Lenin, Stalin etc. did a terrible job. I'm open to being wrong, but I don't think anyone can do a good job. No one has yet invented a way of distributing reso

Lenin, Stalin etc. did a terrible job. I'm open to being wrong, but I don't think anyone can do a good job. No one has yet invented a way of distributing resources more efficiently than markets. I'm not sure if socialism can be real socialism if markets are involved, but I know there's no existing solution to feed and clothe people without them. You might argue for Ptolemaic Egypt, but they had a huge advantage with the Nile, and starvation was rampant in drier years. Every 20th Century example of trying to eliminate markets either led to mass starvation or a quick return to markets once it was clear you couldn't grow an economy without them. Sweden, Denmark, Norway and most other big government countries socialists like to point out still rely on markets to provide the economic growth needed to pay the taxes for their social programs. They also have the advantage of strong allies and needing to spend only a small fraction of their tax revenues on defense.