Posted by
voice_of_reason on Monday, November 12, 2007 7:48:49 PM
In his famous speech on January 25, 1974, Ronald Reagan said "Standing on the tiny deck of the Arabella in 1630 off the Massachusetts coast, John Winthrop said, “We will be as a city upon a hill..."
Well, in 2007 there is a different kind of "city upon a hill" that is taking shape. Could Venezuela's Hugo Chavez be taking a page out of Ronald Reagan's book?
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Venezuela's Chavez Attempts New City
An NPR story by Juan Ferero
Morning Edition, November 12, 2007 · Awash in oil profits, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is attempting to build a city from scratch. The plan is to erect a municipality in a national park just outside Caracas and away from the pollution.
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There are so many things wrong with this picture, one doesn't know where to begin!
* Chavez's "new Socialism" depends upon Capitalism - without the world-wide demand for oil that comes from Capitalist endeavor, there would be no engine to drive his programs. Even if his new cities are successful (which is extremely doubtful), they would owe their existence to Capitalism.
* The new cities will contain all the bare necessities in the form of supermarkets, pharmacies, shopping malls, parking lots etc. An estimated 100,000 people will be relocated from the poorer sections of Caracas to live in this new paradise.
* The new city, called Caribbean, is carved out of a mountaintop near Caracas. I wonder what Chavez's enviro-crazy friends think about that!
* The new cities would require the expropriation of land from several people who happen to live in that area. Oh well, that's never been a problem in a socialist country ..
* As usual, central planners forget how how their grandiose plans will be sustained. It might be worth asking a few questions:
- What miracle will make merchandise appear in those shopping malls?
- How will the poor citizens of this new paradise be able to afford all this?
* My prediction is that
(1) this city (and many like it) will be built
(2) poor people will be relocated to these cities with much fanfare
(3) in 3-5 years, these cities will become un-inhabitable slums
(4) a few cities will be kept functional - every socialist regime needs its Potemkin villages.