when governments try to "build" other nations through military force and political control, the result is often instability, resentment, and blowback — not freedom.

Nation-building is the practice of one country intervening in another nation's political system, often by military force, in an attempt to install new leadership or reshape its government. Supporters claim it spreads democracy and protects national security. Critics — including longtime Congressman Ron Paul — argue that it destabilizes regions, fuels anti-American resentment, and ultimately makes us less safe.

In this episode of The Way the World Works, we break down what nation-building really means, why U.S. interventions in places like Vietnam and Afghanistan backfired, and how the "knowledge problem" makes central planning abroad just as flawed as central planning at home. We explain the difference between non-interventionism and isolationism, why blowback happens, and how foreign meddling often harms civilians while costing taxpayers billions.

If freedom works best when it grows from within, can it really be forced at the point of a gun?

• What nation-building is and how it differs from non-interventionism

• Why military intervention often creates long-term instability

• What Ron Paul meant by "blowback"

• How central planning fails both domestically and internationally

• Why nation-building is expensive, dangerous, and rarely successful

0:00 What Is Nation-Building?
2:00 How Foreign Intervention Creates Instability
4:15 The Concept of Blowback
6:30 Why Nation-Building Is So Expensive
8:40 Non-Interventionism vs. Isolationism
11:30 Vietnam and the Knowledge Problem
15:00 Afghanistan and the Limits of Forced Democracy
18:30 Why Freedom Must Come From Within

👍 Like this video if you believe foreign policy should make us safer — not less safe
🔔 Subscribe for more values-based conversations about economics, history, and liberty
💬 Comment below: Should the U.S. engage in nation-building abroad?

📘 Learn more about liberty-minded leaders like Ron Paul in
The Tuttle Twins Guide to Courageous Heroes
https://www.tuttletwins.com/products/the-tuttle-twins-guide-to-courageous-heroes

📚 Get Tuttle Twins books and homeschool resources:
https://tuttletwins.com

#NationBuilding #RonPaul #ForeignPolicy #NonIntervention #Blowback #WarOnTerror #Liberty #ValuesEducation

Having vast natural resources doesn't guarantee prosperity — especially when government control, corruption, and socialist policies destroy incentives and efficiency.

Venezuela sits on some of the largest oil reserves in the world, a resource that should have made it one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. Instead, decades of government interference, nationalization, and socialist economic policies turned that opportunity into a humanitarian catastrophe.

In this episode of The Way the World Works, we trace Venezuela's oil history — from early prosperity driven by private enterprise to the disastrous effects of state control under leaders like Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. We explain how nationalizing the oil industry led to mismanagement, corruption, falling production, inflation, and ultimately widespread shortages of food and medicine.

Venezuela's story is a powerful reminder that when governments control industries instead of markets, the people — not the politicians — pay the price.

• How Venezuela became rich through oil — and how it lost everything

• Why nationalizing industries leads to mismanagement and corruption

• How socialism destroyed incentives in Venezuela's oil sector

• Why government control caused shortages of food and medicine

• How inflation and money printing worsened the humanitarian crisis

0:00 Venezuela's Oil Wealth and Promise
1:14 How Oil Created Early Prosperity
3:28 The Start of Government Control
3:52 Nationalization and Decline
5:14 Hugo Chávez and Renewed State Power
6:39 Mismanagement, Corruption, and Falling Production
8:08 Inflation, Shortages, and Poverty
9:39 Black Markets and Humanitarian Collapse
11:29 Why Socialism Always Fails the People

👍 Like this video if you want to understand how economic systems affect real lives
🔔 Subscribe for more values-based conversations about economics and history
💬 Comment below: Can socialism ever manage resources better than free markets?

📚 Get Tuttle Twins books and homeschool resources:
https://tuttletwins.com

#Venezuela #OilReserves #Socialism #EconomicFailure #FreeMarkets #History #EconomicEducation #ValuesEducation

When unelected global elites claim they know what's best for everyone, individual freedom and personal responsibility are often the first things sacrificed.

Once a year, the world's most powerful politicians, CEOs, and global influencers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss economic policies that affect billions of people — despite having no democratic mandate to do so. Their proposals often sound compassionate, but they reveal a deeper belief that ordinary people can't be trusted to make decisions for themselves.

In this episode of The Way the World Works, we break down what the World Economic Forum really is, why its ideas about central planning, property ownership, and global governance are so dangerous, and how these agendas undermine free markets and individual liberty. We explore why "expert-led" solutions fail, how global elites are disconnected from everyday life, and why outsourcing responsibility to powerful institutions always comes at a cost.

If freedom depends on personal responsibility, what happens when that responsibility is handed over to unelected global planners?

• What the World Economic Forum actually does — and what it doesn't

• Why global central planning fails in practice

• How elite-driven policies disconnect from real people's needs

• Why individual responsibility is essential to a free society

• How free markets outperform global economic control

0:00 What Is the World Economic Forum?
1:15 Why Elites Think They Know Better
2:45 The Danger of Global Central Planning
4:10 "You Will Own Nothing" and Why That's Scary
6:25 Who Really Benefits From Global Control
8:30 Why Free Markets Work Better
10:05 Individual Responsibility vs. Global Governance
12:40 The Real Antidote to Elite Control

👍 Like this video if you believe people should control their own lives
🔔 Subscribe for more values-based conversations about freedom and economics
💬 Comment below: Should unelected global organizations shape economic policy?

📚 Get Tuttle Twins books and homeschool resources:
https://tuttletwins.com

#WorldEconomicForum #GlobalElites #FreeMarkets #IndividualLiberty #EconomicFreedom #CentralPlanning #PersonalResponsibility #ValuesEducation