> In fact, you cannot have a success with socialism without a large number of wealthy (or well-off) people to tax, and a society cannot tax itself to prosperity

> In fact, you cannot have a success with socialism without a large number of wealthy (or well-off) people to tax, and a society cannot tax itself to prosperity. And you can't have success with capitalism without a healthy and prosperous working/poor middle class to be your consumers. I'm thinking of democratic socialism. It's capitalism with a heavy emphasis on welfare and super strong social safety nets. If you look at the quality of life index (the "where-to-be-born" index), you'll see that the top 10 countries all employ a form of democratic socialism. That's saying something right there.