Welcome to Socialism; What to Expect When You Visit Hell By James Reed

     When I visit my old university here in Melbourne, I always notice the latest set of socialist posters. At the moment we have: in defence of the Russian revolution. Before that was one about how wonderful China is. And so on. But, even if we forget the lessons of history, let us remember the lessons of the present. Socialism is decisively refuted by the lessons of Venezuela, a once wealthy country that destroyed itself, and now exists as a collapsed state, that essentially only has a functioning oppressive military.
  https://www.theorganicprepper.com/what-hyperinflation-really-looks-like/

     Here is a shopping list where inflation rules:

•    Vegetable oil 900ml. Bottle: 748.367 Bs
•    Cereal mixture for milkshakes: 900Grs can: 1.057.057 Bs
•    Wheat flour, 1 kg: 398.750 Bs
•    Cheese, 1 kg:  2.160.950 Bs (yes, TWO MILLION)
•    Chicken and Bacon: 2.299.500 Bs
•    395Grs Condensed milk w/sugar: 566.144 Bs
•    Oatmeal 400 Grs:  550.000 Bs
•    1 kg. Margarine: 747.000 Bs
•    1Kg Chocolate mixture for milkshakes: 2.060.000 Bs
•    Cheese (melted-for spreading) 300 Grs: 1.097.230 Bs
•    Black Olives 235Grs: 1.677.120 Bs
•    Ladies deodorant: 890.000 Bs
•    Insecticide 1 can: 900.000 Bs
•    Mayonnaise 910 Grs.: 955.000 Bs
•    2 toilet paper rolls: 399.974 Bs
•    1 Kg. avocados: 500.000 Bs
•    30 Eggs: 650.000 Bs.
•    Dog food, dry, bulk 20Kg: 6.060.000 Bs
•    Dishwashing soap, cream 500 Grs: 440.000 Bs
•    2 door fridge: 627.900.000 Bs (yes, six hundred MILLION)
•    400ML. Shampoo:  2.052.050 Bs (2 million)
•    4 small ice cream cups: 2.072.691 Bs
•    Rice 500 Grs: 115.277 Bs
•    TV 65 inches: 329.999.990 Bs
•    2Lt soda: 298.000 Bs
•    Lemon Juice, 500ml bottle: 731.881 Bs
•    Light bulb, power saving: 935.000 Bs
•    Shoes: 5.986.825 Bs
•    Catfish: 465.300 Bs
•    Sweet corn 400Grs: 466.480 Bs
•    Ground meat: 1.150.000 Bs.
•    Steak: 1.300.000 Bs (depending on the region, usually cheaper in cattle-producing states)
•    Pork chops: over 1.000.000 Bs
•    Corn flour, 1 kg: 265.000 Bs.
•    Dollar price: 350.000 Bs / 1 USD

The article goes on to point out that while the sheeple whinge about their slow economic death by strangulation, they do nothing for constructive change:

“One of the most amazing things I have seen is that people are in total denial, and they refuse to accept that the money is not worth even the paper it is printed on. They won’t innovate changing to cryptos easily, nor will they accept silver coins, much less other precious metals. They won’t barter, they won’t trade their labor time (I mean major cities, in my small town things are a little different). We had a good supply of silver coins in the 60s, but that changed. They talk and talk, complaining about the government, but they just don’t do anything. I have seen some small plots in our subdivision with tomatoes plants and other vegetables, but that is just a salad for one lunch. And the people passing by will take whatever is within their hand’s reach. The electronic money has been devalued much more than cash. Something with a price in cash, if you try to pay with debit card or money transfer via internet the price will be 2 or 3 times the cash price. Illegal? Yes, it is. But there is no way to control it.

The main problem arises because it is the military taking over the supply chain. They have an agreement with the gangs, and they deviate the production of the plants that are under military control, to the street sales. The gangs are armed, and they protect the retail sellers from thieves and turmoil. This is in the most populated cities, where the money is, and therefore the products don’t make it so often up to the smaller towns. The black market offers of tires, food, car spares, engine oil, and all kind of medicines and goods are rampant, and the social networks are full of resellers. You may expect a morality crisis, in parallel with this economical crisis. I asked a granny how much was charging for some hand towels she had for sale, and I did not have enough money in my pocket to buy even one towel…I apologized but saw she was upset. It was a sad, awkward moment indeed.”

     Although this is a description of economic collapse via socialism, the same point can be reached by other means, such as a debt-based collapse. The rest of the West is now on that path and it is only a matter of time. Rebuilding will be both difficult and exhilarating, but it is a particularly worrying aspect of the human condition that most people are so passive and dull, allowing situations to get to unbearable, almost unwinnable points before deciding to do something about it. But, alas, that is the way of man, bearer of original sin.