Democracy and the Appeal of Socialism

Economist Bryan Caplan wonders why socialism ever developed any broad appeal , given the weaknesses of the idea of the “New Socialist Man”: The classic argument against socialism is that it gives people bad incentives . What’s the point of working, conserving, saving, quality control, and/or taking out the garbage if they don’t pay? The classic socialist reply is that capitalism creates the selfishness it purports to benevolently channel. Socialism will give birth to a “New Socialist Man” who loves his neighbor as himself….

Excerpt from:
Democracy and the Appeal of Socialism