With the Democrat House filing into DC they bring with them a new host of Socialists. And one might gasp except that in 2010 the Socialist Party released a list of 70 Congressional Democrats who were also members of the Socialist Party of America. They endorsed none other than John Kerry and Obama. In the latest election 15 Socialists were elected to office across the US. While the numbers may seem small from a percentage standpoint, they do reveal an evolution. The EU Commission is comprised of Socialists, the UN is run by Social Democrats, and still, despite the collapse of Venezuela, the push continues.
In every Socialist state, the first death is that of the Middle Class. Those who have much, have more, and those who had nothing, have something. The fact that those who had nothing was a high percentage is what keeps the power operating. Until it collapses.
And so the question arises, why does it collapse?
Opinion pieces are rampant in this discussion, most recently Bloomberg’s op-ed attempted to sway the discussion of Venezuela, and instead highlight the vast progress and effectiveness of Bolivia’s Socialist President, Morales. The opinion piece claims there is a right way and a wrong way to do Socialism and lists Venezuela as the wrong way compared to Bolivia as the right way. Noah Smith, the author of the piece bills himself as a neoliberal on his Twitter status.
But is Bolivia really a ‘right’ way, or is the author simply attempting to validate Socialism?
Bolivia’s President Morales continues to win re-election, not because his policies are good for Bolivia, but because he has given something to a population that had nothing, and virtually eliminated the Middle Class in the process. He is elected by the poor, the 40% of the population living below poverty line. Despite being given vast free assistance from Cuba and Brazil, Bolivia continues to rank in the bottom bowels of South America’s economy, ranked just above Venezuela. Somehow Noah Smith didn’t read that far.
Bloomberg’s, Smith, cites the fact that they have GDP growth… and makes the claim that illiteracy has been eradicated. Unemployment is made up of unskilled laborers, and skilled workers are in high shortage. Corruption is rampant, a dictatorial rule is leveraged, while only 40% of the youth population continue school after the 4thgrade, and 20% enter secondary school, UNESCO has declared the country to be wholly literate. In case you are math challenged, UNESCO warns that the rate can not be higher than 100%… Unlike Florida which typically allows upwards of 140% of the population to vote. I digress.
In terms of World Ranking – Bolivia is followed by Zimbabwe.
Not exactly a stellar record to use in support of Socialism.
The splintering and demise of the Republican and Democrat Parties is parlayed.
While Noah Smith argues that Socialism didn’t destroy Venezuela, hyperinflation did, he rather bizarrely refuses to acknowledge what caused ‘hyperinflation’. It is humorous to note that Venezuela is referred to as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – it followed the exact same ideologies and principles as Morales does now in Bolivia. The Bolivarian Revolution in 1999 ushered in Chavez as the savior of the Republic. He vied for ‘socialism or death’. Chavez government was called the Bolivarian government. He created a new Constitution – as did Morales. They support social welfare, social property, communes, universal healthcare, and of course, redistribution of wealth.
The only difference between Bolivia and Venezuela is that Chavez introduced Socialist policies beginning in 1999, Morales took office in 2006, Bolivia simply hasn’t reached the same crescendo – yet.
While the Soviet Union took decades to rise from the ashes of it’s socialist/communist rule instituted by the Bolsheviks, Venezuela and Bolivia don’t have the machismo or brute intellect to know how to recreate failing economics despite being rich in natural resources. Reading of the demise of Venezuela, it reads as a static version of Bolivia’s current crisis and stagnation – crime rates soaring, riots, protests, inability to redirect industry from oil, vast resources left untapped, education crisis, etc…
Despite Noah Smith attempting to frame Socialism as simply mishandled, he has shown that his own understanding is rather pathetic. But what he isn’t noticing is the fact that while both ruling parties in the US are crumbling, fracturing, and called out as failures (thank you Romney), the evolution of Socialism historically appears as a saving solution only to completely destroy the country so relegated – from within.
The EU is only now waking up to their own demise promulgated by the Socialist/Communist regimes of Merkel, Macron, and May. Sweden is Falling faster than the Twin Towers, and Norway is a close second. But then, that is the plan…
We The People, have that authority. It is a choice.