Appearing in an 1894 issue of a popular American news magazine was this editorial that sought to expose the optimistic hallucinations behind socialism:
"The notion that there is a reservoir of wealth somewhere, either in possession of the Government or the rich, that might be made to diffuse plenty through a smiling land, is a delusion which nearly all the writings of ethical economists tend to spread, and it is probably the most mischievous delusion which has ever taken hold on the popular mind."