“China is one heckuva example.”
Or look at Germany, or Korea.
Here are (or were in Germany’s case) 2 countries, with the exact same people (and very smart and hard working people in both cases), the same land, culture, tradition, etc.
On the commie side: deprivation, oppression, misery, on the free side: tremendous wealth, productivity, creativity, and general contentment.
Also the example of the Kibbutzes in Israel that Milton Friedman gives in a book. Highly motivated people who wanted to live communally on Kibbutzes, but they really just didn’t like it after a while.
People really do want to be free, they just don’t make good stockyard animals.
Yes, Korea & Germany are sterling examples.
Same people, different government policies, huge difference in results.
But the liberal morons are obsessed with equal results regardless of efforts rendered.