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Aug 3Liked by Helen Raleigh

Hmmm, so the lefties at the NY Times blame Venezuela's woes on "brutal capitalism." As you allude to, they are economic illiterates who never took Econ 101. There's nothing "capitalist" about a thuggish socialist oligarchy backed by brute force. "Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned." (Ayn Rand in "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal".)

Thus in fact, capitalism is the *opposite* of Venezuela's cruel system.

I'm tired of straw-man versions of 'capitalism' being blamed for all the world's problems. As you say, Venezuela was rich under capitalism until Hugo Chavez's socialism ruined the economy and society.

And Maduro has carried on Chavez's destructive legacy that has left ordinary citizens dirt poor and starving.

Socialism is immoral and results in widespread misery and death. Capitalism is a moral economic system (actually, the only one) that allows everyone to flourish, according to their own talents and abilities and how hard they're willing to work.

It's wrong for the leftists at the NY Times to smear capitalism by falsely claiming that the disasters of *socialism* are the fault of "brutal *capitalism*." It's a huge lie, and I'm glad you called them out on it.

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I will take "brutal" capitalism over the "egalitarian" socialism/communism any day anywhere.

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It would be funny if it weren’t so sad that the US Biden administration refuses to acknowledge Maduro election due to fraud. Just don’t point out US fraud or you’re an election denier. As the saying goes if democrats didn’t have double standards they wouldn’t have any standards at all.

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