Marxism/Communism/Socialism/etc. “works” (well … for some.) Had you been able to ask Lenin/Stalin/Mao/etc., they’d have confirmed it to you. It’s exilharating to be the head toad in the slime pond — at least until you croak, or your competition does you in. It just doesn’t do quite as well for all the other pond dwellers. But you can gauge how far up on the rock, and out of the slime a given toad expects to get, and how far down in the muck you’re likely to be, by his/her/its commitment to the cause.
Cry, "Treason!"