Some thoughts... You're correct, Army Bob. Socialism as a civic philosophy and as a governmental system is completely irresponsible, unworkable, inconsistent and ultimately destructive for many reasons. As you've pointed out, historically socialism has never succeeded or appeared to do so in the real world for more than a relatively short period on the scale of time. For one thing, socialism denies the natural right of the individual and of all voluntary corporate groups of individuals to self-determine and apply the use of their accumulated financial resources, efforts and risk-taking as they choose. Then, if and when there is a good result, the natural right to enjoy and direct as desired any resulting profits, fruits of labor, products, preferences, actions, contributions and assistance to others of choice. With socialism the individual and all corporate groups of individuals are compelled and legally required to work to some degree for the state and for others they will never know, whether or not they may choose to do so or think any given recipient worthy of free support coming from their efforts and hard work. All such socialist "Robin Hood" benefits are then always inefficiently, often unwisely and wastefully distributed for the personal and political benefit to politicians and the countless nameless, faceless government bureaucrats and the unbelievably huge "overhead" of such state systems. The forced pay-ins that are not immediately consumed and distributed are then redirected and spent for political purposes and interest payments on the debt while adding that ever-increasing obligation from such robbery to the crushing interest-bearing governmental debt that can now never be repaid. Such practices ultimately bankrupt all governmental bodies doing so while simultaneously taking down all vulnerable people with it while chasing away with their resources all those who can afford to escape. The golden goose will thus ultimately just fly away, leaving nothing but empty, broken eggshells. Those who promote and even demand ever-increasing mandatory pay-ins to socialist programs that benefit some who have paid nothing for them but consume them freely while at the same time penalizing and burdening those who pay for them, speak out of both sides of their mouth. These voices who constantly say we "can't tell someone what to do with their own body", at one and the same time claim that such personal body sovereignty ends abruptly when it comes to socialism. In their view the government has a legal right to the personal and corporate fruits of labor of those very same "sovereign bodies". Those bodies are forced to work for the state to some degree as well as for others they don't know or may not want to support. In other words, in the socialist philosophy your body, the "tree", is yours and you can do with your own tree as you please, except we all somehow have a legal right to some of the fruit that comes from your "sovereign tree". Socialism is thus a subtle form of involuntary servitude and slavery whenever and wherever it is present. Free enterprise and capitalism are based on sound thinking, human nature and good principles. They work, but of course they certainly do not always work perfectly. That's because nothing at all in this world is perfect which involves imperfect people and governments. However, socialism is far beyond being merely imperfect. Even if implemented as well-meaning, socialism by very nature is intrinsically evil and it is ultimately destructive of life and liberty when it is employed and has worked its way to its logical and inevitable ends.