Socialism - Is That What We Really Need?

"...from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" (Karl Marx).

The philosophy of Marx, Engles and Lenin has always been popular with the left-leaning politicians and the media. 

Marxism seems to promise a better life to those who have very little.  However, the method of that better life is the problem. 

The above quotation from Karl Marx, the real founder of communism, starts with the phrase,"...from each according to his ability...", which in essence means that those who have will be forced to give most or all of it to those who do not. 

I have noticed, especially in recent years, that when financial times get tough it once again becomes popular to say that those who have worked and earned will be forced to give more than their fair share in order for those who have not earned will have their fair share. 

It always seems rosier to look to the past as well and say how great the good ol' days were, as you can see in this picture of many older people wishing for the return of the Soviet system.  From those whom I have talked with over the years the Soviet system was marked by lack and low quality goods.  One simple reason for that was socialism.

I think that it is time we learn from the past and not strive to repeat a failure!  Socialism takes.  Liberty is smothered by it and personal freedoms are lost for the "greater good" and "fairness".  The only way for Marxism to function is by empowering the state to take everything and redistribute it as the state sees fit.

Is that what we really, really want?