All Communists are dead-beats

[Thunder]

Pinochet wasn't really a totalitarian.

Pinochet was not a right-wing dictator?

talk about historical revisionism.

 

[bikerdruid]

Pinochet wasn't really a totalitarian.

i'm guessing that you don't know many chileans that lived through his era.
what flavour of kool aid is your fave?

 

[Virus]

I'm not saying he was great, I'm saying he wasn't a totalitarian. He didn't seek control to change and revamp every aspect of life. All totalitarians are dictators, but not all dictators are totalitarians.

 

[Cavemonster]

In this, Virus is correct. Totalitarianism is government that seeks to regulate every aspect of life, Pinochet privatized much that had been government controlled in terms of economics, while keeping a harsh grip on political speech and other areas.

 

[Kotatsu]

How are you going to be a communist then participate in capitalism? Communist by title only?

Work =/= capitalism. Several of my leftist (they do not all necessarily self-identify as communists) friends around Europe work in various charities, for instance. Some others are or at least have been self-employed. I myself certainly don't work with anything that will ever make a profit, and wouldn't call my job "capitalistic" in any way.

I agree that a communist can work. But in NYC your life is a life under capitalism was the point I was trying to make; you can call yourself a communist but then you participate in capitalism like everyone else, it doesn't make sense to me.

Ah, so that's what you mean. Well, then I would like to point out that I don't live my life in NYC, and neither do any of my friends.

 

[dafydd]

John Lennon was a Communist?

Er,no.He was a middle class boy from Woolton who made it big in show business.

 

[dafydd]

I consider communism to be the greatest catastrophe to befall human history. 100,000,000 dead for nothing. The return of famines, the return of slavery. For someone in the affluent west, I don't think that we can ever grasp how truly horrific communist rule was. I could only sum it up as pure evil.

I wonder why it's considered acceptable to wear a hammer and sickle T-shirt but not a swastika one.

Christianity has killed not a few people over the years.

 

[dafydd]

Perhaps we should send Thunder/Parky out first. He seems to have greater skill in identifying communists and/or bums.

The Bumfinder General!

 

[dafydd]

Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can?
No need for greed or hunger... a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

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And just when did Lennon give away all his wordly possessions? And as I recall he made quite a lot of money out of that boring anodyne ballad.

''If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow''

"You say you want a revolution,well
We'd all love to see the plan''

John Lennon.

 

[dafydd]

It was the 1850's. That's just the way they thought back then.

Most of the landowners who let the peasants starve to death were Irish or Anglo-Irish.Don't believe IRA propaganda,it wasn't as simple as the evil British allowing it to happen.

 

[Virus]

Christianity has killed not a few people over the years.

Yeah if you go back far enough but even then, a drop in the ocean compared to communist slaughter.

 

[Cavemonster]

Don't think you can be a communist in NYC. Sure, you can think it's a good idea and call yourself a communist, but at the end of the day you're going to work, paying your bills, and shopping like everyone else.

That's silly.
Communism is a goal, meant to be reached by society through a socialist government. Saying that participating in the capitalist system disqualifies you is a bit like saying the lack of wings, halo and harp disqualifies you as a Christian.

If my goal is to get to California from my house in Boston, You'll notice I start walking East, and tell me I'm going the wrong way. But it would be silly to try to walk all the way to California, I'm walking toward the other direction to get to the bus to get to the airport.

Similarly, a bunch of individuals not having jobs or shopping doesn't do much to advance the communist state. That would be like walking west.

 

[Undesired Walrus]

From the Communist Manifesto;


3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

I don't think I disagree with that one.

 

[TubbaBlubba]

Yeah if you go back far enough but even then, a drop in the ocean compared to communist slaughter.

Now let's discuss historical population and the influence of Christianity...

 

[dirtywick]

That's silly.
Communism is a goal, meant to be reached by society through a socialist government. Saying that participating in the capitalist system disqualifies you is a bit like saying the lack of wings, halo and harp disqualifies you as a Christian.

If my goal is to get to California from my house in Boston, You'll notice I start walking East, and tell me I'm going the wrong way. But it would be silly to try to walk all the way to California, I'm walking toward the other direction to get to the bus to get to the airport.

Similarly, a bunch of individuals not having jobs or shopping doesn't do much to advance the communist state. That would be like walking west.

Nothing stopping them from joining a commune.

 

[Kotatsu]

Nothing stopping them from joining a commune.

What on earth does that have to do with whether or not they have jobs and work in a capitalistic company? The two friends I referred to before who work in telecommunication/computers (1) live in a commune, but still have normal jobs and still self-identify as communists.

---
(1) I can't remember which part of the company they work...

 

[Thunder]

I have been to a former Communist country. I know many folks from former Communist states.

Its very clear that living under Communism breeds insane acceptance of corruption, bribes, laziness, and an incredible undeserved & unwarranted sense of entitlement.

"no, dip ****, the government doesn't owe you ANYTHING. no one owes you ****.
your life and your welfare is your **** ing responsibility. if the gov. gives you anything, it is due to the kindness of the hearts of taxpayers, NOT because you are "owed" anything. deadbeat...get a job and get some self-respect".

 

[Cavemonster]

I have been to a former Communist country. I know many folks from former Communist states.

Its very clear that living under Communism breeds insane acceptance of corruption, bribes, lazyness, and an incredible underserved & unwarrented sense of entitlement.

If they were from former Soviet states, there was a culture of rampant corruption before, during and after communism. Just read a little bit of Gogol and look at the current state of those regions.

You can't make a strong argument that Communism is the cause.

 

[Kotatsu]

"no, dip ****, the government doesn't owe you ANYTHING. no one owes you ****.
your life and your welfare is your **** ing responsibility. if the gov. gives you anything, it is due to the kindness of the hearts of taxpayers, NOT because you are "owed" anything. deadbeat...get a job and get some self-respect".

And in a truly communist place, there is no government to give you things at all. Only in right-wing countries are there large governments (1).

---
(1) This is no less false than most of Thunder's ideas as displayed in this thread.

 

[Thunder]

You can't make a strong argument that Communism is the cause.

and what about all the insane corruption and poor product quality in China?