If "democratic socialists" were honest about their policies, they'd point to places where they're actually in practce - like Cuba.
They don't because everyone would be terrified. People are starving there, they can't get basic medicines.
COTTonLINE adds that socialism doesn’t intentionally produce starvation and medicine shortages, those are not governmental policies or aims. Rather they are the unintended consequences of socialism’s refusal to acknowledge the fact of basic human motivation.
What fact? Selfishness is a stronger, more reliable human motivation than altruism, especially outside the ambit of the biological family. Wishing this were not so has been repeatedly demonstrated to lack the power to make it untrue. Capitalism understands this, socialism does not; indeed it cannot since it relies on the weak reed of altruism.
Socialism’s continuing appeal is it’s claim we selfish humans can be better, more altruistic, than in fact most of us are willing or able to be. It appeals to idealists, is scorned by realists. Bees are willing to sacrifice for the good of the hive, humans - not so much. Which is why socialism relies on imperfect coercion.
