Is socialism the cause of Venezuelan's catastrophe?

Venezuela's economy mostly in the private sector, the public sector only makes up about 29 percent of their economy. Here's a few countries with larger public sectors: - Denmark (31.4 percent) - Norway (37.8 percent) - China (50.0 percent) Norway has the highest living standards on the planet measured by both the Human Development Index and the Social Progress Index. Denmark is the happiest country on the planet measured by the World Happiness Report. China has the second largest economies on the planet and has one of the fastest growing economies. Maybe you'd argue these countries are not directly comparable, because they have different economic philosophies than the "Socialism of the 21st Century" of Hugo Chavez and Nicholas Maduro. Okay, let's compare Venezuela to a country that has implemented this same exact philosophy: Bolivia. While Venezuela's economy is the second fastest shrinking economy in the world, Bolivia has had its fastest economic growth in its history. Its economy is growing faster than the growth rates of United States' and Japan's economies combined. Venezuela stands out as an exception, not the rule, to how successful socialism is.

Answers

Piero

Most of the blame for Venezuela's plight can be blamed on capitalists, and capitalism, interfering with the countries financial, and political stability. The oil companies didn't want to share their profits with the country, so they systematically destroyed it!

James

Nope, they propped up their economy with oil, when the prices dropped, their economy collapsed, poor management just makes it worse.

JORGE N

That is what happens when you play the power game with any one of or all three of the big total power groups. You create a no mans land where anything can and does happen. So far it has happened in every country where we three go. As if there is some sort of space created where the only thing that goes is the method used to extract the products we are exploiting from that country.

David

Absolutely 100% true.

Bobo

The cause of economic collapse in Venezuela is government control over commerce. Mandated prices for goods and services have driven public and private corporations to ruin. Socialism is not necessarily the issue as much as government control. The problem is that all of the bad policies implemented quashed the free-market. As such, the ideological divide between Socialism and Capitalism has become apparent as Venezuela was pushing more Socialism. Under an economy that embraces free-market Capitalism, this would not have occurred. The wealthiest nations in the World embrace the good parts of both Socialism and Capitalism. Venezuela made a distinct effort to implement government control through the ideal of Socialism and failed badly, the result is the current state of economic collapse.

Zirp

Socialism isn't about the size of the private sector. In socialism the means of production are owned by the workers/people or their democratic local collectives. Production is done to meet needs rather than for competing or maximising profits. Miners get more per hour than doctors

-j.

Nope, a poorly diversified economy was. Venezuela was extremely reliant on oil production, and when global oil prices dropped, the country's economy went in the tank and they didn't have a Plan B. There's never just one cause for "catastrophes" like this but that was definitely the biggest one.

James

you're going against the narrative

yodi

doh corruption dude

Dze

i think it depends on how strong an economy and country is to start with and the level of corruption .. socialism is generally implemented on 'the back' of an existing flourishing capitalist system and it slowly eats its core out .. its doing the same thing to norway, sweden etc also .. they dont show you how its getting worse there not 'better' because of socialistic policy ..tax rates are astronomical and if they didnt have a very strong base and highly 'honest' population to start with they would already be under like venezuala as well .. the bottom line when it comes to govt corruption etc and the population getting 'ripped off', is that socialism is way more efficient at fleecing the wealth out of a region than capitalism ..

BlackAdder

You need to do more research rather than picking data from sources sympathetic to you desires. Norway and Denmark, for example, have homogeneous cultures, no military to speak of some of the highest taxes in the industrialized world. Do you remember the riots in France last fall? Similar riots were taking place in Norway because the Norwegian government was pulling back on the social benefits that the Norse had come to expect. People are moving out of Denmark to other countries like Germany for better wages and lower taxes.

Mick Rogers

Absolutely 100% factual.

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