Ringa-ding-ding!
The 'Vuvuzela' alarm has gone off almost before I even had time to set it!
I thought I made it quite clear that I expected opinions backed up by facts... all I hear is buzzwords in your first sentence. Disappointing.
I'm so glad you brought up Venezuela. Indeed, the failed socialist nation has always puzzled me, as a socialist. However, once I put my mind to it, it took barely any digging to find out the reasons for Venezuela's decline.
First and foremost, we should take into account the fact that Venezuela was colonised by Spain, and as with all colonised nations, most of their natural resources were pillaged and the profits sent back to the European homeland. This immediately sets back the development potential of Venezuela.
Then, we can begin to look at the contemporary reasons for Venezuela's latest failures.
The entire economy of modern Venezuela depends on oil (it accounts for almost 90% of foreign exports). Venezuela was rich in it. However, as all fossil fuels do, it dried up. Ran out. When that happens, and you have failed to diversify your economy and create a sovereign wealth fund, it is inevitable that your economy will fail.
Couple this with intense sanctions by the US and other nations and industry corruption, and you have an economy doomed to fail.
Have you ever noticed that all these 'failed socialist nations' developed in poor, post-colonial backwaters that had been exploited for centuries, and were invaded by foreign capitalist nations as soon as they tried to rise up against oppression?
