I am reacting to Mary's comment to my previous post about the atrocities committed by the former GDR's security service, Stasi. Although I am versed in the backgrounds to communism and its theories, the practices over the years of the 20th century have left me ice cold towards the concepts. My political allegiances, if any, could be described as marginally left of centre; I have within my circle of acquaintances some staunch socialists, and they have given me a good idea what that is about. Doesn't mean I'm particularly enamoured with that either.
Communism to me equates to a cruel disregard for the individual, to the point that life is dispensable for the 'common good'. Summary justice, with people being convicted of spurious crimes, such as subversion against the sitting regime, even though they only expressed an opinion. Everybody is equal, but some are more equal than others. Trains in the old USSR used to have a Hard Class and a Soft Class, rather than 2nd and 1st class carriages.
It leads to unwholesome personality cults surrounding leading figures in the relevant regimes. Examples galore. Lenin, whose embalmed corpse was on display in the Kremlin in Moscow for decades, and who I believe would have abhorred what followed after his death in 1923. Stalin, who was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Russians in his unspeakable purges of the 1920s and '30s. Mao ze Dong in China, who was (and still is) revered up to a point where it reaches the level of ridicule.
To my mind, the principles of communism look nice on paper. The practice has shown those to be a huge, big, lie.
I feel very strongly about this issue, as I hold a principle that two opposing extremes are actually equal. Fascism was extreme, and extremely bad. Communism was extreme, and extremely bad. We all know what happened under fascism, with figures like Adolf Hitler. We all know what happened under communism, under the likes of Stalin, as I outlined above.
Communism has been judged by history, and the verdict was passed in 1989.
FAILURE
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I have to agree. Socialism does make a fine-sounding theory, but when ideologues and dictatorial measures put it in play, humanity leaves the equation. It baffles me that Mao's "Little Red Book" is still gospel in China, given all they now understand about history. Great post! CATHY
ReplyDeletehttp://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/
Alright Guido, I guess I wasn't clear in the comment that I was agreeing with you. My embracing ignorance was in regards to your question: How anybody can still claim that Communism ever did any good? I was saying people can CLAIM so because lots of people just read an article or 2, find it romantic & then say they are behind something. I have read much on Socialism & understand how it did not work, but I still find many people with a very romantic notion of that also. My Father knew much of Fascism & was a Socialist. I agreed with him on many things, that wasn't one of them, but at least he knew what he was talking about.
ReplyDelete<is a capitalist ;-0. ~Mary