Why is Socialism the preferred economic system of almost every technologically advanced nation in the world?
Each of those countries does indeed have socialist aspects, but their economies are certainly not completely socialist, and it would be a mistake to label them as such. Usually they have mixed economies – certain functions are controlled by the government, but most businesses are run with privately with capitalist motives in a free market. The reason for socialism in modern society is because in certain situations, the free market is does not seem to be the most efficient way to handle a situation. These are called market failures, and they have a number of causes, such as negative externalities, economies of scale, public goods, informational advantages, and network effects. When there are such market failures, government intervention is often utilized. When an industry has repeated market failures, a government might step in and take over completely, in an effort to make things better for its citizens. This is the case for health care in a lot of the countries you mentioned. Edit: Ch
