On the Road to Serfdom: The Venezuela Edition

Every so often, some of my liberal friends talk about how America under the Bush Administration is a dictatorship. As much as I don't like the Bushies, and as much I do think they have danced to the edge if not gone right over the edge when it comes to civil liberties, I don't think we are heading towards people being "disappeared" ala Chile in the 70s and 80s. Last I checked, we are having an election next year to replace the current President and odds are that the Democrats will win. That doesn't sound like a dictatorship to me.

What's funny is that very few on the left are screaming about what is going on in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, who is taking more and more power and grabbing more and more freedoms from the people. The latest is that an independent TV station was shut down after the Chavez government refused to renew its license. It was replaced by a state-backed channel that will obviously be friendly to "El Presidente."

Many will say that he has helped the poor. Maybe, but he has done it at the expense of freedom and that isn't any better than trying to make people safe at the expense of freedom.