[This article assumes the reader has some basic knowledge of Venezuelan geography and contemporary history/current events (2018).] “Socialism” may not be tearing the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela apart—but it certainly is not a covert “U.S.-led economic war”, either. Ideologues of all camps appear entirely disinterested in anything outside of hyperbolic rhetoric. There are many valid, empirical, and historical reasons why the Venezuelan economy has, after decades of floundering, faltered—agai...