Plenty has been written on why socialism fails. We only need to look at the failure of socialists regimes littered throughout the history of the last century.
As Sir Winston Churchill observed:
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
Unfortunately the good intentions of some of those who support socialism can mask failures in the ideology. Socialism is ultimately a race to the bottom. It is based on a misunderstanding that human nature is perfectible. As Ronald Reagan noted:
“Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don’t need it and hell where they already have it.”
The clip below is perhaps the best short illustration I’ve come across which shows how socialism is fundamentally mistaken and simply not a stable basis on which to build an economy or society. The video uses a simple and practical thought experiment (that anyone can try) to demonstrate why socialism does not work. I encourage you to check it out.
Photo by matryosha 