Often much better than in the wild. Better, balanced food, medical care, and the constant attention of people who sincerely have their best interests in mind. Animals in a good zoo are healthier, and live a lot longer for the most part than they do in the wild.

Some people might think the animals are better off in there than out struggling in the wild, with hunger and possible death on all sides.

Maybe they're even right. But I don't have to like it. A lion in a well-designed zoo with a roomy habitat, trees, and ponds, may be the happiest lion you've ever seen. But he isn't really a lion any more.

Socialism is based on a number of ideas. Among these are:

- That charity needs to be forced because people are just too rotten to get the job done otherwise. The merging of the ideas of generosity and charity with the concept of forced wealth redistribution is obscene, but accepted as a given by many people today. When I object to having my property taken from me and given to others whether I will or no, I am considered "selfish" and "greedy." Nobody ever wonders how much I would give if simply asked.

- That wealth belongs to society, and you get to keep whatever someone else thinks you deserve. And believe me, you don't deserve to be rich.

For those who are basically the "takers" of life, this is very attractive. For those who are the producers and risk-takers, it isn't. Socialist societies tend to attract a lot more of the former than the latter.