So, the pretty, young Latina is a blazing star that has the left-wing media foaming at its mouth. Ocasio-Cortez may have opinions, but she is not a well-informed person when it comes to politics and socialism as a matter of policy. But she is photogenic. She has a nice smile. In other words, she is nothing short of a superficial know-nothing. She has pretty much proved this every time she has opened her mouth. It is telling that this hollow political candidate is so highly celebrated by the progressives in media, academia and Hollywood. It is a reflection on them.

Ocasio-Cortez is a socialist candidate for Congress from New York. She will have lots of coaching in the future, but it has been pretty obvious that there is very little, if any, substance behind her slogans, pronouncements and platitudes.

Human nature will always be at work when it comes to flirting and sometimes embracing socialism. A large percentage of people simply cannot resist the temptation of “free” stuff, whether it’s the promise of free phones or healthcare or college tuition or whatever. This is because a large percentage of the population is ignorant of history and economics. But in this type of mind, the history and economics of socialism and its effects are unimportant – in fact they don’t count. What counts is how irresponsible politicians stimulate their imaginations to think how things could be (but never will be).

As far as socialism and electing socialists is concerned, a socialist is another word for a statist – one who thinks the state should be used to regulate people’s behavior down to the minutest detail in order to bring order and prosperity, etc. to the community as a whole. The problem is that those who you hand over the reins of socialistic power to are flawed human beings like everyone else. And as Lord Acton pointed out, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Once a people forfeit their individual rights to the rights of the state, which is also one result of socialism, they often lose their ability to change the government that has begun abusing them.

One only has to turn to Venezuela to see the ruinous effects of socialism. Many people there no longer have access to the basics for survival like bread and medicine. There has been a surge in Venezuelans committing suicide. Young mothers have turned to prostitution to support their families. People who want to reverse societal decay are murdered or imprisoned by their government and its cartel friends.

Several Americans have contributed to this humanitarian tragedy by their support for the late Venezuelan dictator who started it all, Hugo Chavez. Where are these boosters of socialism now? (Oliver Stone, Sean Penn, Michael Moore)

Will someone in the media ask Ocasio-Cortez why socialism has not worked in Venezuela? Doubtful. Jimmy Kimmel? Alec Baldwin? Maybe Rachel Maddow? Not that long-ago Venezuela was the wealthiest of all Latin American countries. Now it is a land of misery and starvation thanks to the socialist government there. But the Venezuelan people are reaping what they have sown. The socialist Hugo Chavez was democratically elected by the people. When Chavez asked for more dictatorial power the people gave it to him. Venezuela is yet further proof that democracies are capable of committing suicide. This should be a warning for all to see. Resist socialism. Save the United States from the fate of so many others who were tempted by the false promises of socialism.

Frotho

A mother and her daughter flee Venezuela – “I’ll walk in my broken shoes.” Thanks to socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his cronies, nearly 2 million people have fled poverty, hunger, crime and hyperinflation in Venezuela since 2015.

P. S. Here’s what some very smart people have observed of socialism and it’s kindred forms governing  –

“Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export…. Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea — in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders. ”                           ― Thomas Sowell

Empty store shelves in Venezuela. The reality of the socialist dream. History tells us over and over again that government-imposed price controls lead to scarcity every time.

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in constraint and servitude.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

“There is all the difference in the world between treating people equally and attempting to make them equal. While the first is the condition of a free society, the second means as de Tocqueville describes it, ‘a new form of servitude.’” – Friedrich von Hayek

“No government of the left has done as much for the poor as capitalism has. Even when it comes to the redistribution of income, the left talks the talk but the free market walks the walk. What do the poor most need? They need to stop being poor. And how can that be done, on a mass scale, except by an economy that creates vastly more wealth? Yet the political left has long had a remarkable lack of interest in how wealth is created. As far as they are concerned, wealth exists somehow and the only interesting question is how to redistribute it.” ― Thomas Sowell, Controversial Essays

“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples’ money.” –Margaret Thatcher

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”   –Thomas Sowell

“Everyone may be called ‘comrade,’ but some comrades have the power of life and death over other comrades.” ― Thomas Sowell, Knowledge And Decisions

Ludwig von Mises:

“The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.”

“The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.”

Mises correctly identified a temptation that many people find too hard to resist – “the illusion that socialism will make them richer.”

Frederic Bastiat:

“Government is the great fiction through which everyone attempts to live at the expense of everyone else.”