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, now available for preorder in a beautiful hardcover edition, with the Kindle version expected to follow by mid-November. 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 can 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 his series, you'll get a sneak preview of the valuable insights the book offers. In Chapter 3, "What Is Value?", we learn that value is the result of community choice. The combined individual value is brought together by how people choose to spend their resources, their time, and their money. Nothing has intrinsic value—not gold, not diamonds, not services. The only source of value is in the combined lists of values all the members of the community have inside themselves. This idea applies to all things: food, clothing, shelter, health—even human life. The individual values each of us has are what can allow us to self-actualize and to achieve great things. They are also the defining characteristic of our unique identity. More than anything else, we are what we value. Think for a moment about the dozen or so friends and family members you are closest to. Do you all drive identical cars, live in identical homes, practice the same religion, or have similar voting habits? Do you have the same hobbies? Do you read the same books? Do you eat the same foods? Do you enjoy the same physical activities? Would you be happier if you were forced to have only what they have? Would they be happier if they were forced to have only what you have? No! These are the people closest to you, but they can't choose for you, and you can't choose for them. What chance does a remote state bureaucrat have of making you happy? These free choices, based on your unique combination of values, lead to the consequences that form your life. Choosing a career as a musician will lead to a dramatically different life than picking one as a nuclear engineer. Neither is better than the other, but they have unequal outcomes. We should rejoice in our inequality because it is part of what makes each of us who we are. These individual values lead to specialization and trade, and trade can only function in free markets. The socialist phrase—from each according to his ability, to each according to his need—displays an incredible ignorance of economics and human nature. Under socialism, the state decides how it will use your abilities and which of your needs it will meet. No one—least of all a totalitarian socialist state—can effectively replace self-actualization with societal or state actualization. Nor can it decide what each individual's needs are. Suppose we apply what we know about human nature and economics. In that case, we see that if we apply self-actualization to a national or world economy—each individual choosing their own path—the only viable result is an ideal free-market capitalist society, in which everyone is treated equally by the law, viewed as equals by society, and equally happy with their inherently unequal but free choices. In the next article, we will preview Chapter 4. If you're ready to preorder, you can do so now at 'Amazon.'