Sadly, the current communist movement is huge--worldwide--and they say communism just hasn't been done right, and their way is the right way to do communism.
That's what "they" always say. It is idiotic..... And now they have added gender, sexual orientation, and race to the "oppressed" mix. Marx on intersectional steroids.
John, thank you for your breadth and depth of coverage, always appreciate your take!
I would like to propose a framework which seeks to specify why communism is bad. I absolutely agree that there were no greater scale of slaughter than communist regimes, from Mao, to Stalin to Pol Pot their crimes are unspeakable. But communism is bad not because it is ideologically violent and evil (those characteristics reside in the human heart), but because its ideological underpinnings are anti-market, and natural market economies are the best way that humans have to promote productive cooperation and productive competition and discourage conflict.
Markets incentivize behavior that will produce goods and services that other people desire, at what price and how much. Markets are the information technology required for human consumption and peaceful survival in the modern era. A problem, or perhaps, THE problem, with communism is that it removes the natural work that the market does of determining who should produce what, how much, where and at what price. This is why when we remove market forces there is evil, pain and suffering downstream. See: US healthcare which incentivizes long term disease because it is more profitable (because of distortions caused by subsidy and regulations). See: US agriculture which is incentivized to produce low quality commodity feedstuffs leading to poor health outcomes for Americans (because of distortions caused by subsidy and regulation).
Whenever you remove markets, through subsidy and regulation in the modern US, or through fiat issued by a supreme leader, you get suffering. The communists could kill people much faster through starvation (and thus control the survivors much better) by their own incompetence on the agricultural production board than the organizing of the gestapo to go shoot traitors.
My heuristic here is that market forces are good because they are the most distributed information technology which allow for all of the actors (ie humans) to have their input in the system. A market takes into account all of the experiences, opinions, worldviews, expertise, thoughts, biases and talents of all people of a given area, decree only takes into account that of the committee. All forms of centralized control, whether communism, fascism, or modern American Corporatism are poor systems because they don’t have enough information to make good decisions, and thus people starve. The power being concentrated in one area makes them blind, capricious and stupid. Free voluntary exchange allows for the maximal well being of humans, because it is considering the input from all participants. Market forces are self correcting and have the ability to tamp down the worst instincts in all humans, and incentivize cooperation instead of many other terrible ways that humans can interact with one another.
"Its ideological underpinnings are anti-market, and natural market economies are the best way that humans have to promote productive cooperation and productive competition and discourage conflict." Exactly. The government-subsidized and regulatorily-favored renewables industry is a good current example of that failure. I studied the subject extensively in the UK, and in law school under a Soviet professor who had defected from the USSR. "Controlled" economies fail every time, because economics and human behaviors are not easily predicted and planned.
Critical thinking is not taught in any type of curriculum anywhere and yet (truly), it should be #1 priority. The left-leaning Marxism attitude today (which is an indoctrination) amongst younger attitudes is the easy, simple way out. Having an ideology to cling to keeps you 'in the fold' and doesn't let you stand out in the crowd. "Put the blame somewhere else and keep me from being responsible" is a mindset of today. The peer pressure of today is no different than that of when I grew up 50-60 years ago. We had the pressure of cigarette smoking to fit in. Today the stakes are far greater and thus the indoctrination is more severe. I have met a few very conscious younger people today and I admire them for their attitudes of standing against the tyranny, when most don't. While it is a technically easier world today, I believe it is much tougher to stand against the tyranny with many things being so convenient. I am a 'dinosaur' (No, I don't identify as one!) and I am am glad I grew up in a different time. In fairness, these are difficult times to be growing in.......( just my opinion and 'not necessarily that of the management')!!
"While it is a technically easier world today, I believe it is much tougher to stand against the tyranny with many things being so convenient." It is also tougher because there are numerous moral issues that didn't confront us -- ubiquitous internet porn and worse; new synthetic drugs; techno-dependency; more food toxins; a diminution in moral character of the preceding generation.
Thank you for simply speaking the truth about internet porn, synthetic drugs, techno-dependency. It cannot be “fixed” until acknowledged. I’ve been speaking these things for the last decade, on and off court record. Usually to folks who wish to change the subject or who act as though the words never came out of my mouth. I wore a “Bring Wholesome Back” shirt and hat to the last political event I attended and received all manner of odd looks. Oh well. Anyhow, I wish you and your family a lovely Christmas, Mr. Klar. Thank you again for kindly offering to suggest autumnal places to visit for my friend and her sisters. That was very kind. Merry Christmas!
The idea that there are objective moral standards based upon Natural Law and God, the creator's ten commandments, has long been denied and replaced by subjective relativism. "My truth isn't your truth". "You can't legislate morality". This is why there is such rampant immorality, violence and evil in the world.
I think it is also important to become knowledgeable about psychopathy. Psychopaths are often in positions of great power and lack conscience and empathy. I used to run in the power circles, having been born into that group. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about psychopathy. The lessons were invaluable, though. I think the world is run by psychopaths at this point. They are NOT like the rest of humanity. They perceive humans, nature and animals as things to be used, nothing more. I used to think that every person had at least some good inside but I know better now.
I believe that all mental disorders and evil are caused by the sins man commits. I believe that God created man and the world and gave just ten instructions for man to follow in order to have a healthy mind, heart, body and soul. Those who do not follow one or more of them simply corrupts either the mind, body, heart or soul (or all of them depending upon what they choose to think or do.
Thanks for making me smile with the dinosaur reference. I’m one, too. I agree with your post. Some of my friends have spent a pretty penny on their children’s “education” at Ivy League institutions only to have them return on holiday, praising Marxism, stating men can have babies (I kid you not unfortunately), railing against capitalism, which permitted said offspring to attend expensive/private institutions to begin with. I don’t understand why practical things and character development are not taught…but I am a dinosaur! I just think the education system is unsalvageable at this point.
EVIL COMMUNISM IS EVIL ATHEISM IS EVIL COMMUNISM IS EVIL ATHEISM IS EVIL COMMUNISM IS EVIL ATHEISM FACT
Sadly, the current communist movement is huge--worldwide--and they say communism just hasn't been done right, and their way is the right way to do communism.
That's what "they" always say. It is idiotic..... And now they have added gender, sexual orientation, and race to the "oppressed" mix. Marx on intersectional steroids.
John, thank you for your breadth and depth of coverage, always appreciate your take!
I would like to propose a framework which seeks to specify why communism is bad. I absolutely agree that there were no greater scale of slaughter than communist regimes, from Mao, to Stalin to Pol Pot their crimes are unspeakable. But communism is bad not because it is ideologically violent and evil (those characteristics reside in the human heart), but because its ideological underpinnings are anti-market, and natural market economies are the best way that humans have to promote productive cooperation and productive competition and discourage conflict.
Markets incentivize behavior that will produce goods and services that other people desire, at what price and how much. Markets are the information technology required for human consumption and peaceful survival in the modern era. A problem, or perhaps, THE problem, with communism is that it removes the natural work that the market does of determining who should produce what, how much, where and at what price. This is why when we remove market forces there is evil, pain and suffering downstream. See: US healthcare which incentivizes long term disease because it is more profitable (because of distortions caused by subsidy and regulations). See: US agriculture which is incentivized to produce low quality commodity feedstuffs leading to poor health outcomes for Americans (because of distortions caused by subsidy and regulation).
Whenever you remove markets, through subsidy and regulation in the modern US, or through fiat issued by a supreme leader, you get suffering. The communists could kill people much faster through starvation (and thus control the survivors much better) by their own incompetence on the agricultural production board than the organizing of the gestapo to go shoot traitors.
My heuristic here is that market forces are good because they are the most distributed information technology which allow for all of the actors (ie humans) to have their input in the system. A market takes into account all of the experiences, opinions, worldviews, expertise, thoughts, biases and talents of all people of a given area, decree only takes into account that of the committee. All forms of centralized control, whether communism, fascism, or modern American Corporatism are poor systems because they don’t have enough information to make good decisions, and thus people starve. The power being concentrated in one area makes them blind, capricious and stupid. Free voluntary exchange allows for the maximal well being of humans, because it is considering the input from all participants. Market forces are self correcting and have the ability to tamp down the worst instincts in all humans, and incentivize cooperation instead of many other terrible ways that humans can interact with one another.
"Its ideological underpinnings are anti-market, and natural market economies are the best way that humans have to promote productive cooperation and productive competition and discourage conflict." Exactly. The government-subsidized and regulatorily-favored renewables industry is a good current example of that failure. I studied the subject extensively in the UK, and in law school under a Soviet professor who had defected from the USSR. "Controlled" economies fail every time, because economics and human behaviors are not easily predicted and planned.
Critical thinking is not taught in any type of curriculum anywhere and yet (truly), it should be #1 priority. The left-leaning Marxism attitude today (which is an indoctrination) amongst younger attitudes is the easy, simple way out. Having an ideology to cling to keeps you 'in the fold' and doesn't let you stand out in the crowd. "Put the blame somewhere else and keep me from being responsible" is a mindset of today. The peer pressure of today is no different than that of when I grew up 50-60 years ago. We had the pressure of cigarette smoking to fit in. Today the stakes are far greater and thus the indoctrination is more severe. I have met a few very conscious younger people today and I admire them for their attitudes of standing against the tyranny, when most don't. While it is a technically easier world today, I believe it is much tougher to stand against the tyranny with many things being so convenient. I am a 'dinosaur' (No, I don't identify as one!) and I am am glad I grew up in a different time. In fairness, these are difficult times to be growing in.......( just my opinion and 'not necessarily that of the management')!!
"While it is a technically easier world today, I believe it is much tougher to stand against the tyranny with many things being so convenient." It is also tougher because there are numerous moral issues that didn't confront us -- ubiquitous internet porn and worse; new synthetic drugs; techno-dependency; more food toxins; a diminution in moral character of the preceding generation.
Thank you for simply speaking the truth about internet porn, synthetic drugs, techno-dependency. It cannot be “fixed” until acknowledged. I’ve been speaking these things for the last decade, on and off court record. Usually to folks who wish to change the subject or who act as though the words never came out of my mouth. I wore a “Bring Wholesome Back” shirt and hat to the last political event I attended and received all manner of odd looks. Oh well. Anyhow, I wish you and your family a lovely Christmas, Mr. Klar. Thank you again for kindly offering to suggest autumnal places to visit for my friend and her sisters. That was very kind. Merry Christmas!
The idea that there are objective moral standards based upon Natural Law and God, the creator's ten commandments, has long been denied and replaced by subjective relativism. "My truth isn't your truth". "You can't legislate morality". This is why there is such rampant immorality, violence and evil in the world.
I think it is also important to become knowledgeable about psychopathy. Psychopaths are often in positions of great power and lack conscience and empathy. I used to run in the power circles, having been born into that group. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about psychopathy. The lessons were invaluable, though. I think the world is run by psychopaths at this point. They are NOT like the rest of humanity. They perceive humans, nature and animals as things to be used, nothing more. I used to think that every person had at least some good inside but I know better now.
I believe that all mental disorders and evil are caused by the sins man commits. I believe that God created man and the world and gave just ten instructions for man to follow in order to have a healthy mind, heart, body and soul. Those who do not follow one or more of them simply corrupts either the mind, body, heart or soul (or all of them depending upon what they choose to think or do.
Add teaching logic to the curriculum as well. Or maybe that is what critical thinking actually is.
Thanks for making me smile with the dinosaur reference. I’m one, too. I agree with your post. Some of my friends have spent a pretty penny on their children’s “education” at Ivy League institutions only to have them return on holiday, praising Marxism, stating men can have babies (I kid you not unfortunately), railing against capitalism, which permitted said offspring to attend expensive/private institutions to begin with. I don’t understand why practical things and character development are not taught…but I am a dinosaur! I just think the education system is unsalvageable at this point.
Good piece. Do you remember a guy by the name of Ward Churchill?
I believe so. Native American activist?
Fake Indian in as a predecessor model of Elizabeth Warren. Stolen genealogy.