What do migrants from Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, and almost everywhere else in South America have in common?
Aside from the Spanish language, all of those countries have experimented with socialism to some degree, and have driven residents out as a result. Weirdly enough, politicians in the country they are fleeing to believe the best way to help them is to give them the same style of government they risk life and limb to escape.
We already know it’s coming, so we’ll address it right now: we’re not talking about the “social democracies” in Scandinavia. Not only are they not socialist countries (the prime minister of Denmark is particularly annoyed when people say this), but they have a host of other issues unrelated to their market economy. But, that’s an issue for another time.
Socialism involves the nationalization of industries, the redistribution of wealth, and a centrally planned economy. All of these steps were faithfully employed in Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries. As a result, markets evaporated, and so did employment opportunities for millions of people.
Strangely, the liberal answer to this is that “it just wasn’t tried correctly” — an explanation we’ve been hearing since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
~ Facts Not Memes
