Socialism, by which I mean “pure socialism” is a great way to generate votes in societies that are functional democracies. People want free housing, free healthcare, free schools, free police protection, free public transportation, etc., etc. The current mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, ran his campaign on these ideas and he won the office by a substantial majority.
He is not the first: Prior to the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini presented himself as a unifying, populist leader, promising comprehensive political freedom, social justice, and economic prosperity. Khomeini tailored his message to appeal to a broad coalition of secular liberals, leftists, and religious traditionalists who all opposed the authoritarian rule of the Shah.
Prior to taking power in 1959, Fidel Castro promised to restore democracy, reinstate Cuba’s progressive 1940 Constitution, and implement moderate social reforms. Castro initially presented himself as a nationalist liberator rather than a communist. He intentionally moderated his rhetoric to unite a broad coalition of wealthy liberals, middle-class professionals, and rural peasants against the brutal dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
Prior to the 1945 August Revolution, Ho Chi Minh promised absolute national independence, democratic freedoms, and moderate social reforms targeting colonial and feudal oppression. Ho Chi Minh minimized class-warfare Marxist rhetoric during his rise to power. Instead, he founded the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) in 1941 as a broad, patriotic, non-partisan coalition designed to unite landlords, peasants, bourgeoisie, and workers against French colonialists and Japanese occupiers.
Prior to the October Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Lenin captivated the Russian public with a hyper-focused, radical populist platform summarized by his famous three-word slogan: “Peace, Land, Bread.” Amidst the chaos of World War I and the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the Provisional Government chose to stay in the war, which triggered massive public anger. Lenin exploited this frustration by presenting the Bolsheviks as the only party capable of meeting the urgent needs of the suffering working class, peasants, and soldiers.
The Bolsheviks promised an abolishment of private property, redistribution of wealth to all “comrades,” and an end to the food shortages that had plagued Czarist Russia.
Most of these regimes made good on their promises. People did receive free housing, free health care, free education, and a handful of others. In return the ruling parties installed brutal dictators who eradicated freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press and many other rights that we in the west take for granted.
The biggest scam of all was the National Socialist Party (NAZI Party) of post WWI Germany (led by Adolph Hitler) which was a complete oxymoron. There was nothing socialistic about the NAZIism, though it was Nationalistic. I only mention it in this essay on socialism because they had adopted that word to describe themselves. They were SINOs: Socialists in Name Only.
The reality is this: No country in the world currently practices “pure socialism” as a textbook economic system. In its purest theoretical form, socialism requires complete public, state, or worker ownership of all means of production, distribution, and exchange, alongside the total elimination of private profit and market-driven capitalism
Instead of pure systems, modern nations operate on a spectrum, utilizing different economic models that blend socialist ideals with practical realities.
Marxist-Leninist States (Authoritarian Socialism)
These nations are historically the closest to “pure socialism” because their governments exercise immense central control over the economy, though they have all introduced market reforms to survive.
Cuba: The state dominates almost all industries and provides universal healthcare and education, but it allows restricted private entrepreneurship.
North Korea: Operates a highly isolated, centrally planned command economy. However, it officially prioritizes its homegrown Juche ideology over traditional Marxism and tolerates illegal or semi-legal private markets.
China, Vietnam, and Laos: These nations maintain ruling Communist parties and heavy state intervention. However, they are structurally mixed economies or “state capitalist” systems that heavily rely on global trade, private businesses, and foreign investment.
The Nordic Model (Social Democracies)
People frequently point to countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as examples of successful socialism. These are not socialist countries.They are highly successful mixed market economies.
- They feature high economic freedom and robust private property rights.
- They fund extensive social safety nets, universal healthcare, and free education through high personal income taxes.
Constitutionally Socialist Nations
Several countries list “socialism” in their founding documents or official names, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua. Despite the constitutional language, these nations operate primarily as capitalist or mixed market economies, and the term is used historically to reflect social justice goals rather than state ownership of production.
Socialism in Fiction
The United Federation of Planets as it is depicted in the science fiction franchise, Star Trek, is probably the ultimate in socialism as (at least on Earth). The Federation utilizes a post-scarcity, moneyless economy where humanity is no longer driven by the acquisition of wealth. Instead, citizens focus on self-improvement, personal growth, and contributing to the betterment of society, with basic necessities provided abundantly by advanced technology.
In Star Trek: First Contact, Captain Jean-Luc Picard explains it this way: Lily Sloan, (whom Picard is encountering in 2063) asked Picard how much the Enterprise-E cost to build.
Picard: “The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn’t exist in the 24th century.”
Sloan: “No money? You mean you don’t get paid?”
Picard: “The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of Humanity“
The Federation functions across several core principles:
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- Post-Scarcity and Replicators: Advanced replicator technology eliminates the fundamental need for money by synthesizing food, clothing, and everyday items instantly. Because the cost of an item is effectively reduced to the energy required to produce it, poverty and hunger have been entirely eradicated.
- The Pursuit of Passion: Without the requirement to work for survival, labor is voluntary. Individuals are free to pursue vocations they are passionate about—whether that’s Starfleet exploration, scientific research, art, or teaching.
- Federation Credits: While internal commerce is obsolete among Federation citizens, the Federation uses “credits” as a medium of exchange when trading with non-Federation cultures (such as the Ferengi) that still utilize currency-based economies.
- The Limits of Abundance: Despite the post-scarcity model, certain resources cannot simply be replicated. Large assets like starships, land, and specific raw materials are limited, requiring coordination and rationing within Starfleet.
The government appears to be a social democracy, set up along the lines of the Constitution of the United States. Each planet has a seat and a delegation in the Federation General Assembly; each country has a seat and a delegation on it’s planets general assembly. What we’re looking at here is an intergalactic version of the United States democracy. On Earth they have eliminated the use of currency. There is private ownership/control of individual businesses, but instead of making a profit these “entrepreneurs” get housing, food, health care, a means of transportation, vacations – basically anything they want. They just have to provide the service, or the goods to whomever visits their business. Likewise the individual worker may obtain anything they need or want in exchange for their doing their job.
An example comes from the series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Commander Sisko’s father is a restaurateur and chef in New Orleans. A customer enters the restaurant, and transaction goes along just as one would expect, except that at they end no money is exchanged (and of course, no tip). Everyone works at a job or a self-owned business, but everyone does what they want to do. They do what makes them better persons; they work for “the good of all.”
One would think that because society provides all your needs and wants that there would be no property crime. But, humans are still human and there will always be a few people who just refuse to live within the law. But their crimes are way more heinous because there is simply no excuse for it.
Although I believe that the ultimate destiny of mankind is to emulate the Star Trek economy, the problem here is that this is Science Fiction, the key word here being “fiction.” It would be a great thing if people were naturally altruistic, but history has proven otherwise.
Historically, every experiment in instituting socialism has failed its citizens. Oh, for the most part, these governments have made good on their promises, but the trade offs are brutal, because in exchange for giving you all the “free stuff” these governments have taken away your civil liberties. The most extreme case is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s citizens live under the brutal rule of Sharia Law, which (for example) should a woman be found wearing the hijab improperly or failing to wear it entirely it violates strict state laws, which can result in harsh penalties ranging from severe fines and confiscation of vehicles to extended prison sentences, flogging, or even the death penalty for repeat offenders or perceived organizers of dissent.
Many countries have the words “democratic” or “republic” in their official name and most of the time they are oxymoronic, in that they are neither democracies or republics, and their citizenry certainly does not enjoy the rights and privileges that the words “democratic” and “republic” imply, at least this has been true historically. Does that mean that “democratic socialists” absolutely must end up as autocratic shit-holes? No, but the historical record suggests that humans are weak, and will give in to the chance to play god if so tempted.
Having said all that, I have to state that it is my hope that someday people will put aside petty selfishness and decide to voluntarily and individually act for the good of society at large. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius is upon us. There is hope therefore that humanity will wake up.
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(This is Part Two of Two Parts. Read Part One HERE)
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