BY STEVEN HAYWARD IN SOCIALISM, VENEZUELA at PowerLine:

SLOW LEARNERS ON THE LEFT

It appears even Venezuelan socialists can figure it out sooner or later:

Venezuela Backs Away From Price Controls as Citizens Go Hungry

CARACAS, Venezuela—President Nicolás Maduro’s government has begun dismantling price controls, a major policy shift that aims to easewidespread unrestby letting shops sell food at market prices but is worsening Venezuela’s already punishing inflation. . .

“Before there was nothing; now there’s everything,” said Jesús Barrios, 36, as he shopped in Maracaibo, the state capital of Zulia.

Funny how price signals and markets work that way.

“We consulted with the president in view that the shelves were empty and people were demanding” food, Francisco Arias Cárdenas, governor of Zulia,told a localnewspaper there several weeks ago.

Ending price controls has started to ease the chronic shortages that have resulted in more than…