Chavez to rule by decree

[Sea Demon]

Originally Posted by CCIP

I would claim that rampant capitalism under democratic regimes destroyed just as many if not more... It works decently well when stabilized and restrained by law, and more importantly - guarded by a strong and numerous middle class, but it is a huge problem for societies where the economy is grasped by a relatively small elite, which is where it becomes as bad if not worse than a socialist dictatorship. Unfortunately I'm seeing this concentration tendency even in the West now... No wonder there are Eastern Europeans who look back to the communist regimes - it's not the government system, it's the relative socioeconomic stability (everyone being near-equally ********ed is a way of stabilizing things, of course). Nor is it any wonder that there are nations with huge empoverished majorities who have little affinity for liberal democracy as well.

Hogwash. All of it. Capitalism has always given and created more opportunity than any other type of society in existence. Not only that, we have enjoyed a higher standard of living as well. Capitalism w/Democracy has not destroyed or politically repressed like those nations that have sought Socialism/Communism in the 20th Century. I think the count is at 100 million in the 20th Century dead by regimes grasping for the Socialist utopia. The problem that you see is that not everyone is guaranteed an equal outcome. But you fail to see that in a free and capitalistic society, there is a freedom to pursue. There is a freedom to invest. There is a freedom to become rather than be directed. This is what drives human nature. You are never going to be assured that everyone has everything on an equal footing. That's OK. As long as there is an opportunity for everyone to succeed. And right now, that exists. Well at least in the USA.

Those empoverished nations you talk about are ones who are not embracing capitalism as a basis for economic development or growth. As long as you pursue equal outcomes as a substitute for equal opportunity, you're screwed. Sorry, but I don't want to be equally miserable as everyone else. Let me be free and allow me to invest, innovate, and produce. The problem with the socialist is that they believe innovation/investment success is something to be punished because it doesn't guarantee equal outcomes. Do you see a flaw in punishing success CCIP for a nation to grow? Especially to make everyone equally f**ked as you say? I sure do. This is why Socialism is doomed. And will always be doomed. It is a con job that goes against the interests of human nature. Nothing anybody can do to change it. Human beings are neither robots or ants.