The statement was how socialism has failed everywhere.
Thats simply not true. What Sanders is referring too is working well in other countries.
MK, lots of people would agree with this statement, but I don't, and here's why.
Scandinavia (and Denmark) have done pretty well over the past 50 years under the socialist model, however, they have had the luxury of a defense umbrella that they haven't had to pay for. Consequently, the percentage of GDP that they have had to spend on self-defense has been less than what would typically be required to ensure their freedom. They've taken that subsidy and spent it on their social programs.
Concurrently, these countries (up to about 15 years ago, were extremely homogeneous, creating a social cohesion and social compact that constrained what would otherwise encourage reliance on gov't benefits. That is, social taboos (unwritten) existed that constrained people from living off the gov't without making their own way.
Now that immigration has swelled in these counties, the social compact is disintegrating, and large numbers of people from other countries are coming in and jumping onto the generous welfare benefits, etc. It's already creating social upheaval, and these socialist countries are unraveling quickly.
That doesn't even take into account the rapidly declining birth rates in these countries that are killing their social security type systems. The pyramid gets inverted, and you quickly get a large number of people who aren't working getting supported by a shrinking number of people who are working. That will not/can not continue for long.
One example is Greece. At the present moment, for every 100 grandparents, there are only 43 grandchildren. The pyramid is inverted. How long can the free ride last? We're seeing where Greece is going right now. Scandinavia/Denmark (with their sizable immigrant populations) will find out over the next 15-20 years.
