One of the greatest ironies we see stemming from socialism is that, in the modern world, it is most popular as an idea in high-social-trust societies, and mostly among people who live in the highest social-trust strata.
Even in the old communist countries, it was the “intelligentsia” who were the most avid supporters of the socialist ideology, and you almost never meet a working-class socialist in a Western country.
The irony is this: nothing destroys social trust as fast as socialism does. There are low-trust societies that aren’t socialist, of course, but there is no high-trust society that has been able to “transcend” capitalism, become socialist, and remain high-trust.
Even countries in Northern Europe, which Americans think of as socialist, really aren’t. They do have substantial levels of social insurance, but most abandoned socialism because it sucks. These countries rank substantially higher on The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom.
In a country like the United States, levels of social trust are a mixed bag, but are obviously declining as the rule of law erodes, more and more people are seen as freeloaders, and certain segments of our population feel free to commit crimes and promote social disorder.
Nothing says socialism more than citizen barricades. In this case, Les Miserables are seeking to protect their property. After electing a mayor who once called for the defunding of police, Seattle neighborhoods are reverting to self-help measures.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 27, 2026
Cities like Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, and San Francisco have, until recently, been islands of strong social trust. They are also among the most likely to be zipping toward socialism, largely based on the idea that wealth built on trust could be redistributed to create utopias of social justice and economic prosperity.
Grievance culture inspires lawlessness, and lawlessness destroys the very foundation of what makes a great place to live. People retreat into smaller and smaller circles of trust, and eventually everything becomes tribal.
🚨 Trans activist at Seattle City Hall just attacked me and stole my hat after I was repeatedly pushed, grabbed, and blocked.
“Take it! Take it! Steal it!”
Militants repeatedly told me I wasn’t safe at City Hall. Katie Wilson refuses to reign in trans violence in her city. pic.twitter.com/dAzn3lBcqC
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) May 24, 2026
Socialism is based on the assumption that “we are all in this together,” but winds up driving us each all apart. People see each other as either oppressors or freeloaders. No amount of trying to buy off the people who claim to be oppressed will appease a growing mob.
Tom Steyer found that out when he went to a black neighborhood to promote reparations, and his audience wanted them immediately, from him.
Tom Steyer describes himself as a champion for reparations, but it still took a California Highway Patrol escort to get him out of Leimert Park after his SUV was surrounded by protesters. pic.twitter.com/NPtumxMx7f
— Maeve Reston (@MaeveReston) May 22, 2026
Socialism, because it prioritizes redistribution over opportunity, exacerbates discord rather than alleviating it. And it shrinks the pie—Katie Wilson managed to drive Starbucks out of Seattle!—making things ever worse.
Capitalism arose in parallel with an increase in social trust in Europe, and with capitalism came the breakdown of social classes. America leaped ahead because social classes were never deeply embedded here. Socialism is all about exacerbating class differences, not eliminating them.
It’s no coincidence that crime skyrockets under socialism. What’s so striking, though, is that the biggest beneficiaries of living in a high-trust society who work so diligently to bring it down.
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