I talk a lot about socialists in this blog, particularly Castro and Chavez. My worry, which is the worry of many Americans, is that president Obama is following in the footsteps of these leaders, expanding government to the detriment of the individual and free markets. It is important to highlight the events that are taking place in socialist countries around the world, especially the socialists that base their systems on the ideas of Karl Marx and his authoritarianism. The reason that Marx fails is simple, I have had discussions about this ad nauseam: Marx theorized that organizing the “proletariat” into a ruling class and implementing communism through dictatorship will eventually lead to a “stateless” and “classless” society… clear logic will reveal that making the state all-powerful will likely not lead to a “stateless” society and that making the proletariat a “ruling class” will likely not lead to a “classless” society. Hence, Marxism is a recipe for permanent dictatorship in the name of economic justice and history has repeatedly shown this to be true.

That said, Venezuelan “president” Hugo Chavez has recently shut down dozens of private radio stations in Venezuela in his campaign to stifle all dissent and free expression. This is rule number six as listed in the “Manifesto of the Communist Party” written by Marx and Frederick Engels: controlling all means of communication. Of course, people familiar with the history of Cuba knew full well that Chavez would eventually get to this point; we have been warning Venezuelans of this for years. In fact, Chavez is going further and trying to pass a law that will criminalize certain types of speech. Amending the Constitution, nationalization of private industry, shutting down the media, aiding communist guerrillas in Colombia, and increased militarization of Venezuela are all actions that Chavez has taken to transform that country into a socialist/communist state. He is also exporting this Castro-inspired model to other countries in the region, spending heavily to influence their electoral processes. Is this a person we want to be friends with?

-AG