@ krellin - Greece was never communist, it does have a social democratic party however.
Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Finland are all social democratic and last I checked are still in Europe, and with the exception of Iceland are doing fine.
Canada has never had a communist option to reject in the first place and the social democratic NDP just had their best showing in any election ever, and became the official opposition. Granted they didn’t win, but that’s hardly a resounding or lasting rejection of the party.
China’s switch to a mixed economy is somewhat overstated by rabid capitalists, and the claim that the switch happened simply because communism doesn’t work is rather unsubstantiated. There is a strong argument to be made that the West simply refused to do business with a country as communist as China and thus China was forced to abandon communism, to some extent, or be isolated and become stagnant much like Cuba has. In fact any case of any country you can point to and say “See they’re abandoning communism” is subject to that argument. The USA and its allies will simply not do business with a country that doesn’t share their political philosophy, partly out of pig headed stubbornness. It’s not a convincing argument for the failure of communism.
Responding to all of krellin’s cries to see a system of communist government that has worked is frustrating and stupid. But I do have a few things to say about it.
1) Has it occurred to anyone else that this is just a variant of that famous rallying cry for trolls “pics or it didn’t happen”
2) It is a logical fallacy to say that because something has not worked in the past, it will never work in the future. Conditions change.
3) The only information he really has to go on for the failure of capitalism has been given to him by people with a vested interest in maintaining capitalism! I’m not saying that proves anything, but really if you’re going to think critically about it, this should make you suspicious.
krellin keeps arguing that wealth is a function of hard work. This is demonstrably untrue, and absurdly simplistic. And then he backs it up with anecdotal evidence about a relative of his. The basic concept that explains how poverty is endemic to the system is broadly called structural violence, in a sociological an anthropological setting. The truth is that poverty has a way of systematically disadvantaging people and denying them opportunities for growth, I know it sounds absurd because it’s a comedy website, but this cracked article actually gives an excellent illustration of the principle: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-being-poor/
“You clearly defend your university status....your idealistic certainty. I laugh at you. MOST ADULTS laugh at you. I am still waiting for one of your brainiac college students to change the world's philosophy, the world's government...and yet you don't. Sigh.....blah blah blah blah....your tongue's flap....you spew the bullshti the prof's pump into your sponge skull...you recite it back without thinking about it...you TRULY believe what you say....and yet you are ignorant and unwise. You have no reality of life and living to base your perfect utopian ideas on....and thus...eventually, when the real world imposes upon you...you will change. They ALL do...” – I have to say this is the single most hypocritical thing I’ve ever read. The fact that you say you’re still waiting for a college student to change the world’s ideology tells me you have absolutely no clue what we’re talking about. Capitalist oppression has built in inertia, a single person will NEVER CHANGE IT. That’s what makes it hegemony. You accuse us of simply parroting professors, and yet you just spout capitalist propaganda without actually evaluating it, and then just dismissing any critique of it, without actually defending it. You keep saying that we don’t see reality, and yet, you don’t even really see how power structures work. You don’t think about anything. You are the one who parrots what you’re told. Everything you’ve said, I’ve heard a hundred times.
krellin you keep talking about how the human spirit is inherently selfish. You can’t prove that. That’s just something people say, because it justifies capitalism, and living in a capitalist system perhaps encourages people to be selfish in turn. We don’t really know. It could be that in a communist system people will be inherently fair minded and generous. A purely capitalist system has never actually existed. But people tend to adopt the ideals that support their world.
Anyway, thus ends my rather exhaustive reply to every stupid thing krellin has said in this thread. I’m sure I missed bits. But I don’t care. I put a lot more thought into what he said than he did. I think I deserve a fucking medal.
New Game - Nameless Enemies
. Anon players. 24hr phases
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