The Plymouth Pilgrims accidentally ran the first documented socialist experiment in America three centuries before Marx scribbled his manifesto. ... "common storehouse" system from 1620-1623 delivered textbook collectivist results

x.com ^ | May 5, 2026 | Handre @Handre

[ransomnote]

Handre

 

@Handre

The Plymouth Pilgrims accidentally ran the first documented socialist experiment in America three centuries before Marx scribbled his manifesto. Governor William Bradford's "common storehouse" system from 1620-1623 delivered textbook collectivist results: mass shirking, crop failures, and near-starvation.

Bradford recorded the disaster in detail. Young men "complained that they were oppressed" when forced to work for others without reward. Productive colonists watched lazy neighbors receive equal rations despite contributing nothing. The system "was found to breed much confusion and discontent" because it violated basic human incentives. People starved while fertile Massachusetts soil lay underworked.

The turnaround came swiftly in 1623 when Bradford abandoned the collective model and assigned private family plots. Production exploded overnight. Women and children voluntarily joined field work when their families directly benefited from extra effort. The same colonists who nearly died under socialism suddenly produced abundant harvests under private property.

Bradford explicitly credited private ownership for saving Plymouth Colony. He documented how individual responsibility transformed human behavior within a single growing season. Individual effort cannot be separated from individual reward without destroying both.

Every socialist experiment since Plymouth has repeated this identical pattern. Different century, different continent, same predictable collapse when planners ignore the reality of human nature.

No matter what they call it, whenever and wherever collectivist ideas are put into practice, disaster soon follows.

 

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[No name given]

It never does.

[Texan5]

“How many socialist European countries would have collapsed”

With pres Trump saying they need to invest-aka spend their own money-on their own military defense-and closing the USA/NATO checkbook-it looks like we may be seeing the answer to that question before very long...

[packrat35]

I actually learned this in elementary school 50 years ago. Amazing, it seems history keeps repeating.

[throwthebumsout]

[ckilmer]

the chinese communists also tried pure socialism without success.

[ChessExpert]

“I thought Jamestown common store was the first colonial attempt at socialism (1607).”

Yes. 80% of the original colonists died and the colony needed to be resettled in 1610 and 1618. In 1618, they introduced private property.

[DugwayDuke]

Jim W N wrote: “Nobody’s version of socialism has ever worked”

Democratic Socialism is a newer version of socialism. Democratic Socialism holds that previous versions of socialism failed when it was hijacked by the elites for their own benefit. Democratic Socialism will succeed since the elites will be subject to the will of the people. This version will fail for the reason all other versions have failed, men are not angels and will not work for others unless forced.

Actually, that is the basic difference between socialism and communism. True communists understand that. The purpose of socialism is to bring forth the “Communist Man” who is the kind of man needed for communism to succeed.

[cpdiii]

Marxism is the theoretical perfect form of government with the following flaws.

1. It defies human nature and instinct and thus fails. I will work for myself but not for you unless compelled. Marxism compels with brute force, guns and violence and death. About 160 million deaths since 1917, the Russian revolution.

2. The rule of the proletariat becomes the rule of the elite swiftly. The proletariat becomes the ruled again. The Kulaks are killed. They are most annoying creatures to the Marxist elites though they feed Russia. Not a problem for the elites as they controlled the food. The Pheasants starved by design most particularly in the Ukraine.

3. It does not work. Russia was a failed nation with a lot of nukes before it collapsed thanks to Ronald Reagan. It was the largest nation on earth with vast resources yet economically a disaster. That is what Marxism does. Efficiency goes down the tubes, corruption expands. It always fails.

Addendum:

China is an odd case. It was a Marxist failure for many years. It no longer is such and has great success. They pretend to be Marxist but in reality are a capitalistic dictatorship. Oddly their embarrassment of capitalism has made this the most dangerous nation on earth. They now have the money to do bad deeds around the world.

If Marxism worked I would be a Marxist. It does not work and only brings death, destruction and tragedy.

[EvilCapitalist]

Funnily enough, I just started to read Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims again, and now I see this article.

[Ozymandias Ghost]

No. The Jamestown Colony in Virginia had socialism when founded in 1607 and abandoned the system in 1611 after this system was a major contributor to “The Great Starving Time” during the winter of 1610. That winter led to the deaths of 2 out of every 3 colonists at Jamestown.

[x]

True, but later socialists didn’t have any problem with enforcing the “if you don’t work you don’t eat” rule on their subjects.

[MayflowerMadam]

Yeah. It didn’t work out for them. There always will be lazy losers.

[MayflowerMadam]

And mine: William Brewster.

[MayflowerMadam]

Paraphrase from:

“if any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10”

[caver]

“I’ve told my kids in their younger years, that communism only works in a loving family.”

That is probably the worst example of trying to make socialism work, unless you have a very loving and unique family. Most families would kill one another because they can’t get along.

[Paal Gulli]

Proof yet again that altruism has a short shelf life and limited cash value.

[jimfr]

A “The Great Starving Time” is common in the early years of most colonies during the winter when nutrition becomes poor, lacking vitamins in the diet.

[jimfr]

All the renderings of this story that I have heard, but one, conveniently leaves out a few important parts of the story. Each year the pilgrims grew enough for the existing persons, but the supply boats brought more people which caused extra burdens on the harvest.
Also when the pilgrims were given individual plots, that year they experienced a drought and all the crops dried up looking dead. The pilgrims took this that God was upset with them for being selfish. They repented and prayed to God for forgiveness. After which, they received a gentle rain that brought the crops back to life and even the natives commented that they never experienced such gentle rains, usually if rains came they would wash the soil away and finishing killing the crops.
This is really a story of God’s forgiveness and provisions.

[Reeses]

I’ve told my kids in their younger years, that communism only works in a loving family.

Communism sort of works for military life as well, which is probably where the idea came from, but all communism operates off excess capitalist productivity. Without a free market economy to fund it, communism is unsustainable. AI will likely transition into a phase of funding successful communism for a while, but then quickly transition into a new phase of letting billions of humans die off.

[Vendome]

Zactly