Socialism and Black Markets

Andy Dufresne: I understand you're a man who knows how to get things.
Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding: I'm known to locate certain things from time to time.
--The Shawshank Redemption

Like all brands of socialism, Venezuelan-style socialism does little to alleviate scarcity. Instead, it fosters squalor.

Predictably, Venezuelans have taken to producing and trading on their own. These black markets operate outside of laws designed to keep the socialistic system intact.

Now the Venezuelan government is seeking to shut down the black markets.

The people must choose: keep living a life of forced restraint and squalor. Or continue to find ways to voluntarily trade with each other to improve their condition.

Which choice is more likely?

Black markets are institutions of socialism.