jc: there are lots of "concensus" views that are totally wrong, misguided, misinformed, etc. Putting aside your "appeal to questionable authority", the issue I have with what you say is not so much whether it is right or not but your use of "failed" and "socialist" as if one leads from the other - it is an example of ignoratio elenchi.

Yes, there is no denying VZ is a socialist state. Yes VZ is "failing". But you cannot conclude that socialism is failing or that VZ is failing because of socialism.

Take for example Liberia - politically almost identical to the US, a republic with representative democracy, economically capitalist - should we describe it as a failed capitalist republic as if capitalism or representative democracy had something to do with the failure? And should we conclude that all capitalist republics are destined to the same fate?