Quote Originally Posted by Eric Cartman View Post
You haven't mentioned one expensive socialist policy that caused the countries downfall but you have accidentally hit the nail on the head and gone a decent distance to proving me correct so thank you. You are right, almost everyone around Chavez got insanely wealthy. Is it a defined principle of socialism that the people in power gain extraordinary personal wealth? Clearly not, in the same way that theoretically capitalism isn't supposed to leave parts of society destitute as we see in the USA and UK? Nope of course not. Failed implementation is the issue here. The main problem with socialism is it concentrates absolute power and therefore the human instinct to **** everyone else over for your own personal gain is quite straightforward to achieve.

I know you really want to blame this theory because you have been taught to hate equality and intuitively adore the idea of an extreme meritocracy but it's more complicated than one being bad and another being good. What you are doing is no different to blaming 'capitalism' for our problems.
Eric - For your information, I have not been taught to hate equality in any way, shape or form. That is a massive leap of faith from you to suggest that someone has taught me to hate equality. Neither do I support the idea of "Supreme meritocracy" - Again, another massive leap of faith. You appear to love to put words, deeds and thoughts forward on behalf of others!!

Chavez was socialist / Communist as have been the others before him and since him. They have actually not given a flying one about the citizens of their country, much like, in reality, but to a lesser degree, is the case with the socialists and communist now running what used to be the Labour Party. They don't really give a damn about the population in general, all they are concerned about is their ideology, whilst sat in their gilded Islington mansions, whilst their children toddle off to the best Grammar schools and private schools that their money can pay for, whilst sneering at the working classes, as per Thornberry / Lady Nugee from a short while back.

With regards to expensive socialist policies that you say I did not mention, perhaps you should read more closely then, I'd suggest -

"The imposition of price controls was an utter failure of policy, driving many, many companies supplying and producing the basics in Venezuela out of business. Socialism has meant that the inflation rate in Venezuela is now 18,000% - EIGHTEEN THOUSAND PERCENT, as the Government continues to print more and more money."

This together with other policies such as state control of foreign currency exchange, encouraging the black market and with it hyper inflation. Also, as mentioned the Governments decision to constantly print extra money and to regularly increase the minimum wage in the country, leaving the country unable to get credit following previous default on Government bonds and having to continue to print cash further increasing inflation as the value of their money free-falls.