Free Republic

“The global struggle for democracy approached a possible turning point in 2022,” Freedom House writes in its latest annual report on political rights and civil liberties around the world. “There were signs … that the world’s long freedom recession may be bottoming out, which would set the stage for a future recovery.” Freedom shrunk for the 17th straight year over the past 12 months, but did so only slightly this time, with 34 countries growing freer and 35 less free. In addition, “the year’s events showed that autocrats are far from infallible, and their errors provide openings for democratic forces....

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s quiet move to restore elements of free enterprise to his nation’s economy should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone listening to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ siren song of socialism in the Democratic primaries or who is still tempted by promises of socialist bliss. Maduro’s move represents a desperate attempt to dampen public outrage, and thus maintain his grip on power, in the midst of an astonishing economic collapse that economists view as the world’s worst in decades in the absence of war. Venezuela’s tale is hardly a unique one. In recent decades, socialist nations across the...