We've all heard it before, the tired "Communism looks good on paper" statement that someone will inevitably offer when dismissing the economic theory, but attempting to maintain a level of neutrality as well.
The last time someone made the statement "Communism looks good on paper" to me, I placed a blank piece of paper and a pen in front of them and asked them to "show me".
A boorish gesture? Perhaps, but their expression was as blank as the paper remained.
Why did the paper remain blank? Because any sensible person knows that Communism does not work; on paper or in practice.
There are many reasons why this is the case, but the main reason is that communism strips away the natural element of competition (innovation suffers greatly without competition), whereas Capitalism maintains the element of competition while, simultaneously, not smothering the concept of voluntary communal initiatives (voluntary charitable donations, crowd funding etc. can all still exist in a capitalist economic structure.)
I encourage people to read different economic theories; including Engels and Marx. It's important to learn and understand different arguments, critiques and perspectives.
However, the results are clear: private ownership and free enterprise produce better results in terms of production, functionality, innovation and profitability.