Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. The Top 10 socialist countries in the world in 2012: China, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, Belgium. Other countries who ascribe to this political ideology are Cuba, Venezuela, Greece and many others. Greece Illustrates 150 Years of Socialist Failure in Europe. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, though social ownership is the common element shared by its various forms. Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity. The Socialist Party of America was founded in 1901. • “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery” — Sir Winston Churchill. • Garry Kasporov, former World Chess Champion, put it this way on Super Tuesday, 3/1/16: ” I’m enjoying the irony of American (Bernie) Sanders supporters lecturing me, a former Soviet citizen, on the glories of socialism. Socialism sounds great in speech soundbites and on Facebook, but please keep it there. in practice it corrodes not only the economy but the human spirit itself.” • As a great economist Milton Friedman once said, “If you put the government in charge of the Shara Dessert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.“ Centralized government control, which is what socialism is, inevitably, ultimately, stamps out individual creativity and talent and industriousness. Collectivism is soul-killing.