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Venezuela is collapsing.

Posted by Dobrien 6 years, 5 months ago to History
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Statement from President Donald J. Trump Recognizing Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela
FOREIGN POLICY
Issued on: January 23, 2019
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Today, I am officially recognizing the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela. In its role as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people, the National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, and the office of the presidency therefore vacant. The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law.

I will continue to use the full weight of United States economic and diplomatic power to press for the restoration of Venezuelan democracy. We encourage other Western Hemisphere governments to recognize National Assembly President Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela, and we will work constructively with them in support of his efforts to restore constitutional legitimacy. We continue to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any threats it may pose to the safety of the Venezuelan people. As Interim President Guaido noted yesterday: “Violence is the usurper’s weapon; we only have one clear action: to remain united and firm for a democratic and free Venezuela.”
J

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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    As a work of romantic fiction it dealt with essentials required for the plot-theme. It wasn't intended to mean the back alleys of NYC were (or are) safe. The characters weren't shown catching colds or getting sick or all kinds of other things not essential to the plot-theme. The Rearden trial and the "rescue" at the end was also very abstract, not intended to be "realistic" -- neither could happen in today's world the way they were portrayed (the bureaucracy proves that every day). The same can be said about the heroic westerns of the 1950s that were on TV every night. Ayn Rand discussed this in The Romantic Manifesto.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    ... and get's away with it because it is already widely accepted as the good. Otherwise just saying it wouldn't matter.
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  • Posted by Solver 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It wasn’t quite as crazy in Atlas Shrugged as it is now. People seemed, more civil, until...
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Quite correct. "Capitalism is not a default." In fact, the default is much like "Lord of the Flies." It took reason to overcome instincts.
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  • Posted by mccannon01 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I was always amazed that Dagny could walk the streets of a collapsing NYC without an armed escort and not be abused in some way. I just figured AR put enough on the AS plate without having to explore that alleyway as well.
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  • Posted by mccannon01 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    +1. She has no problem with forcefully thieving and looting her fellow citizens as long as she can "justify" the brutal act by saying it's for a good cause.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    What I disagree with you and AR on is that the country that they would be returning to would be "civilized". I reject your premise.

    From AS, "But you expect industrial giants-who plan in terms of decades ... to continue to function and produce, not knowing what random caprice in the skull of what random official will descend upon them at what moment to demolish the whole of their effort." If you are going to plan in terms of decades, you would be foolish to return to the cesspool described in Atlas Shrugged so quickly.

    Their "full success" would consist of the entire population respecting their productivity properly. Just because they toppled the Mouches and Thompsons of their country does not mean that the looters (and more importantly, their successors) would not revert the country back toward where it was.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    While ideas are learned, the wrong ideas must be unlearned by an overwhelming majority of the population. That doesn't happen quickly enough for it to make sense for the producers to return. Producers will go somewhere else where a particular country's ideas are sufficiently unpolluted, and if there is no such place, they will either start their own such place (i.e. Galt's Gulch, although this is highly unlikely) or just shrug.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The graves are the result of false morality, not moral integrity. Her philosophy of altruism, collectivism, and irrationalism is false and she is falsely promoting herself as being an admirable moral idealist while not being publicly called on it.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    They can't simultaneously protect themselves and condone anarchy. Government is not the only violator of rights. Without an "ism" -- some kind of coherent acceptance of rational individualism -- they can't even count on simple peaceful trade. There was some "trade" and barter thousands of years ago but the tribalism was not capitalism.
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  • Posted by term2 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I should have been more specific. When there is no -ism forced by government, people just trade amongst themselves in as capitalistic way as they can (given that there would be no enforcement of private property. People would have to be very careful to make sure that they protected themselves in what would be essentially anarchy.
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  • Posted by Solver 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    History is strewn with graves dug in the name of moral righteousness.
    And that’s a fact.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Socialism is accepted, where it is, because people believe it is morally superior. They do vote for it. Socialism was voted into Britain, pushed by the Fabian intellectuals, and is progressively being instituted here in the same manner.

    Trump endorsed the opposition leader in Venezuela, saying only that he was "duly elected", with no mention of what he stands for.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Atlas Shrugged was about the role of the mind in human life, not great political leaders. Ideas are not innate in DNA; they are learned.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    They hadn't expected to be able to return so soon, but did when they could because they could be much more productive in a civilized country and economy than holing up in the Valley forever. It represented their full success.
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  • Posted by exceller 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Why not?

    Democracy and socialism are mutually exclusive terms.

    It is an oxymoron.

    Socialism must perpetuate itself by the support of a one party system, otherwise it would fail.

    It follows that there is no democracy in a one party system
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  • Posted by exceller 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes, I am glad someone brought that up, e.g. the Gulchers returning.

    I was thinking at the time when I read the book: why would they return?

    Chances are they would encounter the very same conditions after a while. Unfortunately that is in the human DNA. The role of a super talented leader would make a difference, but only temporarily. If history is a guide, we have a great leader only once in a century.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Capitalism is not a default: it requires protection of the rights of the individual. People bartering in chaos only because no one is stopping them at the moment is not capitalism.
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  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    For all the criticism of her "There's a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually, and semantically correct than about being morally right”, we not seeing anyone challenge her morality, let alone acknowledge that morality is also supposed to be fact.

    She tells some real whoppers (of both kinds) but tries to finesse it by qualifying: "“Whenever I make a mistake. I say, ‘Okay, this was clumsy,’ and then I restate what my point was." If it were just a "mistake" on minor factual matters that would be a proper answer, but she is covering for reckless major falsehoods chosen to push her morality, as if truth is subordinate to a morality that is assumed to be accepted. Her false philosophy of altruism, collectivism and irrationalism is widely accepted, which is how she is getting away with it and getting sympathy for it.

    She seems to have a sense of that -- it isn't accidental -- which is much more than one can say for the Republicans.
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