Life regressing to barbarism

[makattak]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article206950449.html

Venezuela was a prosperous nation, not that long ago.

Venezuela still has the world's largest proven oil reserves.

And yet, we have situations like this:

From Monday to Friday, the diners provide food for 1,000 kids every week. Patino said even so, he believes he isn’t coming close to feeding all the children who need the help, given the overwhelming number he sees on the streets. Experts estimate that in Caracas alone, there are in hundreds, if not thousands of street children and young adults.

A year ago, the gang was “stationed” around a supermarket at a mall called Centro Comercial Ciudad Tamanaco that generates tons of garbage. But a feared rival gang from the neighborhood Las Mercedes also wanted the garbage.

Caramelo’s gang was attacked and chased out of the zone. So they took their weapons — knives, slingshots, broken glass and machetes — and seized the nearby neighborhood, Chacao.

Child gangs are FIGHTING over turf... to go through garbage.

This makes me sick.

[RoadKingLarry]

Coming soon to a California near you!!

[TommyGunn]

The communist utopia the elites dream of has arrived!!!! -------NOT.

[Ben]

Hey, give Venezuela a break. They'll get it right next time.

[BobR]

Sadly, South Africa is running a close second to them and will probably overtake them within a few years. :(

bob

[makattak]

Sadly, South Africa is running a close second to them and will probably overtake them within a few years. :(

bob

What's sad is they can look NEXT DOOR and see what bad ideas lead to...

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/opinion/a-morsel-of-goat-meat.html

An elderly peasant in another village, Makupila Muzamba, said that hunger today is worse than ever before in his seven decades or so, and said: "I want the white man's government to come back. Even if whites were oppressing us, we could get jobs and things were cheap compared to today."

(Do note that's from 2005. It has only gotten worse, since.)

Of course, stuff like that might make people think that "Colonialism" isn't so bad... and we can't have people thinking that.

This ought not to be surprising, history is littered with countries that fail to learn from history.

[Boomhauer]

Never fear. It's not real socialism that caused this

[French G.]

Venezuela is tragic, but why look so far? Three days without power and water and the wheels will come off of most of our urban areas.

[Ned Hamford]

Venezuela is tragic, but why look so far? Three days without power and water and the wheels will come off of most of our urban areas.

After seeing how well people did when there wasn't a special McDonald's sauce; I'd say 3 hours!

[Angel Eyes]

After seeing how well people did when there wasn't a special McDonald's sauce; I'd say 3 hours!

I'm not sure that Rick & Morty fans qualify as people.

[K Frame]

Every time top-down, state controls everything socialism has been tried, it's been an absolute disaster.

Yet, so many people in so many prosperous nations, including the US, want exactly that. The continue to think that it will work because THEY are the right people to make it successful.


Socialism is a mental illness. Not a benign one, but one that is horrifically dangerous to everyone.

[makattak]

Every time top-down, state controls everything socialism has been tried, it's been an absolute disaster.

Yet, so many people in so many prosperous nations, including the US, want exactly that. The continue to think that it will work because THEY are the right people to make it successful.


Socialism is a mental illness. Not a benign one, but one that is horrifically dangerous to everyone.

I love Hayek's "The Fatal Conceit" which is, effectively, that socialism can ever work. (Due to a knowledge problem, it can never work.)

I don't think he lived long enough to realize that people who want socialism are even worse than what he wrote about. Not only has the unworkability been shown by economist like him, there are hundreds of actual, real world examples to rebuke the socialists. And, as you pointed out, it's only because THEY weren't in charge in those other places.

That's amazing hubris. (Sadly, not surprising, though: "But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come; That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.")

[MechAg94]

Prosperity breeds a great deal of ignorance and people that are a bit detached from reality.  That and people always seem to be dissatisfied with what they have and think something else will work better, even if what they have is better than most.  

[Pb]

Venezuelans stone a cow to death for food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFKwihu3Fw

[makattak]

Venezuelans stone a cow to death for food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFKwihu3Fw

That's crazy.

Aside from the theft and short-sightedness (prisoner's dilemma), and cruelty¹, no one had a knife?




1: Yes, they are starving, but it's still a cruel way to kill something. If it were the ONLY way, I'd be less annoyed. Not only was it not the only way, it wasn't even the most efficient way. A lot of meat is getting damaged by the blunt force trauma. Slit the cow's throat. That would have been far more merciful.

[Jamisjockey]

Venezuela is tragic, but why look so far? Three days without power and water and the wheels will come off of most of our urban areas.

Depends.  Houston pulled together with Harvey, even the worst neighborhoods didn't go lord of the flies.

[MechAg94]

That's crazy.

Aside from the theft and short-sightedness (prisoner's dilemma), and cruelty¹, no one had a knife?




1: Yes, they are starving, but it's still a cruel way to kill something. If it were the ONLY way, I'd be less annoyed. Not only was it not the only way, it wasn't even the most efficient way. A lot of meat is getting damaged by the blunt force trauma. Slit the cow's throat. That would have been far more merciful.

Something tells me they didn't do a proper job butchering it either so I doubt they got all the meat. 

[MechAg94]

Depends.  Houston pulled together with Harvey, even the worst neighborhoods didn't go lord of the flies.

My 2 cents on that:
1.  The federal, state, and city govt seemed to work hard to help people and keep bad stuff from happening. 
2.  Lots of people were helping out and helping guard neighbors.  I heard there actually were lots of thieves running around looking for opportunities. 
3.  It only lasted a couple weeks.  Not sure how that would go if it went on for 6 months or more.  I still think it would be better, but some areas might be bad.

[French G.]

Depends.  Houston pulled together with Harvey, even the worst neighborhoods didn't go lord of the flies.

That's why I backed up and typed most. Now take a population that is used to handouts and a corrupt ruling class and add a hurricane. Poof! NOLA.