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“This is how socialism always ends.”

The people of Venezuala are literally starving to death under socialist rule.

The South American country of Venezuela, infamously known for its wide reaching socialist policies that have left the country devastated, has reached a point where its citizens are losing almost 20 pounds due to their lack of food.

A 2016 study from La Encuesta Condiciones de Vida (Encovi) – in English, The 2016 Living Conditions Survey — conducted a survey of 6,500 families found that a little over 32 percent of Venezuelan households eat only once or twice everyday. 93.3 percent said their income does not support their costs for food, and thus they have resorted to cheaper foods such as vegetables. Namely potatoes.

Due to this, almost 75 percent of the Venezuelan population has lost an average of 19 pounds.

As the author at the link very correctly notes, this is how things always end with socialist, communist, and collective policies. Always. Without fail.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

10 comments

  • Cotour

    This must be another example of “fake” news, has to be. Where is the proof?

    We all know that everything good comes from Socialism, Communism and Marxist philosophy. How could the Venezualans be starving? Impossible! First there was Chavez (a great Marxist leader) and now there is Muduro (a former bus driver but also a great Marxist leader), the country MUST be doing extremely well.

    I think you got skunked with “fake” news again Zman.

    (And Im naive :)

  • Ben K

    The problem is not with socialism itself, but the specific implementation of it in this case. Next time, with the right people in charge and the right plan, it shall certainly work.

    /sarcasm

  • Cotour

    Related, because its about Communism and how it has infected our country:

    Now this interview is on Alex Jones and it includes very credible individuals, Gerome Corsi and a former Congressman apparently with vast amounts of first hand knowledge and 480 cases of evidence. Who does it involve? The Clinton’s and all of the money that has been funneled to them from the Chinese and the transfer of our technology. Remember how the Loral corporation gave the Chinese our missile technology? Just so happens that the Chinese gave hundreds of millions to the Clinton / Gore (read, Jackass) to accomplish this feat.

    https://youtu.be/XdYWYJ4oH3k

    Watch it, sounds very credible, should be interesting as it unfolds.

  • Edward

    Ben K wrote: “Next time, with the right people in charge and the right plan, it shall certainly work.”

    No, no. The socialists were quite explicit that in order for socialism to work, they had to start with a strong capitalist economy, then convert it to socialism or communism. I am not being sarcastic; that is what they said.

    These strong capitalist economies would be similar to Venezuela, before Chavez, or the United States, before Obama.

  • Alex

    It might be a good thing, if in average US-American population is going to lose 20 pounds of weight considering average body appearance at streets!

  • ken anthony

    We are living through an inflection point. The outcome is not certain.

  • Orion314

    “If ya wanta better class of prisons, ya need a better class of prisoners”
    Lester Maddox

  • wayne

    orion314– good one!

    ken anthony– a key point!

    Cotour– I’ve lightened up on Alex considerably recently, but his constant side-trips into the conspiracy-zone are ultimately distracting and unnecessary. He’s practically “mainstreamed” himself this election-cycle, but he can’t help himself from going totally whack, on a regular basis.
    I would put forth the proposition– everyone who cares, already knows the Clinton’s are anti-American enemies of the people.
    –The Sheep– we just can’t convince them anymore, or differently, and they almost installed Hillary.

    While communism has always been an existential threat, (and the Clinton’s should be deported to Gitmo) the one we face right now, is Rence Priebus as Chief of Staff and his fellow-traveler DeStefano as Head of Personnel. (among scores of the Other Usual-Suspects who are and have been installed already.)

    Edward–
    A most excellent point you make.
    Conventional commie-theory dictates (doesn’t it always!) State Capitalism must exist or be imposed, in order for the “Workers” to take it over and transform it into a socialist paradise.

    “The socialist movement takes great pains to circulate frequently new labels for its ideally constructed state. Each worn-out label is replaced by another which raises hopes of an ultimate solution of the insoluble basic problem of Socialism—until it becomes obvious that nothing has been changed but the name.
    The most recent slogan is “State Capitalism.” It is not commonly realized that this covers nothing more than what used to be called Planned Economy and State Socialism, and that State Capitalism, Planned Economy, and State Socialism diverge only in non-essentials from the “classic” ideal of egalitarian Socialism.”
    –Ludwig von Mises

  • Cotour

    Yes, very good points made by Edward.

    I listen to the musings of the Leftist professor Richard Wolf and he is always espousing the wonderful features of the Cooperative. Now I have no problem with people coming together and forming this or any other variation of a business model. Do with your money what ever you wish.

    Wolf’s problem arises when he proposes these models is that he is always proposing the taking over of existing businesses by the workers and that is the preferred form. The problem arises in the formation of the original successful business that can fully support themselves. WHERE ARE THE ENTREPRENEURS ?

    Does government command that very successful businesses exist? And then after that command is fulfilled, then the workers take it over and all is as it should be?

    They fail to figure in all of creative (read desperate) ways to acquire money and funding, the countless boxes of spaghetti eaten, the sleepless nights worrying that you do not have the rent or mortgage payment, or that you are unable to pay your employees, or that you can not pay your suppliers but you need more supplies, or that Con Edison is showing up today to turn your electricity off or that you are sleeping in your shop because you can not afford rent, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. I could continue this list, it is long and it is both terrifying and humerus and if you were to see it laid out on paper before you no one would believe that a business exists at all let alone be successful enough that it become ripe enough to be taken over to be operated in the “more perfect” form of business “The Co operative”.

    What EFN intellectual, naive and more importantly dangerous BS thinking. Like I said, set up what ever kind of business model you like, have at it. Being responsible for the origination of and the operation of a business is not for everyone, not everyone is able to do it, and business is certainly not a function of the idealized intellectual ramblings of a Socialist or a Communist.

    I include with this post a video of Comrade Putin making some of his business leaders very, very nervous as he oversees the internal workings of his Communist wonderland. Would you like to make Putin unhappy with poor performance?

    Enjoy https://youtu.be/co8s0egftsc its very enlightening and reveals the lack of incentive held within such thinking.

  • Edward

    Ben K wrote: “Next time, with the right people in charge and the right plan, it shall certainly work.

    Further thoughts on the topic:
    If the system depends upon the right people for it to work correctly, then it is not the system that works correctly but the right people who work correctly.

    It is not the location that matters, either. Bringing socialism to America is futile. We already know that socialism does not work in America, just as it doesn’t work anywhere else. Socialism was tried in America when the Plymouth Colony was founded, but they didn’t have any “other people’s money” to make it work for any length of time (literally any length), and they switched to free market capitalism with private ownership, but not until half the colony died. That system worked so well that they had an abundance of food, so they had a harvest feast and invited their Indian neighbors to help celebrate the miracle of capitalism, property rights, and free markets. The United States continues this celebration, calling it Thanksgiving.

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