Lee Harris, channeling Georges Sorel, attempts to explain the continuing appeal of socialism:

"Those who, like Chavez, Morales, and Castro, are preaching the old time religion of socialism may well be able to tap into something deeper and more primordial than mere reason and argument, while those who advocate the more rational path of capitalism may find that they have few listeners among those they most need to reach -- namely, the People. Worse, in a populist democracy, the People have historically demonstrated a knack of picking as their leaders those know the best and most efficient way to by-pass their reason -- demagogues who can reach deep down to their primordial and, alas, often utterly irrational instincts. This, after all, has been the genius of every great populist leader of the past, as it is proving to be the genius of those populist leaders who are now springing up around the world, from Bolivia to Iran."

Over on Proportional Belief, Protagoras considers the Cuban "model" and laments what happens to those who cannot learn from history.

"What will you see if you visit Cuba today? In Havana, a city of two million people, you will see block after block of crumbling buildings, people milling around shiftlessly, literally fifty-year-old cars that are still lovingly and tenderly cared for like an ancient treasure, filthy--but "free"--health care clinics, and anti-America and anti-Bush propaganda everywhere, equaled perhaps only by the pro-Che propaganda."