[geezerjay]

> Is there some crucial factor in Venezuela's woes which clearly arises from socialism?

Ah, the never-ending cycle of socialist revolution, followed by establishing socialism, and finally followed by a string of desperate attempts to pin the effects of socialism because no true socialists would ever do any wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

[boomboomsubban]

Or the realization that capitalist Venezuela had a worse version of this same crisis. Why are the socialist policies to blame this time?

[geezerjay]

> Or the realization that capitalist Venezuela had a worse version of this same crisis.

Don't go lecture me about how bad "capitalist Venezuela" was. I have family members living in Venezuela, and not only did they saw their property and livelihood seized by Maduro's thugs, one family member also died due to restrictions imposed on access to basic medical care by your pet socialist utopia.

[boomboomsubban]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Maybe worse is overstepping, things under the capitalist government were often fairly rotten as well. Blaming it all on socialism needs more proof than I've seen provided

[jose_zap]

Worse in what way?

[boomboomsubban]

Poverty rate, wealth inequality, corruption, violent unrest. Admittedly, 2015 is the last year data seems available for, and pre-Chavez years get very little coverage online. Either way, you can't just point at the problems and say socialism is to blame.

[jose_zap]

Clearly, you haven't lived in Venezuela. The current crisis cannot be compared to anything in the last 60 years.

I was born in the middle of a crisis, but never lacked anything important. Nowadays I can say with certainty that my family is poorer than when I was a kid.

Chavez left a country with a deeply broken economy before he died.

[AlexCoventry]

> no true socialists would ever do any wrong.

That's irrelevant to my question.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man