It always struck me that socialism is the economic system that in theory appears to be closest/compatible with democracy. Then again, I think what has actually become obvious is that mixed economies are what seem to work, to which I'd add not just having rules, but changing them often enough to prevent gaming of the system. So maybe in a sense messy is good not just because the real-world requires messy solutions, but because you got to keep people on their toes. Let's face it, laissez-faire or pure socialism, the weak point in either case is people subverting the system.
