The brilliant economist Mark Perry dissects socialism in a four part series. Anyone who thinks socialism is right for the U.S., or any other nation, should read it.
See Part I: ‘Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update,’ Part I.
Part II: ‘Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update,’ Part II.
Part III: ‘Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update,’ Part III.
Part IV: ‘Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update,’ Part IV.
And finally, the full version in PDF: Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update.
Meanwhile, Mr. Perry responded to some critics in this post.
Unfortunately, given that adherents to socialism seem drawn to the free stuff they'll get, Mr. Perry's article is likely TLDR for most of them. But here's a snippet that may be a teaser but might provide provide some incentive to read the whole thing.
A centrally planned economy without market prices or profits, where most of the property is owned or controlled by the state, is a system without an effective incentive mechanism to direct economic activity. By failing to emphasize incentives, socialism is a theory inconsistent with human nature and is therefore doomed to fail. Socialism is based on the theory that incentives don’t matter!
(snip)
However, the choice of economic and political institutions is crucial in an imperfect universe with imperfect beings and limited resources. In a world of scarcity, it is essential for an economic system to be based on a clear incentive structure to promote economic efficiency. The real choice we face is between imperfect capitalism and imperfect socialism. Given that choice, the evidence of history overwhelmingly favors capitalism as the greatest wealth-producing economic system available, while socialist economies like Venezuela destroy wealth and leave its citizens impoverished, malnourished, sick and desperate.
The strength of market-based capitalism can be attributed to an incentive structure based upon the three Ps: (1) Prices determined by market forces, (2) a Profit-and-Loss system of accounting, and (3) Private Property Rights. The failure of socialism in countries like Venezuela can be traced directly to its neglect of these three incentive-enhancing features.
Anyway, happy Labor Day!
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1:08 PM 9/3/2018
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