One of the most persistent ideologies—now running strong for well over a century—is socialism, along with its close relatives communism and fascism. Different uniforms, different slogans, same underlying pathology. These are ideologies that have not merely failed once or twice, but have been disproven so many times that counting the corpses becomes an exercise in grim abstraction. Conservatively, they have brought about the deaths of at least one hundred million people. Likely far more. The exact number depends on how honest the historian is feeling that day.
One would assume that no sane person could possibly continue to follow any of these belief systems. And yet, many do. More than many. In fact, the leftward end of the spectrum is not only alive but fashionable—so en vogue that it continues to win elections, dominate institutions, and present itself as the moral default. The lesson, apparently, was not learned. Or worse, it was learned and consciously ignored.
The believers—the party faithful, the candidates, the activists—do not merely tolerate the ideology. They run for it. They run as it. They genuinely believe the narratives, the promises, the myths. And they are endlessly creative when it comes to justifying the atrocious historical record attached to every single one of these systems. It wasn’t real socialism. It was sabotaged. It was the wrong leader. The conditions weren’t right. The script never changes, only the cast.
What’s real is largely irrelevant to most people. I would go so far as to say that the vast majority will actively fight to prevent any sense of reality from entering their minds. Facts are negotiable. History is malleable. Death tolls are “context-dependent.” The only thing that must remain intact is the belief.
Only near-death experiences seem capable of breaking this spell, and even then the record is skewed. Some wake up. Many double down. Some glimpse the cliff and keep walking anyway, convinced that gravity is a social construct.
Reality, meanwhile, never stood a chance. It doesn’t organize marches. It doesn’t offer redemption narratives. It doesn’t promise utopia. It simply waits—patiently, indifferently—until the bill comes due.
