I would be a socialist if I thought it would work.

Attributed to Nancy Astor, the line frames political allegiance as conditional on practical results rather than ideological purity. It suggests a willingness to endorse redistributive or collectivist aims in principle—if they could reliably deliver prosperity, fairness, and freedom—while implying skepticism that socialism can do so in practice. The remark also functions rhetorically: it concedes the moral appeal of socialist promises while undercutting them with a test of feasibility (“if it would work”). In debates, this kind of conditional endorsement can position the speaker as pragmatic and open-minded, even while reinforcing a conservative or liberal-capitalist conclusion.