I like you. You seem to get it. It's interesting how quickly people forget/ignore what life was like in Warsaw pact countries. Then when presented with one as an example they resort to "they practiced the wrong kind of Socialism" or "it failed because they did or didn't do X."

When I ask my friends who lived there during that period they unanimously proclaim how much better life is now and how the standard of living has dramatically improved. Many more people can afford cars and there is incentive to work hard.