Venezuela

A more recent example of the failure of socialism is the nation of Venezuela. What was once the wealthiest nations in South America has been turned into a nation of poverty and violent chaos. The Marxists sold the concept of social justice and class warfare to the people in this nation and they voted in a Marxist regime. This regime ruined the economy and set up a military dictatorship that persecutes and murders any opposition. The following video gives a historical overview of how this situation developed.

Video Link: https://www.prageru.com/video/whats-not-to-love-about-socialism?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_13042634&recent=&donor=

Transcript

Who says socialism doesn’t work?

Let’s take on the naysayers one argument at a time. 

We’ll do it by employing a compelling example: my home country of Venezuela, where the benefits of socialism are plain for all to see. 

One: socialism leads to a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Want to save the planet? Follow Venezuela.

Twenty-five years ago, Venezuela was a leading oil and gas producer. Research suggests that the country might have some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. Today, because of the efforts of the late President Hugo Chavez, Hollywood’s favorite socialist, and his handpicked successor, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s oil and gas industry barely functions.

In 1998, Venezuela produced 3.5 million barrels of oil daily. Today, Venezuela is lucky to produce 700,000 barrels per day.

There’s hardly enough energy to keep the lights on.

Instead of exporting fossil fuel to the world, that liquid gold stays in the ground, and, therefore, is not released as carbon into the atmosphere.

Two: Socialism eliminates income inequality.

Not that long ago, Venezuela was a prosperous country, one of the richest in the Western Hemisphere. 

The economy was expanding on every front. 

Opportunity abounded. 

Good jobs were plentiful. 

Foreign investment poured in. 

But there was a glaring problem: the rich — as they always do when economies grow —  were getting richer. Chavez called this “savage capitalism,” and he vowed to get rid of it. He was true to his word. He nationalized the banks, the grocery stores, and the energy industry.

In short, he instituted socialism’s best practices.

Soon income inequality, that scourge of humanity, became a thing of the past. Everyone in Venezuela is now equally poor. Of course, the exception is Maduro and the ruling elite. They live like princes, but that’s only fair. Taming savage capitalism is hard work. Naturally, they deserve some reward for their Herculean efforts. 

Three: socialism eliminates immigration problems. 

Between 2021 and 2025, The United States was overrun with illegal migrants who poured into the country in search of a better life.

Venezuela doesn’t have this problem.  No one wants to move into the country, but lots of people want to move out. 22% of its population has fled over the last fifteen years, many coming to the US. Many of those leaving are poor, but many are also the cream of Venezuela: lawyers, doctors, teachers, and businessmen.

As a result of this mass exodus, you can buy a nice house in the countryside or a condo in Caracas for very little money compared to what a similar residence would cost in a first world country. Of course, very few people aside from the ruling elite have any money to buy a house, but let’s not start quibbling over details. 

Four: Socialism provides an excellent incentive to lose weight.

The United States, that paragon of capitalism, has a serious weight problem. People eat too much. It’s hardly surprising. You walk into a grocery store, and you’re overwhelmed with tasty food options.

That used to be the case in Venezuela, too. No more. In 2003, Chávez imposed price controls on 400 essential products like meat, dairy, and bread.  Farmers couldn’t make a profit at those prices, so they stopped producing. Soon there was almost no food to be found anywhere.

If you eat less, you lose weight. The long lines to get into the supermarket are, admittedly, an inconvenience, but you know what they say: “No pain, no gain.” Or, in this case, no loss. By 2016 the average Venezuelan had lost 19 pounds on what came to be known as the Maduro Diet. That’s enough to make Weight Watchers green with envy. 

Five: Socialism provides free health care.

Americans are always complaining about how expensive health care is. Health care in Venezuela, like in all good socialist countries, is free. And yes, there might be a delay of six months or a year before you get treatment, and that treatment might be limited by the lack of medical equipment and medication, and during surgery the hospital might lose electricity, but — assuming you survive all this — it’s free. And that’s something you can’t say in those savage capitalist places. 

I could go on with socialism’s many achievements: free college (just don’t criticize the Great Leader, like I did, which got me expelled), effective gun control (the government confiscated all the guns), and political continuity (only two Presidents in the last quarter century).

After all of that, why would any caring, compassionate, environmentally concerned person not want to live in a socialist country?

Are you listening, America? This can all be yours.

All you have to do… is give up your freedom and prosperity.

I’m Franklin Camargo for Prager University.

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