"...The inevitable fruits of command economics—shortages, rationing, political dysfunction, and terror—were a feature of life in Venezuela even before Chavez’s death in 2013, but they intensified under his successor, Nicolas Maduro.
- Rates of murder and violent crime in Venezuela exploded.
- Narcotics trafficking is a way of life for civilians and members of the military alike.
- Rolling blackouts were and remain a near-daily experience.
- Running water is a luxury.
- Basic goods and amenities are scarce.
- Food and medicine are rationed, where they can be found at all.
- Preventable diseases like malaria, measles, and diphtheria are common.
- People started to flee with their families for the safety and security of stable market economies.
- And then the political violence began.
...Which brings us back to word games.
The failure of socialism in practice is particularly frustrating for those who have nominally hitched themselves to the socialist wagon.
The redistribution of incomes and the state’s influence over market signals has everywhere failed to achieve its desired aims, and it necessitates oppression and violence when the people it fails begin to notice their worsening lots.
That’s inconvenient if you’re a “Democratic Socialist.”
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