21st Century Socialism

Steve Ellner discusses Michael Lebowitz's writings in The Socialist Alternative on the need to place transformation of values at the center of socialist construction, largely based on Lebowitz's texperience in Venezuela and support for Chavez's "humanist objectives".

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During a telephone call from Cuba last Saturday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the government would carry out an “economic revolution” within the coming years as he approved more funds for the industrial development of the country.

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To get a fuller image of South America's new direction, it is important to examine the economic and democratic experiments within Venezuela. Are real changes occurring in who holds democratic and economic power in the country?

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A January study by polling firm International Consulting Services (ICS) has shown that 53% of Venezuelans think that the kind of socialism promoted by the current president Hugo Chavez is a political and economic system that guarantees the development of the country. Meanwhile, the same polling organisation found if the 7 October presidential elections were held tomorrow Chavez would be re-elected with 58.2% of the vote.

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Based on the analysis of the historic experience of what we call the Soviet mode of production – to differentiate it from the socialist mode of production theoretically formulated by Marx, Engels, and Lenin – we here analyze the experience of Venezuela, its process of recuperation of national sovereignty during the government of President Chávez since 1999 and the road traversed with the construction of the material and cultural bases of socialism since his reelection in December 2006 when the chief of state declared socialism as the path of development and the strategic objective to be obtained.

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The year 2011 was yet another period of important advances for the Venezuelan government and more importantly, the Venezuelan people. A year which started under the pressure of a national emergency ended with the birth of new social programs and the rebirth of a revolutionary movement focused on consolidating its popular power for the next six years.

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Arriving in Caracas during the Christmas period with images of the ex GDR [German Democratic Republic] or the USSR is a big mistake. The model mangers are everywhere, even in the military barracks. There’s no official government building without its mangers and its Christmas trees. In the metro stations of Moscow, sorry, of Caracas, Christmas songs are playing and there have even been some Christmas concerts – I’m serious – by the Venezuelan Orchestral System...

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In 2000, the Bolivarian government of Venezuela embraced the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to achieve a better standard of living for the entire population. Venezuela’s remarkably rapid achievement of most of the MDGs compared to every other country in the world is a result of the Chavez government’s implementation of economic and social policies based on the principles underlying 21st century socialism.

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In this paper, I address the question as to the extent to which the participatory and democratic processes taking place as part of Venezuela's new cooperative movement can be said to be a component for the building of social relations that challenge those of capitalism.

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