In some ways, “21st century socialism” in Venezuela is beginning to follow a trajectory that looks a lot like 20th century socialism. A combination of incompetent macroeconomic policies, as admitted by a Chavez finance ministry official in this report about the contemplated dual currency, and predatory practices by those with market power have led to food shortages, inflation, a swelling underground economy, and other economic ills.

To the extent that decentralized, local, participatory democracy is being tried in Venezuela–and it’s a subject for debate how real the devolution of power is and what democratic capacity it represents–it confronts the fact that capital is also “decentralized” and able to impose its discipline. One countermove in revolution, as we know, is a powerfully centralized state that can seize assets, block the disciplinary action of the market, and so on. But in a country with no productive base like Venezuela, and with porous borders, this is bound not to eliminate the market, but only to severely distort it and make the distribution of basic goods inefficient while also damaging the local democratic capacities necessary to deepen socialism. It’s a case of damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. The question of socialism in one country eternally remains.

Corvin is an activist and writer based in Toronto. Currently he is working on the Environmental Justice Organizing Initiative to help build an organized movement on climate change rooted in a class, race, anti-colonial, and gender analysis. Read other posts by Corvin Russell.