Ben Walker

The folks suggesting that this story shows the folly of socialism have it completely backward. Socialism is when the workers who actually perform the labor reap the full benefits of that labor. Capitalism is when labor is exploited by owners who don't perform the labor. Owners pay a wage, which is generally just enough for the worker to subsist, in exchange for all the labor power the worker can offer. They then take the surplus that worker creates and use it for their own benefit, without performing the work. Capitalists are the dog, cat, and mouse. Worker is the hen. Lenin himself said that those who can't work and won't shouldn't be able to enjoy what's produced from that work. There's been more and far less successful attempts at socialism, but socialism doesn't inherently reward those who don't work. Capitalism, on the other hand, is literally designed to do this. Capitalism only creates the illusion that workers are paid for the full value of their labor. In reality, they are only paid a small portion of it. The owners enjoy the rest.