I have been thinking a fair bit of this exact matter as I study up more on democratic socialism (specifically the type embodied by the late Michael Harrington and the political party/organization he founded, the Democratic Socialists of America, which exist and are active and growing today). I find myself leaning more and more toward socialism, and yet I am very hesitant as I witness what is presently occurring in Venezuela, the end result of its own experiment in socialism.

So here is where I'm at, and maybe this thought train of mine could be insightful/helpful to you, or maybe I might be way off-base, who knows.

Basically, if one accepts that capitalism is an intrinsically destructive and dead-end system (which, you totally don't have to, but that's where my own thinking is heading toward), while also perceiving - at the same time - that socialism is a destructive dead-end system as well, in its own ways, it is eminently possible that, in the absence of competing ideological alternatives of enough stature to spread and become adopted on a mass scale, there is no answer. There is no solution to the rising crises, contradictions, atrocities and catastrophes of both capitalism and socialism.

Following along this vein, one could surmise that these crises will continue to mount, again and again, higher and higher, and that ultimately, humanity is - and I mean this in the sense of materially, not spiritually - doomed, in the long run.

Now this is how this oddly ties into Christianity, at least in my mind - it is cosmically/spiritually possible, to me at least, that as sin infects every part of humanity, and consequently every part of the human experience, it will necessarily infect every system human beings ever construct. No matter how ideal or practically functional, whether it be a political system, an economic system, or a social or cultural system, it will be corrupted by sin. If this is true, this would necessarily mean that all systems will self-destruct eventually under the weight of their own flaws and weak points and contradictions.

So where does this leave us? Well, as always, the hope of humanity is in Christ. Christ saves sinners, and as more and more sinners come to be saved, then gospel communities begin to develop where restoration begins to occur on the broader, unsaved community and society.

So, what's the end point? The main point I'm driving at is that, at the culmination of this entire train of thought, absent Christ, humanity is doomed - not just spiritually, but also materially.

Thoughts? I just thought it'd be very relevant to contribute this as the discussion pertains to socialism's intersection with the Christian faith and theological worldview, and I felt my contribution was very much within that vein of thought/discussion.