Hey kids: Don't be a sucker for socialism

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There are various sectors of the economy that run more efficiently when socialized. The biggest example is health care where socialized systems have half the costs with better quality of care. Others include insurance, education, retirement, utilities etc.

So can't we just have the mixed economy? In some ways we already have it.

I love how Venezuala is always the standard bearer for socialism by the right. It was a third world country under dictatorship, a third world country under capitalism, and of course a third world country under socialism. If it's a s**t hole under any system that's a sign of broken culture and leadership, not the economic system at play. It's like if I were to make a claim about capitalism and point to Somalia as the example of how capitalism works.

We're having a field day mainly because before it all went to s**t Venezuela was heaped with praise by the Western left, who often said we could learn lessons from the gloriously sexy "rebel angel" Hugo Chávez and his gallant battle for the poor. It's just too tempting a target.

And the historical context is that most liberals made those claims circa 2005-7 when Chavez had his rhetorical fights with George W. Bush. It wasn't smart jumping in with Chavez, any politician from a third world country for that matter, but it's not as if Chavez was wrong about Bush being a moron.

I noticed most of the gushing after his death myself. Amusingly the same people often spoke fondly of another socialist paradise and its ruler, Fidel Castro. A man with a fondness for genital torture.

@Rushking, these failures are always called socialism when it appears to be working, then retrospectively deconstructed as "not socialism" when they fail.

In late stage capitalism the only thing that grows is finance and rent-seeking. Without technological advancement that actually improves the standard of living, all that happens is a bunch of wealth being funneled to the top.

If everyone is so stubborn in their thinking, I predict civilization itself will go through a very painful period. Humanity is basically f****d because too many people are shortsighted and simplistic.

We are already in that painful period.

The increasing popularity of Bernie Sanders is a sign that this painful period is nearly over.

I think it will get worse, unfortunately. It's not over by a long shot.

Your are right.

Keep spreading the gospel of cyber-socialism. Keep spreading the zesty leftist memes. We can't end this period quickly, but we can and should hasten its inevitable demise.

To be honest, I don't trust western media reports on Venezuela anymore. When talking about the authoritarianism of the government, there is never any mention of the constant contempt for democracy and violence dished out by the wealthy elites since Chavez first took office in 1998. No mention of the opposition putsch in 2002 that literally overthrew the elected government. At that time a large majority supported Chavez and the putschists eventually had to stand down in the face of growing protests. It's hard to expect a regime to maintain standards of democracy when the other side does not play by the rules.

"But that's not real socialism. If they had just implemented real socialism everything would be great!"

Venezuelan families scavenge for food to survive hunger

Caracas, Venezuela - As the economic and political crisis deepens in Venezuela, so do the levels of hunger.

A survey by a top university found the average Venezuelan has lost nine kilogrammes in the past year.

Many families are now forced to scavenge for food in what was once South America's richest country.

At a soup kitchen run by the Catholic Church in Caracas, there are rarely any leftovers. It only serves 100 children every day, so the kitchen, which runs on donations, is forced to turn people away.

"Every day, more children come. Our crisis is such that, as they say, shame has been forgotten," Judith Arcia, a cook at the soup kitchen told Al Jazeera.

"People would rather beg for a plate of food for their children, than watch them go hungry."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/v ... 15474.html

Absolutely this. People who point at Venezuela and shout 'socialism' as an example of what all social democratic systems MUST be like remind me of the people who seem to feel the need to link all political conversations, people & ideas as either left or right.

Yea. Instead of taxing the wealthy to remove bolivars from the market, Chaves almost exclusively used national oil revenue to fund government programs. He couldn't cut social spending because that would obviously piss off his base and cost him the election. He also couldn't borrow money during the downturn because all the banks pretty much boycotted his government (they obviously wanted the economy to crash in order to provoke regime change). With no other options, inflation spiked when the price of oil dropped suddenly. Rapid inflation caused the current crisis.

All of these things can happen in any mixed economy.