Reply #117: Have you read or heard about the book "MITI" by Chalmers Johnson? [View All]

[IggyReed]

Japan had a state directed economic development, far and away more than Chavez has in Venezuela, to this point at least. The big banks in Japan would get together with the government, the military, the corporations, and they'd plan every aspect of the economy. On top of that, most of the institutions in Japan were put together into giant, statist groupings, which shared planning, debt, profits, etc. This was the model that South Korea used in their state development as well. Ever read the critiques the West had towards Asia and its "crony capitalist" model, before the Asian Financial Crisis (which hit the countries that had things like capital controls far less than it did the more "free market" economies)? Its funny too, Japan had a state directed economic development that has consistently ran circles around the West. How many times in the 20th century did the West have to protect their domestic economies from Japanese competition? It’s one of the main causes of WWII.

It's amazing, again, how someone could claim that he's supressing dissent when he did nothing more to RCTV than make them go to cable for what they did. When the opposition to this day dominates the media and the people receiving funding from outside powers operate openly.

It's also interesting to watch people pretend that Venezuela's economic troubles, the poverty, the wealth disparity and the class conflict began with Chavez. Like the country wasn't wrecked by the time Chavez took over, with corruption and institutional poverty the norm.

Funny too how people pretend that the financial markets don't make democracy basically impossible around the world. How if a country does what is in the best interest of its citizens, and does as its citizens are asking, that investors don't punish that country, without exception. Nothing should be done about THAT, nothing should be done about financial inflation (which is never mentioned, only "goods" or "demand induced" inflation is mentioned).