Here's a famous quote from Marx

I often hear statements about how socialism is a nice idea but it just doesn't work. Why doesn't it work? Usually the answer has something to do with human nature. I am told that socialism doesn't work because humans need incentive to work. If money, goods and services are distributed according to need then no one will want to do any work because that is the way human nature works. This is an argument that the "realm of freedom" cannot be extended beyond the restrictions imposed by human nature.

This assumes that human nature is necessarily what they believe it to be and thus capitalism is determined necessarily as a better alternative to socialism; he realm of freedom can be extended no further.

Is this an accurate understanding of human nature? Can the realm of freedom be extended no further with respect to economic organization?

Margaret Thatcher remarked that socialism stops working when socialists run out of other peoples' money.

The same can be said for capitalism. But really I'm not sure what the Thatcher quote means.

No. Capitalists tend to spend their own money. Yes, you do know what it means. Just watch the Obama administration working away at it.

No I don't know what it means and neither do you and neither did Thatcher.

Illustration: Obama is busily working away at spending other people's money for Obamacare, Obamastimulus, Obama this, and Obama that. When he runs out of money (which, apparently, he will soon do) he will have to stop, unless, of course, he decides to print more (which he probably will do).

I haven't heard of any programs called Obamacare or Obamastimulus. Were these the names of actual bills that were passed? I can't be sure what you are talking about.

Most capitalist ventures rely on loans and investments (other people's money). Often (so called) capitalists rely on corporate welfare (other people's money).

Most sound bites are light on meaning and are really designed to have the illusion of meaning and to play on people's emotions. The Thatcher quote is a good example this.

It sounds right on the mark to me. Capitalists do not confiscate other people's money to promote some agenda of their own. Obamacare, the pending health-care bill. Obamastimulus. The stimulus money allegedly being used to increase employment. But you know all this. Socialists use confiscated money to promote socialism. And there is only so much money they can confiscate before they run out of it. Then they have to stop.

Capitalists use other people's money to promote their own agendas e.g. to turn a profit, to advertise, perhaps to influence an election. When capitalists run out of other people's money they have to stop too. Sometimes this is called a market correction. Sometimes it is called a credit crunch. Sometimes it's called a drop in consumer confidence (it's hard to be a confident consumer when you don't have any money, your credit cards are maxed out, and your mortgage is underwater). On a larger scale it is called a recession or a depression. That's what happens when other people's money runs out. Then they have to stop.

Here's a famous quote from Marx

I often hear statements about how socialism is a nice idea but it just doesn't work. Why doesn't it work? Usually the answer has something to do with human nature. I am told that socialism doesn't work because humans need incentive to work. If money, goods and services are distributed according to need then no one will want to do any work because that is the way human nature works. This is an argument that the "realm of freedom" cannot be extended beyond the restrictions imposed by human nature.

This assumes that human nature is necessarily what they believe it to be and thus capitalism is determined necessarily as a better alternative to socialism; he realm of freedom can be extended no further.

Is this an accurate understanding of human nature? Can the realm of freedom be extended no further with respect to economic organization?

You are missing something else here. In capitalism there is a HUGE incentive to invent new things, because you can get rich from them. In socialist arena you can't have the same type of opportunity. So all that hard work, time invested in creating new ideas is a huge let down for socialists. That is why a huge majority of inventions tend to come from capitalists societies and then the socialists adopt them later but rarely do they invent new technology. So if we are to become socialists, technology development will drop dramatically. Because the incentive to put in a lot of hard work will be lost. This is part of the human nature that people refer to when they say socialism ignores human nature.

Can the realm of freedom be extended or do all roads away from capitalism lead to serfdom?

We were talking about socialism. I don't know what roads you mean.

There are at least two roads away from capitalism: the road to serfdom and the road to socialism.

I don't think they are very different, as I have indicated.

I think they are different.

The roads think they are different. They go in opposite directions. Socialism distributes wealth more equally than serfdom. That's so obvious it shouldn't need to be mentioned.

I have read some Hayek. You should read Karl Marx.