One hundred years ago Argentina was the fourth richest nation on earth. And what happened? Socialism. Marx, rather than common sense, took over.
Over the years, I have argued the point that socialism in its various forms is NOT an economic theory / plan. It is a political plan, masquerading as economic.
The correct antidote is not capitalism --- a term most prominent in so many Leftists' texts including Marx and Piketty -- but liberty.
As individuals make "free" and self-affirming decisions in their own best interests (and are prevented from theft as a "free" decision), there will be those who prosper and those will not. But their decisions will be theirs, consequences and all.
Meanwhile, socialism in all its forms presents government as the middleman, and what we know of middlemen is that they take their "share" and "as much as the market will bear."
Socialism as a thesis is a political plan. Liberty is its antithesis.