Norway and Sweden used to top the list as nations with the highest per capita production in the world. Today, neither is strictly a socialist state, but rather advanced welfare states. Norway is more heavily taxed than the average democratic country, and Sweden is the most taxed of all democratic countries. Socialism creates dependency, not independence. It gradually reduces the standard of living and guts individual initiative and the entrepreneurial spirit. Traditionally self-employed farmers, Scandinavians are now primarily consumers, not creators, inventors, innovators, or researchers. Since the mid-1900's, they have been consuming more than they create, both individually, on average, and as a whole nation. (This is the strongest indictment a capitalist can assert.) Scandinavian nations have never had to sustain the economic cost of a military fully capable of national defense. Foreign policy among Scandinavian/Nordic nations can be characterized as capitulation and appeasement. Scandinavian countries converted to socialist welfare states in response to growing pressure from neighboring Communist Soviet Union. They exported resources to the Axis during World War II to remain “neutral” and avoid full out war. The United States and England footed the bill for routing Hitler. Socialism has improved the quality of life of Scandinavia's bottom quartile of society, out of the pockets of the other three quartiles: the poorest families in Scandinavia are as poor as the poorest families in the USA, but the wealthiest families in Scandinavia are 22% poorer than the wealthiest families in the USA. Nobody argues that optimal care for the poor begins with a vibrant private-sector based economy. The question enters as to whether the private sector or the government is responsible for distributing that care. A second question enters as to whether socialism is actually the equivalent of a nationwide Ponzi scheme (think about that for a minute). Capitalism has been the driving force behind all the significant innovations that have improved the quality of human life over the past two centuries. Capitalism rewards productive individuals. Socialism rewards non-productive individuals. Capitalism offers equal opportunities to create (incentive to work more). Socialism offers equal provisions to consume (incentive to work less). Today, Scandinavian countries are beginning to cut taxes, encourage capitalism, and invest heavily in education and research. They have permitted, then encouraged, the development of joint ventures and establishment of multinational corporations, such as IKEA, Volvo (owned by Ford), Electrolux, etc., thru tax breaks, streamlined bureaucracy, and eased regulations. Consider other socialist/communist nations: Cuba, China, former USSR, North Korea, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, all of the -stans and most -ia's in Eastern Europe such as Albania, former Yugoslavia, etc. The socialist experiment failed in the 20th century. Each of these countries live on the edge of starvation. Their GDP per capita are among the lowest in the world. Standards of living have declined every year as socialism grew. Don't blame Cuba's woes on U.S. embargo policies. Cayman Islands sport 500,000 tourists per year. Cuba hosts four times as many (for socialists: that's 2,000,000) tourists per year from countries other than the United States. Caymans' freedom from taxation and strict banking privacy laws has resulted in a banking system that is larger and far more profitable and stable than California's. Cuba's taxation and socialist policies have bankrupt their once thriving agricultural, financial, and tourist industries. India's national leaders were all socialists at their independence. India has tremendous intellectual resources which have only really begun to develop since it shook off the bureaucratic socialism inherited from the Brits in the 1940's. Socialist and communist economies lead to closed systems. People are generally prohibited from leaving communist countries; surrendering any personal freedom to the government leads inevitably to the loss of additional, more significant personal freedoms. A sacrifice or large risk is necessary then to regain that freedom that was original surrendered - pay to keep freedom now, or pay to regain freedom later… but you will pay. Wow, tl;dr.