Lawrence W. Reed challenges the rosy optimism of socialism’s “ABC’s”—its initial promises—and instead urges readers to confront its “XYZ’s”—the real-world consequences of extensive government control, often leading to inefficiency, coercion, and the erosion of individual liberty. Through a collection of essays, he argues that as government grows, it becomes harder to attract honest, capable leaders, thereby increasing the risk of corruption and tyranny—a core vulnerability of socialist systems. Reed invites readers to judge political systems not by their intentions but by their outcomes—and concludes that socialism’s end results consistently fail to deliver the freedom or prosperity they promise.