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Simple things I don't understand....

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Comments

  • #32
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,485 ✭✭✭Denerick


    stevejazzx wrote: »
    The people do what they're told or else they're jailed or some variant of such. The peoples are, to a large extent, in constant fear of the authority.
    The authority invariably loses touch with it's population and ultimately faces revolution on some scale. Occasionally some change is achieved, ultimatley however old ways are restored, more or less.

    There are lot of examples of liberal democracies taking hold after the usurption of a tyrant/dictatorship. Take Spain post Franco for example, or even some of the former Yugoslav countries (Though granted they took a little longer to develop democratic institutions and a Liberal civic ethic.) I think the reason quite a lot of countries remain authoritarian after a tyranny is down to their culture - in Asia there is an inherent servility that Europeans and North Americans are unused to, and in Russia there has always been a strong element of brutality and authoritarianism in the national pysche. Blame the cold weather.


  • #33
    Amerika
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭Amerika


    Big Government???… Communism???… Coincidence you might ask??? ;)

    1101_12681462755.jpg


  • #34
    bigeasyeah
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,290 ✭✭✭bigeasyeah


    Remember the word 'Utopia' means 'no place'.


  • #35
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,485 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Amerika wrote: »
    Big Government???… Communism???… Coincidence you might ask??? ;)

    1101_12681462755.jpg

    George Bush Junior oversaw the greatest expansion of the State since Lyndon B. Johnson. Republicans were complicit in cutting taxes whilst simultaneously sending brave young men off to war on a tight budget, without the necessary equipment. In my opinion your party has a curious mix of blood and incompetance on its hands.


  • #36
    The Volt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭The Volt


    I would argue that to be a socialist, a belief in Democracy is crucial. The term 'socialist' is widely disputed in circumstances where it has been attached to people from extreme left wing parties and even on to people like Bertie Ahern.


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  • #37
    trapsagenius
    Closed Accounts Posts: 410 ✭✭trapsagenius


    One of the biggest flaws of communism is that there is no real incentive to be creative and original or to work hard.Why would anyone start up a company if it's just going to be nationalised?And before someone mentions the USSR space programme as a perfect example of originality, that was the absolute exception rather than the rule.

    Another problem was the inefficiency created by government monopolies.While I am certainly not completely anti-state enterprise, it did seem that a lot of communist countries slowly strangles themselves with red tape.

    And finally, power corrupts, etc. it's been said before and it's true


  • #38
    piby
    Closed Accounts Posts: 539 ✭✭✭piby


    The communism/socialism issue is certainly an interesting one I've been trying to read up on lately. I'm not a political scientist/historian/economist by training I'm a scientist (although interesting in the sense that Marx and Engels based a lot of their work on scientific principles). Thus feel free to point out any inconsistencies in my arguement!

    Communism is a much stricter form of left wing ideology compared to socialism although they both lie on the left. One of the most basic distinctions I've heard made between the teo is that communism is an economic and political system whereas socialsim is just an economic one albeit their are political philosophies built on this foundation. Communism cannot work because it's too rigid. It does not account for human nature i.e. Marx has this notion that once the new world order is brought about we will all be content with our lot. Sadly this isn't the case. There will always be people who want more than their neighbour, more power, more money, more things . Materialism is human nature whether we like it or not. That is an evolutionary mechanism of our biology. To ensure the passage of our genes we must ensure our own survival and wellbeing first. Thus our natural instinct is to make our own lives as best we can. After all Engels may have endorsed, admired and touted the working class but he made his money, and thus the financial security to write all his work, from capitalism (his family owned a shoe factory!). Marx wasn't much better his family struggled with money while he spent his days writing and debating without having a proper income. Thus I suspect that the nobblest of persuits may remain just that, an admirable theory rather than a reality.

    I could make other arguements about how the Soviet Union wasn't really true communism etc. but others have made good points on these issues (and I want to go to bed!!).


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