Venezuela’s fast decent into tyranny has never been closer to reality. Fascist policies, courtesy of the nation’s socialist leadership, have sunk the nation deep into socioeconomic despair, prompting riots and the rationing of most commodities. Even things like food and toiletries are hard to come by. Venezuelans, understandably, are growing desperate and uneasy as a result. Over the weekend The New York Times reported, “President Nicolás Maduro was chased at a routine political event by a crowd of angry protesters banging on pots and yelling that they were hungry, just days after thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to call for his ouster, local news media reported on Saturday.”

But rather than concede the need for immediate reform, Maduro has only doubled down on totalitarian rule and anti-American bravado. According to Agence France-Presse, “Venezuela named publicly 18 military commanders to oversee the production and distribution of food and basic goods in an effort to alleviate severe shortages affecting the country.” Moreover, “The embattled Maduro blames the crisis on the collapse of oil prices and an ‘economic war’ by businesses backed by US ‘imperialism.’” But blaming capitalism is a fool’s errand, as illustrated by the millions of Venezuelans demanding a referendum to rid the nation of a nemesis that is the Maduro administration.

On a related note, Britain’s experiment with socialism isn’t going too swell, either. Many leftists have praised the island’s absolute government control of the health care system, but the system is on the road to ruin, both financially and systematically. Case in point, via The Telegraph: “Obese people will be routinely refused operations across the NHS [National Health Service], health service bosses have warned, after one authority said it would limit procedures on an unprecedented scale. Hospital leaders in North Yorkshire said that patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above — as well as smokers — will be barred from most surgery for up to a year amid increasingly desperate measures to plug a funding black hole.”

While the public responses may differ, for now at least, the end result in both Britain and Venezuela — rationing — are the same death panels. You’d think leftists in America, particularly advocates of ObamaCare — a program that is already restricting health care options and will eventually reincarnate an even broader demand for a public option — would get a clue about the dangers of socialist ideals. One only need to look around.