If you are not watching Hugo Chavez's evolve "democratically" into dictator from your modern, electronic ring-side seat, start now. Keep in mind while watching events unfold, Lord Bolingbroke's famous statement: "History is philosophy teaching by example."
South of us, the "Americas" oscillate between total disaster and complete disaster. Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic for centuries and 100% tribalistic prior to Catholicism, these "Americans" find that they can rise only to the level of rearranging the deck chairs on their national Titanics. Not that that bothers them. Given the profound appearance of weakness by the United States since World War II, Central and South Americans find so-called "strong men" much more admirable, since those Nazis up and died. The Americas, as everyone notes, are in a state of left drift.
The ring-side seat, however, is the match between Hugo Chavez and human liberty, which follows Venezuela's nearly five decades of democratic history.:
In Venezuela, we have an almost unprecidented opportunity to watch a dictatorship form and mature. Excerpts from a Fox News article give the important details.
Venezuela's Congress Grants Chavez Special Powers to Remake Country
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
CARACAS, Venezuela —
A congress wholly loyal to President Hugo Chavez approved a law Wednesday granting the Venezuelan leader authority to enact sweeping measures by presidential decree. [They] unanimously approved all four articles of the law by a show of hands.
"Long live the sovereign people! Long live President Hugo Chavez! Long live socialism!" said National Assembly President Cilia Flores as she proclaimed the law approved. "Fatherland, socialism or death! We will prevail!"
Chavez, who is beginning a fresh six-year term, says the legislation will be the start of a new era of "maximum revolution" during which he will consolidate Venezuela's transformation into a socialist society. Hundreds of Chavez supporters...wav[ed] signs reading "Socialism is democracy" as lawmakers read out passages of the law giving Chavez special powers for 18 months to transform 11 broadly defined areas, including the economy, energy and defense.
"The people of Venezuela, not just the National Assembly, are giving this enabling power to the president of the republic," said congresswoman Iris Varela, addressing the crowd.
Chavez...has said he will use the law to decree nationalizations of Venezuela's largest telecommunications company and the electricity sector, slap new taxes on the rich and impose greater state control over the oil and natural gas industries. The law also allows Chavez to dictate unspecified measures to transform state institutions; reform banking, tax, insurance and financial regulations; decide on security and defense matters such as gun regulations and military organization; and "adapt" legislation to ensure "the equal distribution of wealth" as part of a new "social and economic model."
Chavez plans to reorganize regional territories and carry out reforms aimed at bringing "power to the people" through thousands of newly formed Communal Councils, in which Venezuelans will have a say on spending an increasing flow of state money on neighborhood projects from public housing to road repaving. Chavez supporters said the law will help align the country's government and economy for a swift move toward a more egalitarian society.
"That law is going to allow the president to accelerate the process so that government becomes more efficient," said Ruperta Garcia, a 52-year-old university professor in the crowd.
"Dictatorship is what there used to be," [Vice President Jorge] Rodriguez said. "We want to impose the dictatorship of a true democracy."
Some words and phrases in the article have been emboldened by me because they show up every time some country lurches into some form of socialism. What we are seeing in Venezuela truly parallels the "democratic election" of Adolf Hitler followed by the Parliament giving Hitler the same powers as Chavez. Hitler, of course, immediately suspended the constitution of the Weimar Republic and ruled by decree from February 1933 until his death in April 1945.
Power must never be entrusted to human beings except when it involves power over nature. Humans cannot be trusted to use power over humans rationally. Power is too intoxicating, and people are filled with too many bad premises. Profound restrictions must be placed on those to whom power has been delegated. The founding of the USA tried to shackle the power of those who would govern, and they succeeded for a while. Now look at us.
Chavez is on a one-way street. He may start with "socialism," meaning that form of centralized government and society in which government owns the means of production. Soon he will move in one of two directions: Toward a fascist dictatorship or a communist dictatorship. Both fascism and communism are nothing more than varieties of socialism. As long as he can peddle oil, he can become another Hitler. And, look at his "friends."
Few of us today were around at the end of January 1933 when Hitler was given Germany by the Parliament. We can read the books and watch the films, which leave us with a vicarious experience. Hugo Chavez and Venezuela will provide us an outstanding ring-side seat, and we must not miss any of it. We need the experience, and we are lucky that it is the Venezuelans to feel that experience on their skins and not us. Not yet, anyway.
On Tuesday, 30 January 2007, Neil Cavuto had a leftie author on who described Chavez as an heroic liberator of major altruistic proportions. This leftie just "knows" that Chavez will do only good works, right wrongs, elevate the people of Venezuela, and properly redistribute the wealth of that country to the poor from whom it has been taken. He says that Chavez will not abuse his power, not seek further power, and will leave office as soon as he gets Venezuela straightened out. This is classic leftist thinking, but it offers us some hope.
The lefties who are playing such an instrumental role in wrecking America will be powerfully attracted to Venezuela. If we could export them in volume, we could do ourselves a world of good while gifting Chavez with millions of adulating sycophants. What a wonderful thought that is.
While we are watching the evolution of a dictatorship, let us not lose sight of the fact that our own American regulation state is on the same path as Venezuela. If we do not change course back to rights, liberty, and Constitutionalism, we will devolve into a fascist dictatorship just as sure as night follows day. Look at Venezuela as a prelude.
Interesting parallel with Hitler. I had read that Chavez is a big fan of Hitler and I am sure he has studied how he came to power. The oil will provide the grease. As the socialist machine he builds begins to collapse from corruption and welfare addiction, it will still move along with all those petrodollars greasing the skids.
Posted by: John Sobieski | Saturday, 10 February 2007 at 15:58
John.
So sorry to be so late in responding. I can only think that your prediction is too rational and too logical not to be exactly right.
Posted by: GM | Sunday, 18 February 2007 at 17:05