Communism Doesn't Work because It Didn't Work

This is one of my favorite arguments ever. History is unlike Science in that you often only get one shot at a particular experiment. So, Communism doesn't work because post-world war II communism didn't work. What else do you need to know?

Right now, we are entering a grand new experiment of a really unequal society. Historically, we've done well with capitalism because we had a large and prosperous middle class. Can capitalism thrive without consumers? Will we end our regressive tax policies in time? Or will there be another truism about capitalism that everyone will be uttering 100 years from now?

Interestingly, corruption is one of those things that we haven't just gotten one chance to experience. It appears in virtually all time periods and virtually all forms of government. It also appears (gasp...no) in supposedly competitive markets. And cronyism and corruption are a big deal because, if unchecked, they will kill the host that feeds them. A decent society where everyone has a chance to succeed is by definition a society where goodies go to the qualified and not the connected.

Unlike capitalism and communism (both fairly theoretical economic systems that have never existed in a pure form), cronyism is something we have lots of historical experience with. And it has never been a viable long term option and it can tear apart a wide range of governments and societies.

I think once upon a time in America there was something called the goo-goos. It was some sort of good government coalition that came out of the progressive movement. I think that's what the democrats need to do. The problem of course is that the Dems are just as implicated as the Republicans in all this....