The Butterflies And Unicorns View Of Communism And Karl Marx
On the "useful idiots" who deify Karl Marx, Tristin Hopper writes in the Canadian Nat Post that that Marx inspired one of the most malevolent spasms of evil in human history -- and that may very well have been his goal:
Yes, the communist terror is Marx's faultIn the understated words of writer Jonathan Chait, "the fact that every communist country in world history quickly turned into a repressive nightmare is kind of important." Since 1917, whenever a country has tried to turn itself into a Marxist utopia, it's only a matter of time before a whole lot of people are starving, imprisoned or shot. Indeed, just as the Titanic required 1,500 dead to become history's most famous ship, Marx required epic spasms of bloodshed to become history's most famous thinker. Without the Russian Revolution (and the revolutions it spawned) Marx would be "a not very important nineteenth-century philosopher," wrote biographer Alan Ryan. A scientist would look at communism's lengthy record of failure and conclude that the initial theory was obviously flawed. Despite this, the view persists that Marx's ideas are still valid and have zero relation to the scores of mass graves created in his name. "It would be like blaming Jesus for the (Spanish) Inquisition," reads a typical online retort. However, Marx was quite clear that he wanted his followers to impose his sweeping ideas on society using force. "The Communists ... openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions," reads one of the last lines of the Communist Manifesto. All the horrors that follow ultimately sprang from this core belief.
...The Black Book of Communism, published by European scholars in 1997, estimates that Communist governments killed 94 million people in the 20th century. There are no explicit calls for mass murder in Marx's writings, but he was very enthusiastic about all the ingredients that made such atrocities possible. It was Marx who endorsed a "dictatorship of the proletariat" to remake society using "despotic inroads" if necessary. It was Marx who sought to tear down any existing power structures that could check the rise of a revolutionary tyrant. And it was Marx who taught that there were no such thing as "excesses" in a revolution, and that "hated individuals" should be sacrificed to "popular revenge." It shouldn't be all that surprising that so many of Marx's followers interpreted his writings as a blank cheque on killing. Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin once told the writer Maxim Gorky that while be loved Beethoven, he could not listen to music too often, since it baffled him to hear beauty created by people who did not realize they lived in "a filthy hell." "They ought to be beaten on the head, beaten mercilessly, although ideally we are against doing any violence to people," Lenin added.
Capitalism has brought vast numbers of people out of misery and allowed them independence
To be fair, there are people who do really well under communism -- the few in power who get the power, privileges, and full stomachs (full with caviar, steak, and champagne) not accorded to the grubby, starving masses.
via @albertodelacruz
Marx's ideas hits key basic parts of the human psyche. Just like all great movements do. Unfortunately the key parts he hits are greed and jealousy.
Ben at May 5, 2018 6:55 AM
Now, now, we all know that true Marxism has never been tried.
I R A Darth Aggie at May 5, 2018 7:32 AM
People advocating for socialism and communism never imagine (even in their most feverish nightmares) that the cruelty inherent in such systems will ever come for them.
They see only the objects of their resentments getting caught in the vices of the unfeeling machine, not themselves. They see themselves living a life of ease and comfort after the Revolution.
Let's ask Trotsky or Robespierre or Guevara or Röhm how the Revolution worked out for them. The Revolution always eats its children in the end.
Conan the Grammarian at May 5, 2018 9:17 AM
I read a pamphlet in college back around 1988 called "Why Communism kills." It was written from a Christian perspective, but atheists and people of other religions can easily understand the explanations in the pamphlet. The pamphlet said that the murderous aspect of communism centered on one phrase, or mainly on this phrase: "The bourgoisie (sp?) must be swept away and made impossible."
Communists government pursued that end with zeal, starving kulaks (soviet Ukraine), driving city dwellers into the fields (Cambodia) and forcing business leaders to "confess" and sign apologies (Chinese cultural revolution). The best way, in the minds of the most zealous, of course, is to just kill the prosperous people.
mpetrie98 at May 5, 2018 2:16 PM
The philosopher and economist, best known for writing The Communist Manifesto, was born in Trier, Germany on May 5, 1818. The town is marking his birthday with various tributes, including the official unveiling of a controversial statue gifted by the Chinese government.
https://twitter.com/i/moments/992804338102923264
Snoopy at May 5, 2018 2:54 PM
Michael Moore wishes Karl Marx a happy birthday and insists he's not part of the 1% despite his $50 million net worth.
Conan the Grammarian at May 5, 2018 4:55 PM
Then there's this meme -
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcdIFpQWsAAi8DL.jpg:large
Snoopy at May 5, 2018 6:21 PM
Now, now, we all know that true Marxism has never been tried
"Real Socialism" Has Indeed Been Tried — And It's Been a Disaster
https://mises.org/wire/real-socialism-has-indeed-been-tried-—-and-its-been-disaster
Stinky the Clown at May 5, 2018 8:24 PM
Why do Leftists in the US hate capitalism?
1) They are idealists and only see the flaws. Capitalism doesn't spout idealistic jargon, it just is. Capitalists have been terrible at showing how great their system is to the public.
2) They are lazy and think it is unfair that they have to work hard to get ahead.
3) Per item 2, they are jealous of those who have worked hard.
Leftists imagine that the rich got their wealth by inheritance (like the old royalty of England) or by theft, but most of the rich in the modern world got rich by creating a business that people wanted (like Bill Gates). The middle-rich got there by building a small business (e.g., plumbing) or in law, medicine, sports, or entertainment. There is no fixed class of rich in the US.
cc at May 6, 2018 10:48 AM
@mpetrie: 'The pamphlet said that the murderous aspect of communism centered on one phrase, or mainly on this phrase: "The bourgoisie (sp?) must be swept away and made impossible."'
That's missing the point. Communism did not sweep away one group of enemies and become peaceful, but kept on adding to its enemies list. And even that isn't the worst problem.
The _main_ problem with communism and socialism is that they give absolute power to a small group of men. And in the long run, those men won't be Marx & Engels, or even Lenin and Trotsky, but Stalin and Beria. The worst rise to the top in such a system, and their power is absolutely unrestrained. If the guy who is most crucial to propping up the top guy happens to like raping little girls, everyone better just hide their daughters and ignore the obvious. (I'm talking about Beria - and Stalin suspected enough to make sure _his_ daughter was never alone with Beria, but did nothing to protect all the other little girls.)
markm at May 6, 2018 10:32 PM
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