I've heard it said, for example, that socialism only works on the small scale. Okay then; if that's the case, why don't socialists focus squarely on the small scale? Stop trying to ruin entire countries, and try to better their local communities.
If you see someone who claims to be a socialist, and is actually working in or with local charity groups on their own dime and time, that's the kind of idealist socialist who is actually trying to improve things. The thing is, that kind of person is too busy actually trying to help, to be the leader of a
Movement.
The ones who are professional activists or politicians trying to change the entire nation at once? For them, it's almost exclusively
actually about power, being able to blame other people for everything wrong in the world, or both.
Legitimate good intentions, a functional level IQ, and being invested full-time in political pursuits,
cannot result in sustained belief in socialism. Sooner or later you'll run into someone outside of the socialist echo-chamber, and at that point, if you're acting out of genuine benevolence, you will rapidly discover the fundamental flaws of socialism. And yes, due to law of large numbers I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but none amongst people who actually regularly try to engage in political debate with people on the other side of the spectrum.