By Mark W. Fowler

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sirens as female and partly bird-like creatures that lured seamen to their deaths on rocks by their beautiful and irresistible singing. Sirens were prominent in Greek mythology as an explanation for men lost at sea. “Lost at sea” is a perfect description for those embracing socialism.

There are certain politicians and pundits whose economic ignorance is coupled to their unshakeable belief in the infallibility of their judgment. Pretending to be “for the poor,” they declaim routinely on the evils of capitalism. Recently, one of their most economically illiterate members stated that capitalism was “irredeemable for most Americans.” This would explain her objection to an Amazon distribution center leading to the loss of thousands of jobs in her own state.

Progressives are self-assured that they have the requisite intelligence to manage a complex economy notwithstanding the expertise of millions of individuals working in that economy. It is as though election to Congress, or nomination to a cabinet secretariat, or employment on a news network imparts wisdom unavailable to mere mortals. Moreover, they have assumed a moral superiority that makes their ideas immune from dispute. Opposition to any of their proposals brings with it swift condemnation of racism, jingoism, xenophobia, white privilege, and indifference to the poor.

Socialism promises (but fails to deliver) adequate income, healthcare, housing, education, and security by way of government redistribution from the “rich” to the poor. It has been tried many times; it has never been successful. Even in the early Christian movement where altruism ought to have flourished, it failed. In II Thessalonians, Paul condemns those living in the communal manner of the early church, declaring that if a man would not work, neither would he eat. John Smith is reputed to have said the same thing at Jamestown, where communalism was attempted and failed. In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin expropriated the farms of kulaks (land-owning farmers). Thirty million people died of starvation as collectivism failed miserably. Only the threat of World War caused him to reverse his policy.

Lord Acton famously noted, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is especially true of socialists. Let us now review the case of Venezuela, which is the latest shipwreck of socialism.

Prior to Hugo Chavez becoming president of Venezuela in 1999, Venezuela was the richest country in South America. To this day, it sits on the largest proven petroleum deposits in the world. That petroleum is situated such that its production has minimal environmental impact. Chavez, sitting on a surplus of oil revenue (oil production being controlled by the state), elected to start regional missions to provide social services including health services in the underserved areas of Venezuela. But changes in the world economy led to oil prices declining as supplies and production worldwide surged. Meanwhile, no effort to develop agriculture was undertaken, and no money was set aside for a rainy day. As might be expected, the surplus disappeared. Expenditures continued via deficit financing, which increased the national debt sixfold. This is always the problem with a “free benefit” — once started, it is virtually impossible to stop.

Chavez was replaced by Nicolas Maduro in an election so corrupt that many at home and abroad refused to accept his election and recognized his opponent, Juan Guaido, as president. The National Assembly declared Guaido president after the election, but was rendered powerless by the Constitutional Assembly, whose members were pro-Maduro. Opponents of Maduro were jailed or forbidden to run for election to the Constitutional Assembly, and this accelerated the descent into chaos.

The current crisis in Venezuela is difficult to comprehend. Reliable sources detail the following, but the catastrophe is so widespread it defies description. Numerous industries have been taken over by the government. Former employees were replaced by government supporters in the expropriation of the petroleum, cement, steel, tire, dairy, and other industries. This deprived these industries of needed expertise and destroyed production.

Ninety-four percent of Venezuelans lives in poverty, with 76% living in extreme poverty. Three-fourths of the population has so little food that among the middle class there has been an average weight loss of 19 lbs. since the crisis started. Electricity is sporadic and unreliable. There is an insufficient supply of drinking water. Many drink from polluted streams.

So great is the food shortage that butchers resort to selling offal and byproducts such as cattle hooves, which are often the only source of animal protein. Those who can’t afford food scavenge through garbage. Food supplies from the government are tied to support for President Maduro and handled by the military with bribery prevalent at every level of distribution.

Many hospitals are closed, and where they are open, patients go without needed treatment due to lack of supplies. There has been a surge of cases of malaria, tuberculosis, and measles as well as diphtheria and rubella.

Chavez released thousands of criminals during his reign out of “concern for the poor,” which overwhelmed the police. There has been a concomitant rise in murder, kidnaping, home invasion, and ATM theft. Some authorities suggest that Venezuela may have the highest murder rate in the world, and Caracas may be the most dangerous city in the world. There have been several hundred political assassinations associated with political opponents to the Maduro regime.

This virtually complete societal breakdown occurred as a part of a socialist movement and gross governmental mismanagement.

Despite this descent into human chaos, Maduro refuses to resign or hold fair elections. He joins a long line of similar dictators who held on to power despite the misery they caused: Stalin, Mao, Kim, Pol Pot, Castro, and Juan Peron.

Winston Churchill once said, “Capitalism is the worst economic system except for the others.” However appealing it may be to guarantee life’s essentials to everyone, the hard fact is that not everyone can ride the wagon. Someone has to pull it. Human nature being what it is, the system that works best is the one where everyone who is able provides for his own needs with enough surplus to help those truly in need of it. Socialism being what it is, Americans would do well to reject the siren song of those whose ideological soulmates have caused so much death, misery, and suffering throughout the world by promising “free” benefits.

“The problem with Socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.” —Margaret Thatcher