You know when you should be worried? When the smartest guy in the world tells you to be worried.

In lamenting the romance of socialism, legendary economist Thomas Sowell said: “Socialism is a wonderful-sounding idea. It’s only as a reality that it’s disastrous. So many people today, including in the leading universities, don’t pay much attention to evidence. When you see people starving in Venezuela and fleeing into neighboring countries and realize that this is a country that once had the world’s largest oil reserves, you realize that they’ve ruined a very good prospect with ideas that sounded good but didn’t turn out well.”

And Sowell added: “I do have a great fear that in the long run we may not make it and I hate to say that.”

LEGENDARY ECONOMIST ON BIGGEST SOCIALISM MYTH

I hate to hear it. So socialism succeeds because we ignore history, always waking up to another homicidal Groundhog Day.

Thanks to bitter academics who couldn’t find real work, a lazy and poorly educated media confused by economics, and a naive populace, socialism keeps coming back.

It's the Freddy Krueger of political theories. Every decade, a new nightmare.

The key to stopping it is us. We must resist those who don't see the scam behind socialism: that it only offers the fantasy of free everything, hoping you never ask: "but how?"

The only winners in a socialist state are those who run the state. Every leftist dreams of standing up on the platform and reviewing the parade of workers. And tanks.

That’s how you prevent a Venezuela – just describe it: a fat tyrant and lunch from garbage trucks.

From Zimbabwe to Albania, once socialism – a centralized beast – fails (which it always does) the whole thing goes. And that triggers the survival instinct of those in power who ultimately rely on force.

Of course, people can cite social programs as socialism. But safety nets and charity can only thrive via the free market. Today’s leftists prefer all net, and no market. That’s disastrous.

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No wonder when you look into the eyes of a true-believing socialist you see something is off.

It’s fervent belief untethered to reality. And in that fervor is an acceptance that if it doesn't work out, we'll just send in the army.

Adapted from Greg Gutfeld’s monologue on “The Five” on March 6, 2019.

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