The surprising resurgence of socialism is putting America’s future at risk, according to legendary economist Thomas Sowell.

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“I do have a great fear that in the long run we may not make it,” he told FOX Business’ David Asman on “Cavuto: Coast-to-Coast” on Tuesday.

Sowell is putting the onus on the education system and the media for encouraging people to “test ideas against facts.”

“Socialism is a wonderful sounding idea,” he said. “It’s only as a reality that it’s disastrous.”

At one time, Sowell described himself as a Marxist, but once he realized the truth, he changed his mind.

“Before I was a Marxist, I was an empiricist and I stayed an empiricist. And with the passing years simply as I looked into more and more things I saw the difference between reality and the rhetoric,” he said. “Unfortunately so many people today, including in the leading universities, don’t pay much attention to evidence.”

Sowell said that he hopes that the facts about socialism sink in before the policies are presented in the United States.

“When you see people starving in Venezuela and fleeing in the neighboring countries and realize that this a country that once had the world’s largest oil reserves, you realize that that’ve ruined a really good prospect with ideas that sounded good but didn’t turn out well,” he said.

When asked about freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is a self-described Democratic socialist, and whether she will continue to rise in popularity, he replied: “It depends.”

“If they go by rhetoric, she’s a rising star,” he added.