I just came across what struck me as a relevant sentence in a book I'm reading at the moment: "Economic systems are not things like the stars, but things like the lamp-posts,manifestations of the human mind, and things to be judged by the heart." (From Charles Dickens by GK CHesterton.)

Maybe, but you don't get people saying.....I don't agree with your analysis of a lamp-post, or that's not a true lamp-post, lamp-posts are causing all trouble of this world, I regard myself as a believer in lamp posts, lamp posts must be opposed, lamp posts eat away at man's self respect,.....whereas socialism.