Venezuela and ‘Socialism’s false promise’

Old USSR flag

Cal Thomas wrote the following last year:

May 7, 2016

Given its track record, one wonders why socialism is gaining in popularity in the U.S. and what appeal it has to a generation that, apparently, knows little about it.A recent survey from Harvard University has found that 51 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 do not support capitalism. Just 42 percent support the economic system that has allowed even the poorest American to live better and to have more opportunity for advancement than most of the rest of the world. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed support socialism.

Why does socialism receive such strong support among the young? I think it’s partly due to what is being taught in too many public schools and universities and it is partly due to ignorance and human nature, which would rather get a check than earn one.

Three quotes about socialism sum up both its false promise and its danger.

— “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” –Winston Churchill

— “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” — Margaret Thatcher

— “The goal of socialism is communism.” — Vladimir Lenin

There are many modern and older examples of socialism’s failures. A modern one is found in Venezuela, a country rich in oil, but politically and economically poor. It’s funny how spreading the wealth around, which is socialism’s major appeal, didn’t trickle from the corrupt and incompetent Caracas government to the Venezuelan poor.

Under the presidency of the late Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s gross domestic product has dropped to an all-time low and the country’s misery is continuing under his successor, Nicolas Maduro. It’s gotten so bad the government has taken drastic steps. Unfortunately, none include repudiating socialism.

The latest is a reduction in the workweek to two days, Monday and Tuesday, at least until the end of May. It’s supposed to save energy and electricity, which are in short supply.

Surgical sutures are either unavailable, or of poor quality when they can be found. Food shortages are common and the food that is available often requires one to wait in line for many hours to buy even small amounts. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-socialism-s-false-promise-20160505-story.html

In the Democratic primary last year, both of the leading candidates (Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton) espoused elements of socialism, with one calling himself a socialist.

Venezuela has continued to fall apart, and this has become more and more noticeable to many this year. Yet, socialism continues to gain in popularity among some segments of US society.

Interestingly in the Fall of 2012, the Russian newspaper Pravda claimed:

Barack Obama…is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so.

How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. …

Alas, the schools in the U.S. were conquered by the Communists long ago and history was revised thus paving the way for their Communist presidents.

(Lerma X. Obama’s Soviet Mistake. Pravda, November 19, 2012. http://www.pravdareport.com/opinion/columnists/19-11-2012/122849-obama_soviet_mistake-0/#sthash.Iabc844H.dpuf)

It is true that most in the USA do not seem to realize that its lurch towards socialism/communism has been happening and that the US education system has many with socialist/communist leanings.

Notice more information about how socialism has impacted Venezuela:

April 3, 2017

Venezuela sits on one of the world’s largest oil reserves. As crude prices have fallen, socialism has run the nation’s economy into the ground.

Inflation is in the triple digits, spreading chaos and instability.

Many hospitals are out of medicine — everything from anti-inflammatory drugs to chemotherapy is unavailable — prompting an emergency appeal to the United Nations.

Some grocery store shelves are bare. Malnutrition is widespread; Venezuelans lost almost 20 pounds on average over the past year.

And as his weakening country limps along, in large part because of his incompetent and ideological rule, Nicolás Maduro, successor to Hugo Chávez, tightens his grip on every lever of power.

Maduro’s intelligence officials function as a form of secret police. Under his edicts, they have detained political prisoners without trial. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/pray-venezuela-socialist-dictator-tightens-hold-article-1.3015587

May 6, 2016

Life isn’t much fun these days in the world’s socialist paradise. If you had to choose a country you didn’t want to live in, Venezuela would be near the top of the list. Corrupt, dysfunctional, bankrupt, crime-ridden, drug-infested, short of practically every basic commodity, it can’t keep the lights on, keep the government running or brew its own beer. Last weekend six army officers were arrested for stealing goats from a farm because they were hungry.

Venezuela has become the basket case of the western hemisphere, a case study on how not to run a country and a living example of what happens when a left-wing government is let loose with utopian economics. The cruel irony is that Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves — 298 billion barrels —the raw material on which to build a pleasant and prosperous nation. Yet it recently began importing oil from the U.S., a country it has spent a decade deriding as a mortal enemy. …

It’s a bitter fate for those who must endure it, but a telling one for anybody tempted to embrace the illusory idealism of left-wing economic theory. Seventeen years ago Hugo Chavez came to power armed with vast oil resources and a populist program based on redistribution of wealth from the richest to the poorest. …

Now the country is among the most violent and crime-ridden in the world. Shopping malls, grocery stores and food trucks are targets of mass looting attacks. Four-hour blackouts are a daily occurrence, and the government recently put public employees on a two-day work week to save energy. (Electrical, not theirs). Schools operate on a four-day week. Many people use the empty days to stand in line for food. A fingerprint system is employed to enforce rationing. …

Venezuelans are understandably tired of the socialist miracle. http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/kelly-mcparland-how-socialism-turned-oil-rich-venezuela-into-a-basket-case

May 3, 2016

The economic disaster caused by Venezuela’s 21^st Century Socialism continues to reap havoc on the nation’s socioeconomic fabric. We have rolling blackouts due to energy shortages. There’s a lack of access to television, long distance phone service, and toilet paper. And with the government failing to provide, the people have resorted to looting. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/05/03/venezuelan-socialism-twoday-workweeks-no-supplies-and-a-government-so-broke-it-cant-pay-for-its-own-currency-n2157139

Loss of almost 20 pounds per person in Venezuela! That rate of societal weight loss is not sustainable.

Yet, both the United Nations and Pope Francis have repeatedly promoted aspects of socialism for their view of a utopian society. Pope Francis called for a European utopia (watch our newest video: Pope Francis dreams of a Babylonian utopia).

Taking from one group to give to another does not work. Socialism cannot lead to a real utopia.

I will also add that neither does unbridled capitalism, democracy, nationalism, communism, nor the other systems that humans have attempted to implement apart from the God of the Bible.

Venezuela, the USA, and the rest of the world needs the Kingdom of God for the coming utopia (watch also Millennial Utopia).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Mexico, Central America, South America, Brazil, and the Caribbean in Prophecy [Español: México, América central, Suramérica, Brasil y el Caribe en la profecía] [Português: México, América Central, Ámérica do Sul, e Brasil na profecia] What will happen to those of Latin America? Will they have prosperity? Will they cooperate with Europe? Will they suffer in the future? What role might the various Caribbean nations/territories play?
United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? Two related videos include UN’s ‘New Universal Agenda’ is a False Gospel! and United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.
Laudato Si: Pope’s Agenda or Kingdom of God? Pope Francis’ 2nd encyclical is titled ‘Laudato Si.’ In it, he goes over his views related to environmental, economic, social, moral, agricultural, and spiritual issues. He advocates international cooperation to solve various problems he believes are affecting humanity. Is that Pope’s agenda the solution? What about the Kingdom of God? does the Bible teach? Two related articles include Laudato Si: Will Pope Francis’ economic actions match his words? and Laudato Si: A call for a one-world government?
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Two related sermons are available Millennial Utopia and The Millennium.
The Ten Commandments: Cause and Effect Is everything random? Why do things happen? Are there just two ways? Should Christians keep the ten commandments? Here is a link to a related sermon: Cause and Effect: Two Trees, Two Ways.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2023 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2017, 2018, or 2019? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermons Why Teach the Kingdom of God? and The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States This is a 188 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Hillary Clinton and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also discusses Republicans. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Hillary Clinton Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Hopi, and other America-Related Prophecies? $11.99.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version of the 188 page print edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.