By Yoe Suarez

A revolutionary identifies cracks in society. He cries out to the heavens that capitalism is the problem. His cronies hear him, but so do enough “useful idiots” to enable him to seize power. He implements socialism. The economy stagnates and shrinks, productive members of society flee, shortages mount, and anyone who criticizes is beaten. The revolutionary, then — reigning over the ruins — shouts that what occurred was not “true socialism” and proposes plunging even deeper into the abyss to achieve it.

This vicious cycle — which has even entered popular culture as a meme — unfortunately leaves a trail of bones, broken families, and shattered lives. Mongolia, Cuba, East Germany, North Korea, Venezuela, Laos. The promise of achieving an authentic socialist system appeals to a utopia rooted in envy and resentment toward the successful. And its ranks are swelled, for the most part, by those drawn in by these base passions.

The base of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — perhaps the future name of the Democratic Party? — consists largely of individuals with high levels of education but modest incomes or declining economic mobility.

According to analyst Nate Silver, this core group combines university-educated cultural status with financial insecurity.

I predict that, if they succeed, their revolution will promise to lead them to paradise but will land them in hell. And their conclusion will be that they simply didn’t walk far enough toward the horizon.

Along these same lines, in a recent interview, Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed the question of whether Cuba could emerge from its economic crisis. “Utopia is on the horizon,” he said. “When we walk two steps, utopia recedes two steps. And the horizon moves ten steps ahead. What is utopia for? For walking.”

And while the tyrant plays at being a poet, “real” socialism causes blackouts lasting days; the meager food supply rots in unplugged refrigerators; schools are left without teachers and children spend hours doing nothing; and anyone who takes to the streets to demand freedom ends up beaten, imprisoned, or both.

Advocating for an ideology that causes such things is the mark not only of an idiot but of someone deeply resentful and consumed by envy. It is the typical progressive who cries, “Burn it all down!” without realizing that, after the burning, he too will be consumed by the flames.

There are even those who love this suicidal idea so much that they worship the symbols of oppression and refuse to let go of their altars.

Recently, the Mexico City government announced plans to “rebuild” the sculptures of Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara — statues that Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, the mayor of the Cuauhtémoc borough, had removed last year.

She had ordered the removal of those life-size figures to reject the history of oppression both historical figures inflicted upon Cuba. Yet now, the capital’s government insists on installing them at a different location in the city. Why? Ideological affinity with two compulsive murderers.

To make matters worse, the Secretariat of Culture will use taxpayer money to create the sculptural ensemble known as Encuentro (Encounter).

Public servants with the moral integrity of Rojo de la Vega are a rarity in Latin America. Thugs, on the other hand, are in plentiful supply.

She has faced criticism not only for removing the Castro and Guevara monument but also for briefly arresting activists who — during a march celebrating the Cuban Revolution’s anniversary in January — vandalized public property while demanding the return of the statues.

It is incredible that, despite such close geographical and cultural ties, some Mexicans fail to understand the suffering endured by the Cuban people. That political blindness can only be explained by ideological glaucoma.

The socialist idiot’s infinite loop does not necessarily stem from a lack of education or knowledge, but rather from the insidious supremacy of ideology over the understanding that “the other” is a human being.

Socialism is anti-human — not only because it disregards the nature of the individual, but because it is willing to refuse to see the causes of suffering if doing so serves its suicidal narrative. Worse still, it weaponizes base passions against the common man, all while expecting him to applaud and venerate it in the end.

Yoe Suárez is The Washington Stand’s international affairs correspondent. He is an exiled journalist, writer, and producer who investigated in Havana about torture, political police, gangs, government black lists, and cybersurveillance. A graduate of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, he was a CBN correspondent, and has written for outlets like The Hill and Newsweek. He has appeared on Vox, Univision, and Deutsche Welle as an analyst on Cuba, security, and U.S. foreign policy.

This article originally appeared here.