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Many communist states got a negative rep because they had the bad habit of killing people for the crime of attempting to escape their revolutionary utopia.
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Let me those who think communism is a good thing a few questions .... In a true communistic society, there is no rich or poor as everyone earns the same. This eliminates inequality as it abolishes rich and poor and everyone is treated the same. As society needs people in different professions to survive, do you think that people would go through the rigorous training and expense to become licensed doctor if that person were to earn the same money as someone who does manual labor that requires little or no training? Do you expect scientists to develop cures for diseases without receiving extra compensation or recognition for developing those scientific breakthroughs? If everyone earns the same, then where does the motivation come from to work hard and be your best in your field?
Let me those who think communism is a good thing a few questions .... In a true communistic society, there is no rich or poor as everyone earns the same. This eliminates inequality as it abolishes rich and poor and everyone is treated the same. As society needs people in different professions to survive, do you think that people would go through the rigorous training and expense to become licensed doctor if that person were to earn the same money as someone who does manual labor that requires little or no training? Do you expect scientists to develop cures for diseases without receiving extra compensation or recognition for developing those scientific breakthroughs? If everyone earns the same, then where does the motivation come from to work hard and be your best in your field?
You've drawn attention to one of the reasons why communism tends to be conducive to authoritarian governance. The lack of economic incentives does tend to reduce creativity and innovation, though there are certainly some individuals who would pursue academic and other similar types of careers because they enjoy it. Thus, those states which have practiced communism in the past (though, keep in mind, there has never been a truly communist state) find ways of coercing people into pursuing these professions and often actually do compensate people who work in scientific fields better than others.
Also, I don't think anyone here is actually saying communism is great and that we should try to implement it. I personally think its rather foolish to say that communism, or socialism, or capitalism, is either good or bad. These are simply political-economic systems. Each has benefits and each has weaknesses, they are all normatively neutral. You can't really say a political economic system is inherently good or bad, its simply a 'tool' that can be used for good or used for bad.
[...] Democracy is neither good nor bad, its simply a mechanism of governance. [...]
I firmly disagree. There's no such thing as a "good government", just as there's no such thing as a "good rape" or a "good murder" - if those acts are consensual, then those terms no longer apply. All violations of the NAP are bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ever Adrift
Democracy is certainly a flawed institution, but it is, to paraphrase a famous quote, better than other forms of government which have been tried.
Once again, I disagree. Hong Kong had a better system prior to the 1997 handover (and still does though its slowly fading away). History has many examples of anarchist communities that were ahead of their neighbors in their quality of life - it's true that there were conquered, but then you're using the "might makes right" argument. Was Nazi Germany better than Denmark or the BeNeLux countries just because it was able to annex them during WW2?!
Modern capitalist societies are far more risk-aware and information-driven. There would be an obvious need for a private insurance / security / protection industry, with competing firms that are pressured to cooperate when necessary to deal with aggressors.
As a form of government, pure communism does not necessarily preclude the possibility of democratic governance; democracy and communism are not mutually exclusive. Historically, communist countries have not been democratic, although communist political parties have been elected to office many times in democratic countries. Many would argue that, in the real world, communism tends to be conducive to authoritarian regimes because they require extremely powerful governments. Regardless, communism doesn't really exist anymore (and many would argue that true communism has never existed and that the USSR and Yugoslavia represented bastardized forms of communism). An argument could be made that North Korea, Turkmenistan and Cuba are communist, and these countries have indeed been ruled poorly and their peoples have suffered greatly. This, however, does not imply that communism itself is necessarily bad. It may be the case that it's just unworkable as a practical matter, especially given the increasingly globalized character of the international economy.
Now, one mistake many people make is to conflate communism with socialism. These two things are not identical and, indeed, there isn't a single form of government that is 'socialist.' There are actually many different kinds of socialism which vary in extent and degree. Most, if not all, modern developed countries could be characterized as being socialist. Many European countries fit the definition of 'social democracies' quite well, in fact. Social democracy, as an ideology and type of political-economic system is not opposed to capitalism, rather it calls for government provision of welfare (healthcare, education, pensions, social security) and regulation of the market. The US has has some socialist programs, most developed countries have many more. In fact, many experts on governance and development would tell you that modern countries require some degree of socialism to function.
As for the notion that communism (or socialism, or capitalism, etc) is 'evil,' this is patently absurd. These are simply forms of government/economic systems. Each one of them is objectively neutral, the question is how they are implemented in the real world. Each could be used to implement an 'evil' agenda, each could be used to implement a 'benevolent' agenda. Now, certainly some may be more conducive to 'evil' outcomes; communism may be more likely to restrict essential freedoms while capitalism may be more likely to result in the exploitation of the poor. But to say any one of these systems is inherently evil is logically flawed. Not to mention, one has to define evil first... not an easy task in itself.
The worst dictatorships in the xxth Century were in the name of Communism.
Twenty years ago there still was an Iron Curtain running in the middle of Europe.
And communist states still exist (North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, China ...or socialist dictatorships with an ideology close to communism like Algeria, Zimbabwe, Syria., Venezuela, Nicaragua..)
I think people today have a false sense of safety, the Beast unforunately is still alive , the disappearance of the USSR has not killed it.
And let's not forget the power of the extreme Left-wing Marxists in Western countries, who continuously have numerous followers.
don't those Communists wish that people would believe this new #$%@ about "oh-it-wasn't-COMMUNISM-but-really-it-was-the-dictatorship-that-gave-communism-a-bad-name-really-communism-is-good-in theory"
pfffft
*roll eyes*
I am sorry to break it to all the communists out there who wear pea green coats and infest the colleges, but COMMUNISM EQUALS SLAVERY!!!
Sorry, Mr Marx, but your idea sucks
your idea only works by taking away all freedoms from individuals, but then that was your point, wasn't it? you hate individualism. You only like the masses, it's easier to controle them when they are stripped of all individualism.
it was evil no doubt about it. the threat was real. people still suffer under communism.
it does not matter what is the label, tyranny is evil. but when you got a nice house and job
worry about communism in china seems silly doesn't it, heck lets got down to walmart and catch some after
christmas sales ok?
Communist need to tame the dissidents (gulags). Equality can't be achieved without the quietening of the people who oppose the assimilation.
It's contrary to human nature. They teach that in 1st grade....and although all people are created equal a short little overview of middle school would have you arrive to the fact they are not all the same, although equal.
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