--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Socialism's failure in the former Soviet…" description: "\"Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the other socialist countries stands as a clean and unquestionable warning as to which path any r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg" --- # Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the… ![“Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the other socialist countries stands as a clean and unquestionable warning as to which path any rational and sane people should never follow again. Government planning brought poverty and ruin...Unfortunately, America is not absorbing the…” quote by Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg) > “Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the other socialist countries stands as a clean and unquestionable warning as to which path any rational and sane people should never follow again. Government planning brought poverty and ruin...Unfortunately, America is not absorbing the lessons that should be learned from the socialist experience and, instead, is following the same path of destruction.” [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Socialist planning historically led to economic collapse, warning rational people to avoid similar policies. **In simple terms:** Planned economies cause poverty. Key Takeaway Avoid central planning, favor market freedom. Themes economics politics history Mood cautious critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - economic development - public discourse Key Concepts central planning resource allocation human incentives Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can modern economies learn? - How to balance regulation and freedom? A Different Perspective Complex issues may have multiple causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) [Socialist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialist/) [Socialist countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialist-countries/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) [Warning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warning/) ## Related quotes > [Since China has a population of 1.1 billion, it won't feel lonely even if it becomes the only socialist country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-peng/since-china-has-a-population-of-1-1-billion-it-won-t-feel-lonely-even/) [Li Peng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-peng/) > [In my opinion nothing has contributed more to the corruption of the original idea of socialism as the belief that Russia is a socialist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-my-opinion-nothing-has-contributed-more-to-the-corruption-of-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Ironically, socialist countries do tend to have immediate short term decreases in poverty before collapsing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-bongino/ironically-socialist-countries-do-tend-to-have-immediate-short-term/) [Dan Bongino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-bongino/) > [The socialist countries have the moral duty of liquidating their tacit complicity with the exploiting countries of the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/the-socialist-countries-have-the-moral-duty-of-liquidating-their/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [The reason socialism has failed around the world every time it's been tried is because people in socialist countries have looked at the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-reason-socialism-has-failed-around-the-world-every-time-it-s-been/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [We feel that there is a necessity to strengthen unity and that it will be strengthened and the bloc, the monolithic bloc of socialist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/we-feel-that-there-is-a-necessity-to-strengthen-unity-and-that-it/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [The aggressor too should know that the preemptive use of nuclear weapons would not insure victory. With modern detection systems and the combat readiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitriy-ustinov/the-aggressor-too-should-know-that-the-preemptive-use-of-nuclear/) Dmitriy Ustinov > [A country where a man is afraid to criticise another one is no socialist country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/a-country-where-a-man-is-afraid-to-criticise-another-one-is-no/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Absorbing foreign capital and technology and even allowing foreigners to construct plants in China can only play a complementary role to our effort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/absorbing-foreign-capital-and-technology-and-even-allowing-foreigners/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [Nothing in socialist doctrine argues for the abuse of power, from Thomas More, to Karl Marx, to Chavez, to Ocasio-Cortez. Historically, however, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/nothing-in-socialist-doctrine-argues-for-the-abuse-of-power-from/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [The key to the defeat and eventually the end of imperialism as a a whole is the unity of all socialist countries and progressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-buck/the-key-to-the-defeat-and-eventually-the-end-of-imperialism-as-a-a/) [Tim Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-buck/) > [In my opinion, nothing has contributed so much to the corruption of the original idea of socialism as the belief that Russia is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-my-opinion-nothing-has-contributed-so-much-to-the-corruption-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [in a socialist country you can get rich by providing necessities, while in a capitalist country you can get rich by providing luxuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/in-a-socialist-country-you-can-get-rich-by-providing-necessities/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“Once she’d remarked, for example, that the problem, even for socialist countries, is that those people who are deeply committed to ideals of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/once-she-d-remarked-for-example-that-the-problem-even-for-socialist/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [A country like Belgium, or socialist countries in central Europe spend more money on art education than the United States, which is a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-baryshnikov/a-country-like-belgium-or-socialist-countries-in-central-europe-spend/) [Mikhail Baryshnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-baryshnikov/) ## More by Richard Ebeling > [Government is, and always has been, the greatest criminal threat to the peaceful members of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/government-is-and-always-has-been-the-greatest-criminal-threat-to-the/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [The history of paper money is an account of abuse, mismanagement, and financial disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/the-history-of-paper-money-is-an-account-of-abuse-mismanagement-and/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Through private investment capitalism kept raising the productivity of labor to new heights. Parents were able to earn enough so their offspring did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/through-private-investment-capitalism-kept-raising-the-productivity/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Democracy in itself does not define or guarantee a free society. History has told many stories of democratic societies that have degenerated into corruption,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/democracy-in-itself-does-not-define-or-guarantee-a-free-society/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [If government goes beyond securing liberty and instead violates it through regulation, redistribution, and planning, then citizens are victims of legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/if-government-goes-beyond-securing-liberty-and-instead-violates-it/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Capitalism in the 19th century did not doom the worker to a life of perpetual poverty. Instead, they kept creating new and better-paying employments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/capitalism-in-the-19th-century-did-not-doom-the-worker-to-a-life-of/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Each of us, Leonard Read said, must become candles of liberty in the darkness of collectivist ideas. The brighter we each shine through our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/each-of-us-leonard-read-said-must-become-candles-of-liberty-in-the/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Our world today is in the grip of anti-capitalism. State bureaucracies ruling over anti-market policies have grown into ideological and political elites who arrogantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/our-world-today-is-in-the-grip-of-anti-capitalism-state-bureaucracies/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [The rationale for the vast network of government welfare programs as well as regulation and control over private enterprise is based on the socialist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/the-rationale-for-the-vast-network-of-government-welfare-programs-as/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [It should be remembered that men of courage, integrity, and principle can stand up to Big Brother and resist the headlong march into economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/it-should-be-remembered-that-men-of-courage-integrity-and-principle/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Liberals say they are for civil liberties and personal freedom, but they continue to advocate government regulation of business, redistribution of wealth, and various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/liberals-say-they-are-for-civil-liberties-and-personal-freedom-but/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Governments everywhere, including here in the Unites States, have created ever-expanding bureaucracies that regulate nearly every aspect of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/governments-everywhere-including-here-in-the-unites-states-have/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) [Explore all 13 Richard Ebeling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) ## More Absorbing quotes > [The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/the-artist-has-to-be-something-like-a-whale-swimming-with-his-mouth/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [I probably need another couple of years of absorbing that and really looking at it to be able to do it because you actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-probably-need-another-couple-of-years-of-absorbing-that-and-really/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [I bless the gods for not letting my education in rhetoric, poetry, and other literary studies come easily to me, and thereby sparing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/i-bless-the-gods-for-not-letting-my-education-in-rhetoric-poetry-and/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Edge also implies what Ben Graham…called a margin of safety. You have a margin of safety when you buy an asset at a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mauboussin/edge-also-implies-what-ben-graham-called-a-margin-of-safety-you-have/) [Michael Mauboussin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mauboussin/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) > [The nut of this tree is hung high aloft, wrapped in a silk wrapper, which is enclosed in a case of sole leather, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-de-camoes/the-nut-of-this-tree-is-hung-high-aloft-wrapped-in-a-silk-wrapper/) [Luis de Camoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-de-camoes/) > [The habit of quietly absorbing the shocks will be quite a great help to stabilize pure awareness. The technique is: Just feel not disturbed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/the-habit-of-quietly-absorbing-the-shocks-will-be-quite-a-great-help/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [It's hard to pick. I mean, I think the one that is most emblematic of the collaboration that occurred is "We Know The Way."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/it-s-hard-to-pick-i-mean-i-think-the-one-that-is-most-emblematic-of/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [Babies breathe a lot more rapidly than adults do, and what's more, they're also growing quickly and so they're absorbing lots more into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/babies-breathe-a-lot-more-rapidly-than-adults-do-and-what-s-more-they/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Where does the ego get its energy? The ego feeds off your desire to be something else. You are poor and you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/where-does-the-ego-get-its-energy-the-ego-feeds-off-your-desire-to-be/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I know "accessibility" is a term that's kind of thrown around wantonly today, especially with talking about visual media. But I think that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-powell/i-know-accessibility-is-a-term-that-s-kind-of-thrown-around-wantonly/) [Nate Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-powell/) > [I've always looked at directing as the next step for me in my creative career, and after spending the better part of the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anthony-dale/i-ve-always-looked-at-directing-as-the-next-step-for-me-in-my/) [Ian Anthony Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anthony-dale/) > [In anything fit to be called by the name of reading, the process itself should be absorbing and voluptuous; we should gloat over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-anything-fit-to-be-called-by-the-name-of-reading-the-process/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Inside you're like some kind of mirror, reflecting everything without absorbing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-deikman/inside-you-re-like-some-kind-of-mirror-reflecting-everything-without/) [Arthur J. Deikman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-deikman/) > [There are two kinds of actors -- one sits in a dressing room waiting for his call and the other gets out into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/there-are-two-kinds-of-actors-one-sits-in-a-dressing-room-waiting-for/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) Browse all 189 Absorbing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the other socialist countries stands as a clean and unquestionable warning as to which path any rational and sane people should never follow again. Government planning brought poverty and ruin...Unfortunately, America is not absorbing the lessons that should be learned from the socialist experience and, instead, is following the same path of destruction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Ebeling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet-union-and-in-the-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorbing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet-union-and-in-the-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/richard-ebeling-35999_absorbing_socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet_3101129.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Socialism's failure in the former Soviet Union and in the other socialist countries stands as a clean and…” — Richard Ebeling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Ebeling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Socialism's failure in the former Soviet...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet-union-and-in-the-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/socialism-s-failure-in-the-former-soviet-union-and-in-the-other/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```