One hears how ‘Socialism has tried and has failed again and again. It has been proven that it cannot work.” While I am not sure whether socialism is possible or not, this argument is rubbish. As a Classics scholar, one should learn to take the long view. For example, imagine two Romans talking to each other during the high point of the Roman empire, let us say during the reign of Trajan (98-117 CE). One man praises the achievements of Trajan and the Empire, while another, who has just read Tacitus’ Dialogue On Orators (Dialogus de oratoribus) which connects the decline in oratory to the absence of democratic processes, complains about the loss of freedom. Imagine the other then saying “Democracy can’t work. The Athenians and other Greeks tried it, our forefathers tried it for awhile. It can’t work for long in a society of any size and complexity. Autocracy is the only solution – even the philosophers admit that now. Haven’t you read Dio of Prusa’s work On Kingship?”
Well, he would have been wrong, for, at least to some extent, democracy as been able to develop and even expand in the modern world. Why? New ideologies, new philosophies, but also new means of production and social organizations made it possible. As technology advances, bringing out of necessity new social formations, socialism or even communism may become as widespread and successful as democracy seems to be now.
-- Alvarius.
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