With government interventions I usually base my reasoning on these facts:
Income inequality is known to lower growth, and the development of industrial economies occurs concurrent with the growth of the middle class. The oft-praised Scandinavian economies are extensively socialized. However, it's also known that subsidies, benefits, etc. can create harmful disincentives and lower productivity.
So to whatever degree that markets are effective, socialist policies can add benefit within a certain kind of mix that lowers inequality without destroying productivity. And I agree that this doesn't translate directly to subsidies or targeted programs. These kinds of interventions are a powerful tool, but they need to work with the market incentives, not against them. That was the mistake of the Communist concept.
Modern thinking in this realm tends to look towards concepts like basic guaranteed income - instead of affecting firms(which, as we already know, will optimize emotionlessly, ignoring negative externalities) these concepts ultimately rely on the ambitions of the most motivated individuals outweighing the downsides of potential freeloading.
Income inequality is known to lower growth, and the development of industrial economies occurs concurrent with the growth of the middle class. The oft-praised Scandinavian economies are extensively socialized. However, it's also known that subsidies, benefits, etc. can create harmful disincentives and lower productivity.
So to whatever degree that markets are effective, socialist policies can add benefit within a certain kind of mix that lowers inequality without destroying productivity. And I agree that this doesn't translate directly to subsidies or targeted programs. These kinds of interventions are a powerful tool, but they need to work with the market incentives, not against them. That was the mistake of the Communist concept.
Modern thinking in this realm tends to look towards concepts like basic guaranteed income - instead of affecting firms(which, as we already know, will optimize emotionlessly, ignoring negative externalities) these concepts ultimately rely on the ambitions of the most motivated individuals outweighing the downsides of potential freeloading.