Socialism will bring about a more just society

"It pays according to effort but through wealth distribution, the same money that the harder workers earned, is given to those making their way by. Winston Churchill once noted, "The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." This being said, a socialist society forces the many to suffer in order to make it easier for the few. Socialism discourages working harder and getting a higher education because the unproductive are guaranteed a living minimum."This system you described sounds exactly like the same one we have today. Welfare, food stamps, etc. Wealth distribution is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it is necessary for those who are physically unable to work or have another serious condition which prevents them from being productive. However, if someone simply chooses not to work because they do not want to, they would not receive any compensation. As everything is managed by the government for the benefit of the nation, not for profit, there would always be jobs for those who wish to have money. Notice that I said everything is managed by the government. The government does not have direct control over absolutely everything. All businesses and factories would be a communal project, overseen by a larger body since everything needs a leader. The system would be even more democratic than the system we currently have. "Without competition our society is incapable of moving forward. Competition is what drives an economy and makes it prosperous. There will be an absence of innovation due to the lack of competition and opportunity. In a worse case, innovation and change would be stifled and in the best case, it would be slow in coming."What do you mean by "moving forward?" Yes, innovation will be hindered. That progress will be slower. In a socialistic society, the objective is not to become a prosperous nation. It is simply to make sure that everyone has a means of acquiring wealth on a level playing field. Nobody has an unfair advantage or becomes lucky, and no one gets the short end of the stick and is stuck in poor neighborhoods and environments. It is fair; it is just. "Because much of the economy is controlled by the state, the ability for an individual to break out and pursue aspirations and dreams is signficantly reduced. This is akin to holding a race where the goal is just to finish; no one strives to win."Again, the economy is not controlled by the state. The state just manages. Individuals are still free to do how they please. No one is forcing them to do anything. The only aspiration that is reduced is the ability to own a private business. Also, I find that analogy completely unrelated. Yes, there is no competition in the economy. However, people still need to work. It is as if there was a race that rewarded cash based on how fast an individual could complete it. The USSR could arguably be considered a communistic society. There were multiple reasons why the nation encountered issues as well, such as that an extremely large portion, estimated at over 50%, of their goods were going to the military. One can only imagine how much was left for the rest of the population.It is interesting that you brought up a real-world example, specifically one of the few that could be argued was communistic and totalitarian. What about the countries that could actually be considered socialistic today?ChinaDenmarkFinlandIrelandCanadaNew ZealandBelgium NetherlandsWhile not entirely socialistic, these countries contain large amounts of socialistic ideals; they are doing amazingly well. They have extensive welfare systems (like free health care). They are far more equal than the United States. The people are happy and the nations are prosperous. They even have some of the highest living standards in the world. Much of my argument has been on an entirely socialistic society. However, one does not have to look far to see that even the implementation of some of these ideals has produced far more equality in their respective nations than the United States and, I dare to say, most capitalistic societies have ever contained.