What is the cause of hyperinflation in Venezuela and how can socialism fix it?

Disclaimer: I'm not a socialist myself, a pretty big opponent of it actually, just interested in socialist's thoughts on the economic crisis there and what is causing the supply<demand failure and what socialist approach should be taken to fix the economy there.

Posted Feb 4, 2019, 8:56 PM UTC

69
TheRandomSnake•

What Venezuela tried was (for lack of a better term) Third World Social Democracy. Just want to make the note that it was for a while successful, but since their economy still relied on oil due to the fact that they did not have enough resources or time for a developmental phase to well, develop their economy; the oil price fall caused by Saudi Arabia (which some speculate was caused by the US as a geopolitical play) destroyed their economy, then capital flight happened, then hyperinflation...

To answer the second part I need to make the note that Venezuela does not exist in a vacuum. The global economy dictates their economic success or failure, and (I'm no Stalinist tho) ever since the fall of the global soviet economy (that could have made another Cuba for example) and China's Descent into Neoliberalism, Giant Corporations acting thru the IMF and World Bank push developing countries into debt that they can never escape, and then use the population as a way to get a large workforce of ununionized labor and natural resources. Venezuela tried to escape this by using Keynesian economics (Called the Pink Wave in History) essentially as I said earlier a Third World social democracy. The difference was that Social Democracy only flourished because it was a compromise during the Cold War (As are many other social breakthroughs in Europe and the US.. New Deal, e.t.c) and there exists no other major non-neoliberal world power for the US to have to compromise with today. So one answer is that international socialism could develop their economy and help them out of poverty and hyperinflation (Not to mention potentially create a Socialist economy, but that's for another time). Another answer is that when Venezuela went Socdem, they left small pockets of the economy unnationalized that destroyed it, and they could be nationalized. But most everything is systemic, and Socialism has many great ways to fix the system.

Note: I made this fast, it probably has many mistakes, and I'm no expert on this subject. However, I can recommend some authors and short books/essays/videos if you want.

3
LegitCockroachOP•

I'd very much like to read whatever you recommend, whilst as I say I'm opposed to socialism as I understand it, the principles are definitely something to aspire to and if it were workable, as I believe it will be when automation advances, innovation to keep up with other nations becomes less necessary(or even a more United Nations project) and scarcity becomes a quickly fixed problem, it would create a fairer world.

2
TheRandomSnake•

The idea that Socialism will work when automation advances is the idea that it will work if we had enough resources, but the fun thing about that is we do. The only real scarcity we have today is artificial. We have enough resources to feed, clothe and educate everyone. That is not some far off theoretical idea, but a fact. Yet entire systems of philosophy defending this system have been created. The truth is that any profit-based system will eventually create an oligarchy. And even if we assumed it didnt, modern industry is so interconnected and exploitation so deeply woven into our society that it is impossible for anyone to truly claim even the smallest part of it, much less a huge part.

Also: On The Third World (it's mixed in there) https://youtu.be/bTZezOhgLNg

The Conquest of Bread https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-conquest-of-bread

The Communist Manifesto https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/

4
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
LegitCockroachOP•

I admire the ideas of equality that form the foundation of socialism, I just dont see it as a workable system in the current stage of human development.

2
TheRandomSnake•

I would encourage you to look up the DFNS

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1