Why Capitalism Works and Socialism Doesn't

In reality, progressivism has it backwards. It is Capitalism that is the robust survivor able to handle the realities of life, with Socialism and Communism as the fragile, weak systems that collapse even under normal demands;

David Robb , Bio and Archives--June 25, 2026

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There is an ongoing debate over which system, Capitalism or Socialism, best meets people's needs. Socialism, in particular, has been growing in popularity, especially in intellectual circles since it appears to address many of the problems of social justice, equitable distribution of incomes, poverty, war, and probably the apparent lack of unicorns. It is especially popular among those calling themselves Democratic Socialists because they see it as a road to the power which they currently lack.

The foundation of Socialism was laid out by the German philosopher, Karl Marx, not to be confused with Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx—later American philosophers. Karl was a brilliant writer who expressed his thoughts in his famous work: "Das Kapital", which few people seem to have read.

Unfortunately, Karl knew nothing about economics and human motivation, although those shortcomings did not seem to handicap him in his writing. He also appears to have known nothing of cybernetics—a topic essential to understanding the myriad failures of Socialism regardless how often it is tried—whether it is Democratic or not.

Cybernetics is the study of how systems process information, react to their environment, and use feedback to adjust their behavior and achieve specific goals. Today, cybernetic systems are often understood to be computers, but human networks, such as an economy, can also be understood as cybernetic systems. An economy can be thought of as a system to manage the allocation of resources among those who need them, and to support the development and production of new resources.

Cybernetic systems fall into two broad categories: distributed and centralized. In economic terms, Capitalism is a distributed system, while Socialism is centralized. In Capitalism, millions of people, businesses, governments, and others make decisions based on their situations at the time. Some decisions are based on need, some on ability, some on demand, and some just on whimsy. Typically, those decisions do not involve consideration of global social needs or what decisions are being made in other distant locations.

Through the mechanisms of pricing, competition, auctions, and availability, Capitalism acts as a cybernetic system to........

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