Ben Shapiro

Marxism is a utopian philosophy that basically suggests the perfectibility of mankind.

That if you change the economic structures, greed will disappear and people will become better.

They will transform.

It is not true.

The reality is the vast majority of countries that even socialists call socialist are not in fact socialist.

Denmark is not socialist.

Norway is not socialist.

These countries are highly capitalist economies with high taxes and welfare systems.

They're mixed economies.

Here, for example, is the prime minister of Denmark at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2019 explaining this.

The 2026 Index of Economic Freedom from the Heritage Foundation shows that economic freedom advances and prosperity follows.

The countries at the top of the list, by the way, might surprise you.

One, Singapore, two, Switzerland, three, Ireland, four, Australia, and five, Taiwan.

Those Nordic countries, the Northern European countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, all top 20.

US ranked number 22.

How about the socialist countries?

Well, China's 154 and North Korea's 176.

By the way, that Freedom Index is measured using four pillars, rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets.

Since the Trump administration changed a bunch of Biden policy, that 2026 index shows the United States moving up in the rankings.

How about those big socialist systems in the United States?