The blackout and the supply chain: a free market achievement that socialism fails to recognize

The blackout on April 28 in Spain has exposed the weaknesses of the State with its poor intervention in the energy sector.

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A failure of the energy policy designed by the government

It is a clumsy intervention, determined to eliminate an important source of energy that provides stability to the system, nuclear energy, but Pedro Sánchez's government refuses to acknowledge its error, as is its custom. Instead, to cover up the State's failure to prevent this serious error, the left has focused on congratulating certain public sectors, such as health and security forces.

The systematic disregard of the private sector by the left

Of course, the dedication of these sectors must be acknowledged, but the systematic disregard of the private sector by the left is striking, starting with the electricity companies, which are not to blame for a catastrophe caused by poor planning of the so-called "energy transition" by the government, a planning designed by politicians who turn their backs on the needs of society and the market. Needs to which the private sector has been responding much more efficiently within the framework of the free market.

Today I want to highlight one facet of this private sector that has demonstrated particular strength: the logistics chain, which includes all the processes necessary for the items we need to live to arrive from their production centers to the shopping centers where we buy them. The logistics chain of a developed country like Spain is admirable, worth appreciating, and we owe it to the market economy, which has been able to develop it to respond to the needs of society.

A supply chain that managed to recover quickly from the blackout

This Monday, the blackout severely affected the logistics chain, as it depends largely on rail transport (which was severely affected) and maritime transport (in Spain, the freight terminals of some ports were practically inactive). Product distribution was also affected by the problems reported in the automotive sector, due to severe traffic jams in some cities and long lines at gas stations. Despite this, the effects of the blackout on the logistics chain were diluted in just 48 hours. The day after the blackout, many supermarkets had already begun to return to normal.

The effects of the desire to subject everything to state control

It is outrageous that the government refuses any recognition of this logistics chain, as already happened during the pandemic. The private sector has managed to create a large system of production, transportation, storage, and distribution of products, and without this logistics chain our way of life would be very different. I understand that the apostles of "degrowth" on the left long for the days of ration cards, common in countries subjected to war or that have suffered the disastrous effects of socialist recipes, but if we enjoy a high level of well-being today, it is largely thanks to this private logistics chain.

It must be said that it should surprise no one that socialism is incapable of recognizing this achievement, since even in its supposedly most moderate forms, this ideology maintains its aspiration for the State to control all facets of our lives, although this model has repeatedly demonstrated its failure and has even led to the ruin of once-wealthy countries such as Venezuela and Argentina. If we want to prevent Spain from repeating what happened in those countries, we must vindicate more than ever the achievements of private initiative and denounce the threat that socialist fanaticism poses to our well-being and prosperity, a threat that has once again become evident with the blackout this Monday.

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Photo: Arno Senoner.