt them. Some may be able to resist the temptation, but where power is known to exist, there will always be those who are eager to take it

[AzIgaziMakk]

I love when he says it degrades humanity we are nothing more than producers and consumers. Why do i see close connection to capitalism?

[markmcflounder]

I remember hearing for years that Communism socialism 'sounds great on paper...'
Then I bought the Communist Manifesto and I was like WTF were these people repeating?!? The Manifesto was originally a pamphlet so you can read it in less than a day

[jameslyons]

Collectivism always seems to appeal to the least productive individuals. They are the student with a “D” average excited to get on a group project with the “A” and “B+” students knowing they can get a decent grade without lifting a finger.

[lourenzozayon]

At least i need to give him credit for getting the means of production right, but all the downside he pointed out can also apply for the current system?

[Sid-thch]

1:42 congratulations you just described the entirety of capitalism. You are just a cog in the machine, your life is just work, consume, repeat while 1% of the population get richer than entire countries.

[chrishuber]

Every person has the right to control their own destiny. Giving that control to any group or government leads to abuse & disaster eventually. The common good is best served by people being free to do their part as they see fit - not as they are told to do. Why some people only look at the flaws of capitalism compared to the 'ideal' of socialism I don't understand.