So Hugo Chavez is proven an idiot.

[Prateek_Sanjay]

Actually, Mussolini himself pioneered the idea of expansive industrial policy and industrial controls that was later implemented in various “mixed economies”, and yes, even democracies like Venezuela.

Anyway, most of these right-wing military dictators have had a bad habit of pushing up the fiscal deficit and increasing government spending to enormous levels to appease cushy civil service jobs, most of which were occupied by the dictator’s friends. Same nonsense all over again.

It’s one thing to believe in free markets for increased investment and stimulated activity for everybody. It’s another to do it for selfishness, like many South American military dictators did, who’d cut spending from schools and fire nurses for “fiscal control” while giving that money back to themselves in huge salaries.

[Snowflake]

@Chris

Your claims involved quoting wikipedia to claim that Venezuela was growing in the double digits every year and poverty was decreasing which is honestly just delusional.

I don’t see why using evidence is delusional.

@Chris

It baffles me that in such a robustly growing economy there are massive food and energy shortages, empty store shelves,

Thats what you get for price controls. Its lame but you can still have economic improvement. In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.

@Chris

the military in the streets (and stores), imprisonment of political rivals, taking over the media, etc.

I bet you have some greaaat unbiased sources for this, including a picture of a soldier inside a store. The vast majority of news outlets in venezuela are anti chavez, and blast him like no other.

@Chris

This isn’t really a matter of some type of media “bias” - those are just facts, whether or not you think the aforementioned things are good is your opinion.

Well its possible for facts to be biased. See the media representation of hugo chavez wiki page I linked you. Just try to calm down and take an objective look at this…

@Chris

I dislike the fascism here in the US but there is just simply almost no market whatsoever in Venezuela, let alone a distorted and hampered one. From what I see it looks as if it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable conclusion of socialism, the complete disintegration of society, occurs there.

I agree that they are currently sliding down a slippery slope typical of socialist economies, but its still possible that these are not the worst policies venezuela has ever experienced. Like everyone else on these forums, I sincerely hope there is a revolution of free market thought, and rather than go back to the way things were before chavez, create a free market.

[fakename]

Is it possible that the economic growth is 1) simply the result of massive government spending,2) and/or the possible fact that chavez’s venezuela is more peaceful than many capitalist countries?

Or maybe, for some reason, the growth rates were huge in the capitalist era but now growth rates are smaller in the chavez era but still look huge.

Is it natural for smaller countries to experience sharp growth? I remember adam smith saying something to that effect, “britain may be richer than america but america is progressing much faster to riches” or something. Can this be generalized to a law of economics or is it an instance of the tendency towards the equalization of wage/profit between relevant geographical areas and markets?