There are some nuanced definitions of socialism, but for the record, the Democrat Party wants to reframe our national economy in the socialist mold that continues to empower the state and compress American Liberty.

Karl Marx declared the basic principle involved: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Notably, Franklin D. Roosevelt restated that principle when launching his failed statist “New Deal” policies, saying, “Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”

Marxists expected that technological improvements would ensure sufficient production of everything to satisfy everyone. Of course, this will never happen because Marx’s basic premise assumed that removing reward for production would not impact the amount and quality of production. A quick glance at why the Soviet Union failed is a 70-year testament to that flawed premise — and seven decades of terror and misery.

That notwithstanding, the Democrat socialist deniers are intent on always growing the power of the state by reinstating and expanding the ruinous taxation and regulations on productive individuals and businesses that Donald Trump cut. Of course, they will redistribute just enough of the wealth to keep their dependent constituents voting for them and apply the rest to special-interest groups that perpetuate their reelection. Like the old Soviet leaders, the Beltway Democrats will continue to live the high life at the expense of those they ostensibly represent.

But there is one irrevocable problem.

Democrat Socialism offends the most fundamental nature of all humans. It punishes success and rewards failure. On the one hand, leftists embrace the preservations of natural ecosystems at any cost, but they turn on end the principle of “survival of the fittest” when it comes to economic systems.

Marx and the Democrats missed this life lesson. Every society that has ever tried some form of socialism has failed; their people have become destitute, despondent, depressed, and millions have died. Just ask any escapees from North Korea, Cuba, the former Soviet Union, or East Germany. Heck, just ask the people who are leaving New York and California in droves and taking their businesses with them.