Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently attempted to distinguish democratic socialism from the socialism being practiced in Venezuela. During the recent debate in Houston, Sanders called Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a “vicious tyrant.” He went on to call for “for free elections in Venezuela so that the people of that country can make, can create their own future.”
What Sanders conveniently ignores is that Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, was elected in free elections. After being democratically elected, Chavez fulfilled his campaign promises by nationalizing industries and controlling virtually every aspect of the economy. The resulting misery suffered by Venezuelans is the result of Chavez’s policies.
Sanders displays his intellectual dishonest when he implies that an adjective can change the essence of socialism. It can’t.
Socialism is an economic/political theory that advocates “collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” Under socialism, government officials control virtually every aspect of citizens’ lives. Whether those officials achieve their power from ballots or bullets is a mere detail.
While decrying Maduro as a tyrant, Sanders advocates the alternative of a tyranny of the majority–democracy. He wants the majority to have unlimited powers. He wants the majority to have the power to dispose of the property–and therefore, the lives–of individuals.
Individuals have a moral right to live their lives as they choose, so long as they respect the rights of others to do the same. Whether an individual is restricted and controlled by a single tyrant or a majority of voters, he is not free to choose his values and the means for attaining them.
Every form of statism–socialism, communism, fascism–is implemented by brute force, by threatening individuals with prison, fines, or death if they do not obey the decrees of government officials. And this is true whether it is the socialism of Chavez and Maduro, or the socialism of Bernie Sanders.