I have told this story many times. In 6th grade I became a Marxist without knowing it, and when told I was one, I started reading. Our teacher was trying to explain why communism was bad. I countered all her arguments by citing the parallels between what she described as socialism/communism and the teachings of Christ. I wasn't trying to be smart. I just saw then how the system we have rewards those who already have something and vilifies the poor. She said, "The problem with socialism is that you run out of other people's money." I raised my hand and when called on asked, "Isn't it all other people's money when you don't have any?" She stopped in her tracks and asked to see me after class.
I did some reading and discovered that from a Marxist POV, there has never been a true socialist country in history. The US and USSR both had socialist programs, and the US actually had better luck with them because they had more money to start with. Later I learned that there have been totalitarian regimes that claim to be communist (like the US claims to be a democracy) but they have not passed through the necessary steps of capitalism and socialism first. Socialism is more democratic than the so called "free" market because rather than the whims of advertising and competition the people, the PUBLIC, decide what to do with collective resources and the Commons. Social need rather than private profit should guide production. If you say it wouldn't work, it has never been tried, much like the teachings of Jesus ( not Christianity) have never really been tried.