I'm excited to announce the launch of my new book, Why Socialism Struggles: Exposing the Economic Errors That Undermine Utopian Ideals, on January 20, 2026. This book is now available for preorder in a beautiful hardcover edition and a Kindle edition. Since many of you are familiar with my previous work, I believe you'll find this a compelling addition. It is a must-read for those interested in economics, political philosophy, and critiques of Socialism. The hardcover version is a limited run, with a paperback version to follow. I'd appreciate your support through preordering. Since supplies will be limited, preordering guarantees you'll be able to obtain a copy. If you've been intellectually stimulated by reading the articles on DougCardell.com, then you will find the book even more engaging. It covers topics that you may have read about here, but in greater depth. In this series, you'll get a sneak preview of the valuable insights the book offers. In chapter 6, “What Is Marx Madness?”, we learn what Marxism is really about. Karl Marx didn’t misunderstand capitalism—he imagined it. Marxism begins with a fatal error: the belief that capitalism has power. It doesn’t. Capitalism cannot coerce, exploit, or oppress anyone. Only governments can do that. Kings, dictators, and socialist regimes wield force. Markets do not. The “power” Marxists attribute to capitalism exists only in theory—never in reality. The real power in capitalism belongs to the consumer. Marx Madness is the delusion that an oppressive dictatorship is somehow better for the people than voluntary exchange. Exploitation requires force, and force requires government. Marxist socialism seeks to replace a system that cannot compel behavior with an all-encompassing state that controls every aspect of life. The chapter includes an analysis of the Colorado Education Association’s anti-capitalist resolution as an example of the ignorance and insanity of the Marxist position. These modern Marxists continue Marx’s fantasy by inventing horrors of capitalism that simply do not exist. Capitalism does not have the power to harm. Much of the exploitation they allege is carried out by their union and its cronies in government. Capitalism is nothing more than investing for the future. Even squirrels are smart enough to practice capitalism by storing food for the future! Socialism, by contrast, is an economic death wish. Capitalism has succeeded everywhere it has been allowed to function, and that’s based on evidence, not imagination. Whereas socialism dreams of controlling every aspect of human life and replacing religion and culture with socialist doctrine, this can only be accomplished by oppressive tyranny. Marx Madness fails to recognize that in the modern world, we enjoy a growth economy that does not require fighting over fixed, limited assets. Capitalism generates wealth for all by creating more and better assets, creating a world of abundance, not scarcity. Marx decries this economic growth, believing it is too disruptive for the masses to adjust to. Marx Madness wants to slow or stop progress. Marxism’s repeated failures are not a bug; they are a feature. The repeated failures of Marxism are not accidents. The failures are not flaws in execution. They are the inevitable outcome of a system built on force, fantasy, and denial. Marxism doesn’t fail despite its design—it fails because of it. I’m sure that reading this synopsis has inspired many questions that can best be answered by reading the book. In the next article, we will preview Chapter 7. If you're ready to preorder, you can do so now at 'Amazon.'