Capitalism is increasingly unpopular but for many people socialism conjures up images – based on everything from dystopian fiction to the real history of Stalinism – of societies that are dull and rigid in the name of a gray “equality.” The charge of being boring may seem minor compared with capitalism’s crimes, but there is an underlying assumption about the limitations of human potential are important that is important to take on for anyone serious about the idea that the world can do better than its current system.