Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Marxism is not about repression, it's about giving the people power over the means of production...that's hardly repression. .
Yes - and Marxist-Leninism produced a repressive and oppressive society. That is inevitable when you put all the power into a small oligarchy who claim to represent the "people" and take away individual liberty and discourage personal initiative.
Capitalism is all about giving people power over the means of production. In a capitalist society, there is no ingrained limit to the extent that a person may succeed if they put in the work, time, capital, and passion.
You called capitalism "thievery". How so - when capitalism is the embodiment of a free market, where no one has to engage in any transaction except by their own will.
ObamaCare changes that - now we are taxing people simply for drawing air - and forcing them to buy a product whether they wish to or not.
That is a violation of natural law.
Anybody who buys into the ridiculous notion that the Soviet Union was a "workers paradise" needs to lay off whatever it is they are smoking.
Stalin was pretty bad but he isn't why the SU collapsed. He was long gone and even Krushchev tried to implement reforms - which was part of why he was forced out - the hard-liners didn't like him.
IMO, the Soviet Union failed due to an unsustainable economic system, the war in Afghanistan, the long tradition of revolutionary activism in Russia which produced a dissatisfied and vocal faction during the late 1980's, and the emergence of a leader who would listen to those voices of dissent and accommadate them - Mikhail Gorbachev. It was inevitable that the Soviet Union would fall - no communist country can survive for long without implementing some free market reforms. Vietnam, the People Republic of China, and Cuba have made such reforms and thus are still somewhat viable - but they had to compromise in order to survive..
North Korea doesn't look good - they may be the next casualty of Marxist-Leninism.
Gosh, that one's easy if you're a con. What happened was that one day big brawny burly Ronald Reagan said "Mr Gorbechov tear down this wall" in his deep manly voice that stuck fear into the hearts of the commies (there was probably a girl nearby swooning and saying "my hero!" too) so they tore down the wall because they didn't want to mess with big bad Ron.
It fell because of massive debt for one. It also fell because various states wanted to secede and become independent countries -- and it fell because the people had no common bonds.
Hmmmmm.....sounds a lot like the USA now is.
Yes. And a lot of former soviet states are now better off for it. "Sometimes we just grow apart"
The book 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell is very interesting. It was written a long time before the USSR collapse, but gives you a good idea what was wrong in Russia.
I remember a very politically involved teacher at school giving a few pupils this book to read, me among them. She asked me earnestly after I read it, "did you understand the book David?" "Sure" I replied chirpily, "the animals drive out the farmer, and take over the farm. Then the pigs get uppity, and boss the other animals about - easy." I can still see her eyes rolling in her head. "Stupid boy" her only comment.
You recognize that all 'isms aren't simply black and white? There is a sliding scale... e.g. a country like Canada can have elements of capitalism and socialism and be prosperous in wealth and health.
and so can European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
