Last time I checked, Norway, one of the richest and happiest countries in the world, is run as a Social Democracy. Hence, Socialism is not the problem. The prob

Last time I checked, Norway, one of the richest and happiest countries in the world, is run as a Social Democracy. Hence, Socialism is not the problem. The problem is, was, and will always be: corrupted humans running it. In the case of Venezuela, the late Chávez and his friends stole every petro-dollar they could laid their hands on. Obviously, they also made huge public spendings, something that will naturally give a sense of prosperity and economic development, and make them very popular; yet, that public spending was not investment per-se that could later generate wealth. The Bible puts it quite clear: don't give them fish, teach them how to fish. Now the oil money is gone so is the fake bonanza. Maduro has to stay in power in order to keep himself and his buddies out of jail.