So You're Considering Socialism? Consider Venezuela First!

Bernie Sanders is a self-professed socialist. Hillary Clinton is a far-left progressive who knows nothing about economics which essentially means she too is a socialist. Before deciding to vote for either of these two candidates based on their promises of free stuff, spreading the wealth, and making "the rich" pay their fair share, one should consider a case study of the most recent experiment with socialism - Venezuela.

When Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, Venezuela was the richest country in Latin America. Then Chavez set about implementing his program of "Socialism of the 21th Century" which consisted of massive spending on the poor and nationalizing most of the country's industry including its number one source of wealth - the petroleum industry. For a time, Venezuela's economy managed to continue to lumber along mainly due to the inertia of its great oil wealth. Eventually, the effects of the huge increases in social spending and the adverse consequences of the socialist economic policies combined and compounded causing government revenues to plummet. The Chavez government continued to spend (promise everyone everything) even as the ability to pay for it became increasingly impossible. It borrowed and continued to spend in an economic death spiral feedback loop that today has Venezuela on the verge of economic collapse. It has dropped from the number one economy in Latin America to number 6; even below Cuba - this despite still having tremendous oil reserves. As a result of the implementation of socialist policies, the country's petroleum production capability has fallen dramatically as management was taken out of private, profit driven hands and placed under government, crony control.  The government is unable to negotiate deals to get raw materials or conduct international trade so there are chronic shortages of food and consumer goods including that bourgeois commodity - toilet paper. Inflation is running around 720% a year. Does socialism still sound good to you?

To be fair, "Socialism of the 21th Century", did keep one promise. It did redistribute wealth. Today,  Chavez's daughter is a multi-billionaire!

Now there's change you can believe in!

Recommended Reading for Insight Into Today's Political Climate

I'm currently listening to another book on audio CD, The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A. Hayek during my daily commute and I'm finding it fascinating and surprisingly relevant to today's political environment. Not an easy read or listen but well worth the effort. I think both conservatives and liberals (progressives) will find things of interest contained in the words of Hayek.

I have been aware of this book for years but just recently decided to find and read (listen) to it. I had to wait 6 weeks for it to be available for download from the library but it was well worth the wait.

Even though the book was published in 1944 and was a political analysis of socialism from a "final days of WWII" perspective, the author provided new prefaces in 1976 to help make it more contemporary and if a reader keeps these updates in mind, the book provides some amazing insight into the current political scene. If one allows oneself to not focus on the specifics but rather the broader analysis, this book has much to say to the modern political observer.

History doesn't really repeat itself as the old cliche suggests but the ebb and flow of ideological themes, trends and ideas do seem to have their cycles. I hesitate to call this book prophetic because I think this term is over used and tends to sound a bit too dramatic and ominous. However, if you are up for a challenging read (listen), The Road to Serfdom is worth the effort.