photo attrib: Christian Veron Reuters
In 1921, the brutal Russian Revolution originally born in 1917, first, to overthrow the Czarist rule and subsequently, the nidus of a social democratic structure, was coming to a climax. The Red Army, infused with the radicalist furor of the Bolsheviks, had nearly completely eradicated the White Army, a loose collection of monarchists, non-bolshevik democrats, and militarists that stood as a viable option to the installation of a utopian manifesto facing the ever suffering Russian people. Like all Socialist ‘dream-states’, the Revolution was predicated in convincing the mass of people of the coming egalitarian utopia, and ignoring the means of creation, a top down elite dominance over a servile proletariat, demanded of all utopian structures. Two organized groups began to realize their view points, as part of their cooperation with the overlords in the Bolshevik structure, were no longer valued. Faced by the severe consequences of communist rigidity in the economy, the soldiers, sailors and citizens that had taken up the mantle of revolution, now asked the revolution to respect their needs. A rebellion against the overlords ensued, called the Kronstadt Rebellion. The millions of peasants of Ukraine, the breadbasket of the developing Soviet structure, objected to the forced requisition of foodstuffs without any return or support of local needs. The response from above was ruthless; the peasant response was to defend themselves against the theft of their labors, by forming the Green Army. The result of asking for the egalitarian provision of the resources and bounty of the state as outlined in the Marxian manifesto? The total crushing of both groups to secure the dominance of the overlords. The Revolution eats its own last, but inevitably.
The one hundred years since the revolution on Marxist ideals first succeeded on the planet have been littered with the same reality of socialism deviating from its theoretic idealized form, over and over and over. The recruitment of the poor and dispossessed by leaders proclaiming a utopia denied by a capitalist elite. The progressive recruitment of the nation’s resources and power into the hands of a few elite who claim a special objectivity and principled character that allows them to make the crucial decisions for the masses. The hero worship idealizing the leaders that permit like minded elitists in other country to exult upon their idealism, and ignore their minder’s corruption. The eventual collapse of the agreed upon interactions that maintain civilized human behavior. The collapse of the compact between the governed and the governing – and the inevitable brutal clash where only one societal construct can remain standing — the oppressors or the oppressed.
From Russia to China, Laos to Cambodia, North Korea to Uganda, and Cuba to , now, Venezuela – the socialist revolution eventually eats its own. the saddest stupidity in the never ending tragedy of injecting the ideal socialism of academic treatises into the real life consequences of human society, is that elites of the world continue to observe its successive failure as an example of the lack of purity of commitment and the nefarious undermining of individuals seeking “advantage” over others. Never mind the millions of murdered, starved, imprisoned, and oppressed in the gulags of the Soviet State, the death camps of Cambodia, the starvation of the Korean masses, the slaughter of the Chinese middle class by the Red Guard.
Now, the world turns it’s lonely eyes to Venezuela. The emerald country of South America sits upon the world’s largest oil reserves, a bottomless piggy bank to fund any conceivable socialist agenda for its 31 million citizens. With the nationalization of the oil industry, Hugo Chavez secured the financial means of building the infra-structure lionized in socialist lore. “Free” health clinics and hospitals. Universal education. Planned economy. Expansion of government direction into every societal and individual decision. The oil piggy bank also filled the coffers of the elite — making millionaires out beholden military leaders and judges, and billionaires out of the Chavez family. the Chavez mystique was imprinted everywhere in Venezuela – the ‘fatherly” advice for his children, the Venezuelan poor, on television talk shows, the posters extolling his far sightedness in schools and buildings across the country. For a while, the socialist ideal was artificially propped up.
The world’s leftist elites, enthralled with yet again another potential example of the superiority of marxist principles (they themselves would never accept the yolk of), flocked to this newest latest savior from capitalist reality. The “charismatic” Chavez – socialist dictators always have to be “charismatic” to excuse their totalitarian instincts (as in the “charismatic” Castro or “charismatic” Mugabe) — unfortunately did not count upon the great equalizer. cancer, that would abort his life time appointment to lead his nation’s socialist revolution. At the occasion of his funeral, the celebrity elites opined upon his ‘great father’ role for Venezuela. Michael Moore – “Hugo Chávez declared the oil belonged 2 the ppl. He used the oil $ 2 eliminate 75% of extreme poverty, provide free health & education 4 all. That made him dangerous”. Sean Penn – “I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chávez and the people of Venezuela. Venezuela and its revolution will endure under the proven leadership of vice president Maduro.” Oliver Stone – “I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place. Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chávez will live forever in history. My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned.”
The great father Chavez in death turned the whole cabal into the hands of Nicholas Maduro, who made sure to continue the unique brand of hero worship, corrupt oligarchy, and the permanent stoking of the resentment of the poorer classes. Unfortunately, the conversion of a difficult to control diverse economy into one 93% driven by oil and petroleum product receipts, reached its nadir with the collapse of oil prices, in 2014. The United States had discovered fracking, and suddenly the OPEC countries faced the sullen reality of capitalist competition. In Venezuela, there was not enough money left to bribe all the officials, subdue the black market, and provide for essential goods. Inflation destroyed people’s meagre savings, and essential goods — food stuffs, medicines, even petrol — dried up. The not so charismatic Maduro packed the court and attempted to shut down the Assembly, jailed his opposition, paid off more aggressively the military, even began to form para-military fascist groups — the colectivo — to harass and cower the population.
Now, Venezuelans live the life of the socialist oppressed. There is nothing to eat, nothing to fight disease, and progressively, no hope, whether you were once rich, or poor. The elite cabal Maduro runs cannot let go, because they would face the full fury of the enraged population. The junta must fight the citizens, the citizens must fight back and the country progressively descends into hell. The socialist virus must find another host to infect as this one is almost dead.
As Venezuela must endure its inevitable collapse throwing off the socialist yoke, and its equally painful rebirth, the elites of the world, particularly the profound hypocrites that live in free market and free expression societies, will of course avert their eyes. They will revert to lambasting their own bountiful providence, and work toward the socialist virus infesting itself deeper into the American host. When Maduro falls and the country is adrift with parasitic warlords like Libya, or an even more terrible junta takes his place, the leftist elites will sigh, and look for the next carcass.
If only Chavez had been a little more pure, a little more stalwart….too bad. It appears Venezuela wasn’t a worthy dream-state after all.
