One of the main accusations leveled by capitalist ideologues against socialism is that it simply does not work. This is rather unconvincing coming from the system which has brought us close to the edge of climate catastrophe, decaying living standards and infrastructure, lower productivity and stagnating growth in western economies. And yet this critique of socialism is routinely accepted without examining the evidence of the achievements of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. When these are set out they reveal the opposite - growing economies and improvements in the well-being of the citizens of those countries. This should give us confidence and hope that there is an alternative to the dire reality of our capitalist world.