One reason socialist mythology persists, long after the absolute moral and practical triumph of capitalism, is that socialism blends more naturally with politics. Capitalism doesn't have personality-cult leaders making promises and taking credit for the good it does.
Socialism also tries to rewrite the rules for social good by focusing on "inequality" rather than quantifiable improvements in the standard of living for every level of society. Capitalism constantly makes everyone's life better without any grandstanding leaders demanding thanks.
Of course socialism demands its adherents ignore these improvements in quality of life, take them for granted, or believe central planning could have done better. That's how you get the comical spectacle of anti-capitalist crusaders using iPhones to organize their riots.
Ironically, given how they constantly complain about money and brand it the root of all evils, socialists are MUCH more obsessed with money than capitalists are. Socialists treat money like a scoreboard that can be used to measure "inequality" and "injustice."
Socialists perpetually complain about how much money goes to this or that group, while capitalists see the value of what those dollars can buy and how much the quality of life has improved in countless ways. Capitalism is holistic while socialism counts pennies.
Socialism complains about poverty while capitalism actually DOES something about it. One reason is that socialists need poverty and class resentment as political resources. They would never dream of putting themselves out of business by solving the problems they complain about.
Socialism is also far less efficient than capitalism, by orders of magnitude. Socialism is thick with corruption and it corrupts the very purpose of the state, which SHOULD be impartially working to minimize theft and keep commerce honest and transparent.
Put $1 billion in the hands of capitalists and they're likely to increase its value, creating goods and services that improve quality of life. Give $1 billion to socialists and you get a bunch of rich politicians and lobbyists plus a few bucks ending up in the hands of the poor.
Capitalism rewards success while socialism subsidizes failure. It's no surprise that socialism reduces productivity and degrades the value of human capital. As with private-sector shoppers, so with Big Government throwing tax money around: You get what you pay for.
Then there's the crucial difference between money and wealth. People getting handouts under socialism might be getting some money, but without the private ownership of capital, they accumulate no wealth and have no meaningful, enduring freedom.
Here's the thing anti-capitalists don't want you to think about: "Capital" includes property and labor. If you condemn the private ownership of capital, you condemn your own right to own property or control your own labor. The very hours of your life are your capital.
If you support the destruction of capitalism, you are setting the stage for your own enslavement. You are forging the chains that will one day be fastened around YOUR neck, no matter how fervently the socialists assure you they only hate the super-rich and care about you.
Why does capitalism do SO much more to benefit the poor than socialism - so much that it's hard to measure the margin of capitalism's victory? Because it actually DOES what socialism flippantly promises to do: it spreads wealth around. REAL wealth, not just money and benefits.
Real wealth is measured by how much you can own property and labor, how much you can build that will benefit your children, how much the value of your labor - your capital - increases. How many hours must the man of 2020 work to feed his family, vs. the man of 1920 or 1820?
The degree to which YOU, the little guy, can control and dispose of your capital - choosing where to work, what wage to demand, how to invest your money and property - measures your wealth. The more power socialists can grab, the less wealth YOU will have.
Value is the key to understanding how human societies work. Here's one last evaluation: under socialism, promises are considered supremely valuable, but under capitalism RESULTS are far more valuable than promises. Choose the system that puts value in the right place. /end
