Panhandling and the culture of socialism

Nary a day goes by that I don't walk down the street and encounter somebody asking if I have some money to spare or if I can buy them something. This is a characteristic endemic to the little corner of the Caribbean I presently inhabit, but it is also a feature of other leftist bastions I have inhabited. Have you ever noticed that there is a positive correlation between the frequency of solicitations for money ant how far left the ruling class tends?

The island where I currently make my residence is a product of three types of imperialism. There is the American capitalist imperialism implicit in playing host to a large medical school that caters mainly to North Americans. This influences the people of the host country to go into business to reap the rewards of catering to a bunch of students flush with government education loans. I view this as a positive influence on the people. It has enabled many residents of the island to become financially productive and take care of their families. Also, they are working for their money, so at the end of the day they can come home and know that what came out in the black for that day is theirs. They are in control of their own destiny.

There is another sort of chap around here though. That is the one constantly looking for a handout. Hey can you spare some change? Hey will you buy me a soda? Hey can you buy me some lunch? I feel bad for these souls, because each time someone assents to their wishes, they are further ingrained with a world view that causes them to seek entitlements. Their government is complicit in their non-productivity because many of their basic needs are provided gratis by the centralized regime. These are the people who are ripe to fall for the more pernicious forms of imperialism that wait in the wings.

The first in this category is fairly benevolent, but still damaging. This is the influence of the Cuban regime on the political and professional sphere of the society here. This influence is seen in the number of Cuban professionals and the amount of Cuban aid that flows into the medical system and other governmental programs. There is no doubt that medical care is needed here as anywhere else, but the acceptance of the handout is a Faustian bargain. The Cuban influence perpetuates the socialism that flourishes here. People are conditioned to accept a handout that solves and immediate problem, but furthers their dependence on an external government.

The other in this category is the influence of Venezuela. The people of the island are currently at a crossroads. They can continue to orbit in the sphere of influence of the United States. This has allowed them to live reasonably prosperously, democratically, and without the need to field a military. Or they can accept the gifts on offer by Hugo Chavez, the two-bit socialist Che Guevara acolyte who rails against the united states like a petulant child. He also provides a foothold for increased influence by the Russians and Chinese in South American affairs.

Chavez's vision for the island is that it would be a nice place for an oil refinery or some other Venezuela-focused economic development. This would change the face of the island dramatically. It would become a much more hostile environment for western business in general, and the medical school in particular. The short term benefits for the leaders is clear: It allows them to continue to neglect the economic development aspects of their country's operations, in favor of letting someone else do it. But in the long term, they have to give up a lot of self-determination and freedom.

It reminds me of the panhandlers I routinely encounter here and encountered in the Bay Area. They can get by, but each day is the same old thing. Their dependency on handouts is also a shackle that keeps them bound to a life of only to one choice: to ask for more.