Venezuela’s Crude Socialism

As someone who still has friends and family living Venezuela, it’s often difficult for me to communicate to outsiders just how absurd the Venezuelan economy has become. It might be easier instead to rattle off a list of the country’s economic ills—hyperinflation, unemployment, scarcity, and so on; the figures are certainly startling. But to truly understand how much damage 20 years of socialism have wreaked on Venezuela it is necessary to read firsthand (and first-class) accounts. More…