RE: Socialism is not profitable anymore: Government of Venezuela announces austerity measures.
Well, I don't say that Venezuela is the ideal socialism, in fact, I don't even believe that ideal socialism, or ideal capitalism, or any other system or ideology, in its ideal form, can exist in practice.
But what you say that democratic socialism is by the people and for the people, is what those who supported the Venezuelan government before the crisis said so well. In fact, public education; public health; the establishment of "fair prices" by law; the nationalization of banks and companies; an agrarian reform to deliver arable land to people; taxes of more than 50% to large private and almost null to the lower class; free delivery of more than a million homes; as well as tablets, computers, and school supplies for public school students; the creation of educational centers and public health in the poorest neighborhoods; water, gas, electricity and even internet services practically free (for less than a penny); including delivering cars, telephones, computers subsidized by the State to the most needy; and much of this done through communal organizing mechanism, that is to say, through the "organized people"; it's seems to me quite "socialist" measures, and added to the fact that Hugo Chávez won a large amount of elections, I think we could say perfectly well that this is a kind of social democracy.
I don't believe that the socialism of which you speak is very different from that.
In practice versus what people wanted are two different things. There are obviously many things that went wrong that did not occur due to the system itself. Any country can have their economy implode overnight regardless of their system in place. People love to harp on "socialism is evil! look at venvnnzuzla !!" but that's irrelevant when countries like denmark or iceland exist as counter-examples.
I agree with you, I also like Denmark and Iceland, in fact, both have greater economic freedom than the United States, and could also include Norway, although I would sincerely prefer Switzerland.
But all the expenses that the State assumes must be paid by someone, and as the State becomes bigger, more money is needed. If that great State that can pay, give and subsidize everything were possible without unbalancing the economy, I assure you that there would not be a person in the world who opposed that socialism.
Hence why a globalized socialistic economy would benefit everyone much better than our fractured imperialistic capitalistic hellhole we live in now.