Principle

Hugo Chavez has made another pronouncement.  Venezuela Threatens to Nationalize Banks.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday threatened to nationalize the country's banks and largest steel producer, accusing them of unscrupulous practices.

"Private banks have to give priority to financing the industrial sectors of Venezuela at low cost," Chavez said. "If banks don't agree with this, it's better that they go, that they turn over the banks to me, that we nationalize them and get all the banks to work for the development of the country and not to speculate and produce huge profits."

Chavez also warned the government could take over steel producer Sidor, which is majority controlled by Luxembourg-based Ternium SA.

After having already effectively nationalized private property and the oil industry, it would only make sense that Chavez would now go after the banks and manufacturing.  In the U.S., the left will be strangely silent.  It dare not openly express approval, but there's certainly no great disappointment either that  Chavez is gradually doing away with his countrymen's right to keep what they've worked for.

Despite the socialist failures of Russia, China, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Albania, Lithuania, Poland, Cuba, Mongolia,  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, North Korea, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Ukraine and Uzbekistan, there's always the chance that the next workers' paradise might just work.  After all, if you live in the capitalist United States, why would you worry much over the fate of the poor schmucks in Venezuela or the rest?