Its not bizarre when you consider that what is called "socialism" today encompasses a range of attitudes towards economic policy. Its not bizarre when you consider that the drive towards efficiency and concentration of wealth destroys the demand side of the equation. The Nordic countries are doing great (better than the US in many regards) and this is what most on the left refer to when they speak of socialism. I don't know how anyone can look at Venezuela or Eastern Europe in the 70s/80s and say "yeah, we should be like that."