Is socialism to blame for Venezuela's never-ending crisis?Though '21st-century socialism' is implicated in Venezuela's collapse, so too are many characteristics of capitalism.by Asa Cusack 31 May 2018
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/socialism-blame-venezuelas-crisis-180530095418091.html[...]
Inflation is
spiralling out of control, oil production
is plummeting, foreign assets
have been seized, there are serious shortages of
food and medicine, tens of thousands are
fleeing the country, and the incumbent government of Nicolas Maduro has increasingly
weakened the country's democratic instruments to cling to power.
The natural question in a country that boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves is, how did it come to this? Many have latched on to a simple answer: socialism. But is it really that simple?
[...]
First, it is important to realise that Chavez chose to call his transformative project "21st-century socialism", but Venezuela's economy remained market-based and private-sector dominated throughout his time in office.
Though the social economy and the public sector were heavily promoted - including through nationalisation - the private sector was expected to remain dominant, and it did. A centrally planned socialist economy like Cuba's was neither the aim nor the reality.
[...]