In doing some research for another post, I came across an article so mind blowingly stupid, I just couldn’t let it go.

Neoliberalism Is Destroying Almost Everybody’s Lives—How Many People Even Know What It Is?

This is how far I got before my brain started to turn into soup and run out of my ears:

“Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.”

The article then goes on to say how this type of political/economic system makes us all miserable and lonely and is bad for the soul.

Personally, I love my job and am happy that I live in the US, with all of its freedoms, that has allowed me to do what I love.  But I realize my anecdotal evidence isn’t enough.

So allow me to counter this two-day old article with some other 48 hour old news.

Venezuela, which is the 10th largest oil producer in the world, is too broke to print money.  The rate of inflation is Venezuela is about to hit 1,000%.  It is now rationing electricity because it can’t produce enough subsidized power.  Now, of course, the capital of this planned economy is a utopia the murder capital of the world.

But maybe I’m thinking about this all wrong.  Perhaps a centralized, planned economy is a good thing.  I guess when the government can only afford to pay me to come to work for two days a week that means there is more time to be at home with my family.  Well… not at home really, but I can stand with my family in line for our food ration.  There is another good thing.  Massive food shortages means that I won’t have to suffer from the obesity epidemic that Western, capitalist nations do.  Even inflation won’t be a problem in the long run.  Sure, government controls may lead to toilet paper shortages, but after that I can wipe my ass with worthless $100 bills and feel like a Hip-Hop mogul.

I guess I’m starting to come around.