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Newsweek reported the following:

The Capitalism Crisis: Is America Really Turning Socialist?

There’s been an awful lot of scribble and chatter lately about a recent Gallup survey purporting to show that America, Democrats especially, are becoming more enamored of socialism.

Here’s how the polling firm describes it: “For the first time in Gallup’s measurement over the past decade, Democrats have a more positive image of socialism than they do of capitalism. Attitudes toward socialism among Democrats have not changed materially since 2010, with 57% today having a positive view. The major change among Democrats has been a less upbeat attitude toward capitalism, dropping to 47% positive this year—lower than in any of the three previous measures.”

To put it differently, and in a way more relevant to the current political climate, Democrats are losing faith in capitalism, not growing more attached to socialism. That matters because of the consequences for both parties. …

From the beginning of the industrial revolution to the onset of the New Deal, socialism thrived as a viable thread in the national politics and as a leading cause of reform. Then the movement was subsumed into the Democratic Party as part of FDR’s grand coalition and has remained there ever since. What’s pushing it back out onto its own is not so much the rise of Sanders as it is the failures of Obama. …

Or at least if someone else was paying the bills. Which, when you boil it down, is one of the things most wrong with socialism. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.” Just look at Venezuela.

For conservatives who support the free market—a much-improved way to describe capitalism—the trend identified in this latest Gallup survey provides both an opportunity and a warning. 08/18/18 https://www.newsweek.com/capitalism-crisis-america-really-turning-socialist-opinion-1078427

The USA is certainly more socialist than it was a century ago. And yes, there have been increased moves towards socialism by the federal government in the 21st century. Furthermore, we are seeing more media and political support for ‘Democratic Socialists.” We will see if there will be more of a socialist backlash against the Donald Trump presidency in the USA in future elections.

A major tenant of socialism is that the government needs to manage more things and that ‘society’ needs to fund that. Basically, that is the hope. One problem is that the more socialist many nation tends have become, they tend to have less economic production.

Consider Venezuela.

Venezuela is believed to have one of the largest, if not the largest, amount of oil reserves of any nation. Before it became more socialist, it was relatively prosperous. This does not mean that there are no issues with capitalism, but Venezuela was doing better economically than it is doing now.

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro admitted that his socialist economic model has “failed”:

Venezuela’s Maduro Admits Socialist Model Has Failed

August 2, 2018

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro admitted that his socialist economic model has “failed” amid food and medicine shortages as well as a failing infrastructure highlighted by Tuesday’s power failure to 80% of Caracas.

Compounding matters is the IMF’s Weimar-topping hyperinflation forecast of 1,000,000% by year end, and a GDP set to plummet 18% this year, as the government continues to simply print money to in hopes of filling the void of what was once the country’s economy.

“The production models we’ve tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours,” Maduro told his ruling PSUV party congress. “Enough with the whining… we need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power.”

“No more whining, I want solutions comrades!”

No word on whether he took a bite of an empanada during his speech while his country starves on the “Maduro diet” – a phrase coined after Venezuela’s notorious food shortages gave rise to mass starvation across the country. Not even the donkeys are safe. …

Venezuela’s industrial sector is operating at just 30% capacity, as illustrated by the farming sector, which now provides just a quarter of national consumption, after providing 75% just a few years ago according to the National Farmers Federation.

This should all make for some interesting debate questions during the next US elections, as Democratic Socialists have become the “new face” of the left. Just don’t ask any questions about economics or logistics… https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-01/venezuelas-maduro-admits-socialism-has-failed

Maduro said he will no longer blame the U.S. for his country’s problems.

“Enough of whining,” Maduro said. “You will not see me whining to myself. I do not blame them anymore. You do not see me whining in front of imperialism. Let them attacks us. It is up to us whether to act with aggression or without aggression.”

Venezuela’s economic decline began under former President Hugo Chavez. A country that was once overflowing with revenue from its state-run oil production saw those revenues sharply decline in the past decade as U.S. production increased and global prices fell.

Under Maduro, the crisis worsened. His government has nationalized cement and steel production and taken over operation of private businesses such as supermarket chains and others that provide basic services to its citizens.

But oil revenues still account for 96 percent of the country’s revenues, so as government fails to collect an adequate amount of money from its oil business, it has failed to provide an adequate amount of services for its citizens. …

Almost 1 million Venezuelans have fled hunger and repression by migrating to neighboring Colombia over the past two years. Another roughly 50,000 sought asylum in the United States. Roughly 800 Venezuelan refugees cross the border into Brazil every day. https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/venezuelan-president-finally-admits-that-socialism-is-broken-economy-is-destroyed/

Venezuela’s inflation rate is the highest ever recorded–it even exceeded that of pre-WWII Germany.

Further currency devaluation is even now part of Nicolas Maduro’s proposed solution for Venezuela:

August 18, 2018

Maduro orders 96 percent devaluation in hyperinflation-stricken Venezuela

• “I want the country to recover and I have the formula. Trust me,” Maduro said in a nighttime speech broadcast on state television.
• Economists expressed doubts that Venezuela’s cash-strapped government, which faces U.S. sanctions and has defaulted on its bondholders, would succeed. …

Venezuelans will see their meager salaries further eroded and companies will struggle with major increases to both taxes and the minimum wage, they said.

Amid this aggressive devaluation and monetary expansions due to salaries and bonuses, we are expecting a much more aggressive stage of hyperinflation. All the more so in a context where the elimination of excessive money printing is not credible. The worst of all worlds, said Venezuelan economist Asdrubal Oliveros of consultancy Ecoanalitica.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that inflation in Venezuela would hit 1 million percent this year. …

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have emigrated by bus across South America in one of the region’s worst migration crises. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/18/maduro-orders-96-percent-devaluation-in-venezuela.html

President Maduro did not lay out all the details on how he hopes to improve Venezuela. But currency devaluation hurts everyone who has savings in the devalued currency.

For the sake of the Venezuelans, I pray that their lives will be improved.

Humanity’s forms of socialism have not brought utopia.

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

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 18th, 2018 at 7:45 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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