"Great in theory, lousy in practice" is a misguided saying. What that really means is that the theory itself is lousy. Social safety nets and the correction of

"Great in theory, lousy in practice" is a misguided saying. What that really means is that the theory itself is lousy. Social safety nets and the correction of market failures in capitalist economies really have nothing to do with communist theory at all. All they have in common is the very bland observation that "life in a capitalist economy isn't perfect." But the meat of Marxism isn't about that. The core of Marxism is a bizarre theory and a prescription of how to fix the world that leads to misery and slaughter. The fact we need to smooth the rough edges of the free market does not entail admitting even a mote of recognition to Marxism.