What is socialism? And why it always fails.

Socialism is getting a lot of press in America.

Whether it’s the recent upswing of the Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates, proposals from politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, or warnings about those ideas, it seems like everyone is talking about socialism.

Yet for a word that’s constantly thrown around in political debates, many people might have trouble explaining what socialism is, what it looks like, and what it could mean for everyday life.

As Americans debate socialism and its proposed solutions to the country’s problems, it helps to understand what we’re talking about.

What is socialism?

Mayor Mamdani says socialism  “means you’ll have whatever you need to live a dignified life and that it is the government’s job to deliver on that.”

Actor John Leguizamo, a self-described democratic socialist, has argued that government services, from the police to the postal service, are basically socialist.

They’re both wrong.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one definition of socialism is “a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.”

At its core, socialism is an economic system in which much of the economy is publicly owned or controlled rather than privately owned.

Instead of a market where millions of buyers and sellers set prices, it would be politicians who plan the economy from the top.

What that looks like in real life

When the state owns or controls industry, government officials and politicians decide what gets produced, how much it costs, and who gets it.

Little by little, more of the economy, from energy to groceries to health care, falls under political control, with a group of unknown bureaucrats making the calls.

At the same time, as the government gains more control over the economy, it also gains more control over decisions that affect your everyday life.

Socialist policies have been tried time and again, on both large and small scales, in countries across the world. Their results offer important lessons about the consequences of government control over economic and individual freedom.

We have already seen how this ends

Let’s take Venezuela, for example.

Home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela once was among the most prosperous countries in Latin America.

Former President Hugo Chávez took office in 1999. His government, and that of his successor Nicolás Maduro, nationalized key industries, expanded government control over the economy, imposed price controls, and created social programs the country could not afford.

Thanks to these policies, Venezuela’s economy shrank by roughly 80 percent, inflation hit about 130,000 percent in 2018, and almost a third of the country has fled.

In Cuba, over six decades of continuous communist control have left the island in abject poverty.

The state controls nearly every major sector of Cuba’s economy, with government officials determining food rations, what work you are allowed to do, and what you can say in public.

The grip is so tight that for over 60 years it has been illegal for a Cuban farmer to slaughter his own cow without government permission, with violators facing up to 10 years in prison.

The results have been catastrophic.

Between 2022 and 2023, almost 10% of the island was forced to flee the country as shortages of food, medicine, and fuel made life unbearable for millions of Cubans.

For a lot of Latino families, socialism is the reason why their families had to escape their home countries and come to America.

There is a better path

Socialism often ends up hurting the people it claims to help the most, while creating a new elite of well-connected politicians who rule over a bankrupted nation.

The good news is that in America we know what works: economic freedom.

When people are free to start businesses, compete, and keep more of what they earn, competition thrives, businesses grow, more jobs are created, and new opportunities open up for everyone.

Washington has no business running your life.

If you believe your freedom is worth defending, join the fight against socialism with LIBRE.

Choose freedom.