Three Nations That Tried Socialism and Rejected It

Israel, India, and the United Kingdom each lifted itself from economic stagnation by switching to free-market policies.

Socialists are fond of saying that socialism has never failed because it has never been tried. But in truth, socialism has failed in every country in which it has been tried, from the Soviet Union beginning a century ago to three modern countries that tried but ultimately rejected socialism — Israel, India, and the United Kingdom.

While there were major political differences between the totalitarian rule of the Soviets and the democratic politics...