Socialism doesn't work because it fails to take the dark side of human nature into account, this is true (no pun intended by the way). Not only does socialism fail because the evils of human nature lead to corruption/ powermongering etc, but the socialist system itself brings those evils about due to the inherent backwards structure. Not only does socialism flounder on the badness of men, it actually brings out the badness of men. Hayek makes a fascinating and powerful argument for this view, and I highly recommend his book for ANYone who has a true interest in political ideologies- or who just appreciates powerful arguments.
And human nature aside, central command economies would have ultimately failed miserably anyway. Think about it. The major function of capitalism is freely determined price discovery so that capital can be allocated accurately and efficiently. Command economies never understood this. There is simply no way for them to determine prices accurately.
How many people does it take to set the price of something simple like yogurt? You have about twenty five or thirty different price points between raw ingredients and packaged product on the shelf- and all those price points are set independently and fluctuate constantly due to the self interested judgment calls of farmers, packagers, manufacturers, distributors, truckers, grocery stores, consumers, on and on and on. All those minds come together in their own interest and set prices that allow them to make a profit and voila, we have yogurt.
Now compare that to the command economy process. A guy in a smoky room says 'yogurt should be this price' and there is a memo sent to the factory. One guy with a cigar pulling a price out of nowhere, as compared to literally thousands of participants determining prices based on their own knowledge of costs, production, viability, desirability etc.
The central planned economy idea is as silly as having one McDonald's manager for all the McDonalds in the entire United States.
After 'Road to Serfdom' by FA Hayek, the next book on the list should be 'Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell. A must read.
And human nature aside, central command economies would have ultimately failed miserably anyway. Think about it. The major function of capitalism is freely determined price discovery so that capital can be allocated accurately and efficiently. Command economies never understood this. There is simply no way for them to determine prices accurately.
How many people does it take to set the price of something simple like yogurt? You have about twenty five or thirty different price points between raw ingredients and packaged product on the shelf- and all those price points are set independently and fluctuate constantly due to the self interested judgment calls of farmers, packagers, manufacturers, distributors, truckers, grocery stores, consumers, on and on and on. All those minds come together in their own interest and set prices that allow them to make a profit and voila, we have yogurt.
Now compare that to the command economy process. A guy in a smoky room says 'yogurt should be this price' and there is a memo sent to the factory. One guy with a cigar pulling a price out of nowhere, as compared to literally thousands of participants determining prices based on their own knowledge of costs, production, viability, desirability etc.
The central planned economy idea is as silly as having one McDonald's manager for all the McDonalds in the entire United States.
After 'Road to Serfdom' by FA Hayek, the next book on the list should be 'Basic Economics' by Thomas Sowell. A must read.
And I never read an economics book in my life. It's just common sense.