The problems with socialism

It seems to me that there is this growing infatuation with Socialism these days. The very heart of it attracts those compassionate people into believing that this is the object of civilized society. I see it growing in political popularity. I see it growing in religious circles. I see it becoming a welcomed member of society.Socialism is basically a form of government that takes all the profits of a society and spreads it equally across its citizens. It looks real good on paper: no one is richer than anyone else; no one goes without a home; everyone has equal access to the goods of a society; everyone has exactly what they need provided for them; everyone is treated and respected equally.As I said, this all sounds great on paper. Problem is, in action, the deeds fall short of the intention. Here are my issues with Socialism:1. No CompetitionIn socialism, all classes of people have exactly the same wealth. No one has more than their neighbor. What this does is create a sense of security and comfort. When someone works harder than another person, the exact same profit is earned (in whatever capacity we call "profit"). Therefore, there is really no need to work harder than another. If one person carries more of the burden, or more responsibility - like a manager of a plant, or the head of a business - there is really no incentive to carry the needs of that particular position to its peak level. You have thus created a plateau for business achievement.2. Someone always takes over.Stalin. Chairman Mao. Fidel Castro. Hugo Chavez. Hillary Clinton. There's always someone ready to take the lead and decide what's best for everyone else. There is a pinnacle; a peak representative of the society willing to bear the "brunt" of the blows for the "good of society." In other words, it turns into a dictatorship very quickly. With society in control of all the wealth and distribution thereof, the head of that society is the one in charge of deciding how it goes out. You have just created a despot. It might work out for a generation, maybe two, but someone will be in charge that doesn't want to give up power. It's human nature. Not spiritual nature - human nature. There are smooth talkers, and fast walkers. Look how our buddy Hugo Chavez is turning his democratic Venezuela into a dictatorship systematically. As long as the right procedure is followed, it can be done. When the government is in charge, there's no stopping the government's control.3. It has not worked anywhere it has been tried.The Soviet Union; Cuba; Communist China; North Korea; Vietnam - not one of these countries has succeeded without millions of deaths, outrageous numbers of starving citizens, or they just haven't succeeded at all. Stalin massacred his own people. So did Chairman Mao. Kim Jong Il allows his citizens to starve while he further isolates his country. Vietnam had millions of its citizens killed when the United States withdrew from its efforts to halt the spread of Communism. Cuba has refugees leaving still to this day. China is only just now viewing the potential wealth in modeling its economy along more capitalist forms. Socialism doesn't work. Not in the forms that have been tried, and not in the forms that will be developed.Human society, as a whole, cannot hold up in this dream of a Utopia. I'll admit it again - all these ideas about Socialism sound absolutely wonderful. But they have always fell short in action. The United States is the freest, wealthiest, most powerful country in the world - and it's been around for less than two and a half centuries. I credit this to an absolutely amazingly written constitution above all else; and an amazing system for its economy to continually better itself. Free trade, capitalist corporate and business models, and a drive to be better for your own sake. In the place, you can become as wealthy as you can figure out how to become. All you have to do is strive to be better. I fear and rue the day that Socialism is found to be the absolute model of perfection. It will be on that day that people hand over that which gives them the right to believe what they believe; that which gives them the right to be what they want to be; that which gives them the right to decide for themselves how far they wish to succeed in life; that which gives them the right to practice whatever religion, notion, or idea comes to their mind.That thing I refer to is freedom. Keep government out of your life. Personal freedom is all that counts in this world.