Capitalism vs. Socialism in One Chart: South Korea vs. Venezuela Edition

 

nksk3

If you are trying to make a point about statism vs. democratic capitalism, comparing the fortunes of North and South Korea is an easy and effective way to make it. A great natural experiment. (Just compare night-time satellite photos of the Korean peninsula.) One a modern, advanced economy. The other a hellhole. Same people, same geography, different political economy. The K-pop Korea is definitely the one you would want to live in.

But the comparison is such an extreme — totalitarian North Korea is one of the most nightmarish nations ever to exist — that some might find it easy to dismiss. A weird one-off.

So how about this comparison instead? South Korea vs. Venezuela. Certainly the latter isn’t Switzerland. Freedom House calls Venezuela a “partly free” nation that oppresses political opposition. But FH labels North Korea as “unfree” and uses the phrase “crimes against humanity” in the opening paragraph of its report.

The Index of Economic Freedom ranks Venezuela #176 out of the  178 nations it tracks, ahead of Cuba and North Korea. But Venezuela is a much richer nation, with a per capita GDP (on a purchasing power basis) of $18,000 vs. $2,000 for North Korea. From the IEF:

Venezuela’s economy is in decline. Unwise government spending and fiscal deficits have affected the daily lives of Venezuelans as a shortage of basic consumer goods has become more widespread. President Nicolás Maduro has issued decrees that erode the rights of foreign investors and increase the government’s control of the economy. Many U.S. and multinational firms have shut down operations in Venezuela because of rigid labor regulations.

South American socialism in action. By the way, FH calls South Korea “free,” and the IEF ranks it 27th:

Over the past five years, South Korea’s economy has charted steady, uninterrupted progress in economic freedom. Recent reforms have put greater emphasis on enhancing regulatory efficiency and ensuring a larger role for small and medium-size enterprises in the economy. South Korea’s dynamic private sector, bolstered by a well-educated, hard-working labor force, continues to capitalize on the country’s openness to global trade and investment.

Now let me illustrate South Korea vs. Venezuela with this chart from Oxford researcher Max Roser:

040516SKvA

I don’t know where Sean Penn would rather live, but for most people the choice would be an easy one.

Published in Economics
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There are 16 comments.

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  1. Derek Simmons Member
    Derek Simmons
    @

    The price of electricity will necessarily skyrocket

    • #1
  2. CuriousKevmo Inactive
    CuriousKevmo
    @CuriousKevmo

    and yet, seemingly a majority of Americans would have us try this again…..because this time it’ll be different.

    Actually, a good many of the leftists I know, including my own son, would look at that and say “Venezuela is flat, that is perfect, we don’t need to grow, let’s just keeps things as they are”.

    • #2
  3. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Korea vs. USA at night

    • #3
  4. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Perhaps a similar visual could soon be constructed of Venezuela as well.

    Venezuela Makes Every Friday a Holiday to Save Electricity

    We just have to wait a bit longer then acquire a similar night-time satellite photograph of the region, compare Venezuela to perhaps a differently governed neighbor (say Colombia, ranked 33 on the Index of Economic Freedom) and then voilà.

    All too frighteningly easy when one thinks about it.

    • #4
  5. Marion Evans Inactive
    Marion Evans
    @MarionEvans

    Do you have a similar satellite view of Cruz’s brain vs. Trump’s?

    • #5
  6. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Misthiocracy:Korea vs. USA at night

    That the desolate starving land of North Korea receives all the benefits of ideal astronomy conditions (damn that light-pollution) as America’s bounteous heartland without the bothersome fruited plains and amber waves of grain?

    • #6
  7. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    Seoul, South Korea really lights up.  I’m sure no other city on the face of the earth lights up like that — except for taxpayer-funded Washington, DC…

    • #7
  8. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Roberto:

    Misthiocracy:Korea vs. USA at night

    That the desolate starving land of North Korea receives all the benefits of ideal astronomy conditions (damn that light-pollution) as America’s bounteous heartland without the bothersome fruited plains and amber waves of grain?

    Actually, I think it’s trying to make a point about government ownership of land. If it was simply about geography and climate, there wouldn’t be quite as stark a line separating the bright side from the dark side on the pic of the USA, running from the Manitoba border to Ciudad Juarez.

    • #8
  9. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Misthiocracy:

    Roberto:

    Actually, I think it’s trying to make a point about government ownership of land. If it was simply about geography and climate, there wouldn’t be quite as stark a line separating the bright side from the dark side on the pic of the USA, running from the Manitoba border to Ciudad Juarez.

    Map_of_all_U.S._Federal_Land

    Ah, I see your point there. Interesting notion.

    • #9
  10. Pilli Inactive
    Pilli
    @Pilli

    The Cloaked Gaijin:Seoul, South Korea really lights up. I’m sure no other city on the face of the earth lights up like that — except for taxpayer-funded Washington, DC…

    Axshully…If the Florida peninsula was depicted to the same scale as that of the Korean peninsula you would find that the Tampa / Orlando area and the southeast coast would shine every bit as bright.  I’ve flown in to FLL at night many times.  From out over the Gulf, you can see a brightly lit “city” from about Stuart down thru Miami.

    • #10
  11. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    I think that this is the chart that JP meant to include in the OP:

    GDP per cap SKor vs Venez

    • #11
  12. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    With Socialism people stand in line for bread. With Capitalism bread waits for people. Milton Friedman I think.

    • #12
  13. MJBubba Member
    MJBubba
    @

    In the GDP chart, the rise you see in Venezuela from 2004 to 2013 was strictly due to the rise in the price of oil.

    • #13
  14. Chuck Enfield Inactive
    Chuck Enfield
    @ChuckEnfield

    I’m not without concern regarding the amount of federal lands and how they are managed, but to be fair we must acknowledge that much of that land is still in government hands because nobody wanted it back when the feds were trying to unload it.

    • #14
  15. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    At least one country has gotten with the global warming program.  They should be applauded not ridiculed.  This is progressivism at it’s best.

    • #15
  16. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    I Walton:At least one country has gotten with the global warming program. They should be applauded not ridiculed. This is progressivism at it’s best.

    The DPRK: All time champions of the minimal carbon footprint, a triumph indeed.

    • #16
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