Your thoughts on communism?

[El Kuduro]

Communism could work in a small community. That is where the situations in which it could work start and end. Say you were on a ship that sank, washing you up on a small South Pacific island with 100 other survivors. You can all pool your resources by building shelters, collecting food and dividing it all 100 ways.

It simply wouldn't work in a nation of 3-4 million, let alone a nation with 100 million inhabitants. There is too much room for corruption there. No, communism is not always bad but it is the most easily tainted economic system. It's built on naïve optimism that humans inherently want to help and share with one another. And that's just not human nature. That is why true communism has never worked for any nation and never will. (Well, again maybe a nation with only a few thousand people but you get the gist).

[Totalise]

better dead then red

[Greater-London]

Just like any ideology it has its flaws although I have to say that it hasn't stood the test of time like Liberalism or Conservatism have. It has noble intentions but its hopelessly Utopian - that's not to say that Communism cant exist but it will not exist on a mass scale.

[Qeno]

I'm sort of indifferent to communism and there are apparently horrible feelings towards the idea. The war in Vietnam is proof of discrimination of ideals and Ideals are only just that. Equality among the people in all forms looks very nice on paper and the established government doesn't have to worry about the actions of the people who own that government.

It's an answer to the age old question "Why can't we all just get along?"

[Marsisian]

better dead then red

Yes.

[Frihetskommunen]

Libertarian communism is alright in my book. Authoritarian communism is not so alright.
A lot of bad things have been done in the name of communism, things that I do not condone. However, I am very sympathetic towards the basic idea.

[4years]

Libertarian communism is alright in my book. Authoritarian communism is not so alright.
A lot of bad things have been done in the name of communism, things that I do not condone. However, I am very sympathetic towards the basic idea.

Authoritarian communism is oxymoronic.

[Conscentia]

A movement whose legacy has poisoned the American right-wing with utter fucking nonsense.

It was already full of nonsense. Communism merely inspired an additional layer of crazy.

[Pandeeria]

1A. So they were far better then the US? No, just their military strength. The USSR had military strength, is that a validation that it's system was successful and worked? 1B. I was just point it out.

2. Didn't the US army have a better military and more resources then Vietnam?

1. A) you were the one who began talking about military strength the the first place! Don't try to move the goalposts now. We can talk about the internal policies of the societies I mentioned (which were much better than those of the US, I might add), but it was you who made this about military success, you who lost that argument, and I have zero reason to allow you to worm your way out of it. B) And you pointed to an area where the communist societies in question preformed remarkably well.

2. Yes they did, which was part of my point.

1A. False. It was someone else who brought up that communist societies do not survive then you brought up three different examples and stated that it was foreign conflicts that caused them to fall. How did I make this about military success? 1B. That they got conquered?

2. So Vietnam held out against the US remarkably well. Does that means Vietnams system is superior?

[Agassix]

Don't like it. Sorry, just don't.

[Conscentia]

Good on paper, bad in practice. That's why I stick with my trusted good friend, Mr. Capitalism.

Workplace democracy is a superior business model.

[Khanastan]

Good in theory, bugger-all useful in practice.

[Conscentia]

better dead then red

Yes.

This type of almost obsessive prejudice against the left is most bizarre.

[The new russian empires]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

[4years]

1. A) you were the one who began talking about military strength the the first place! Don't try to move the goalposts now. We can talk about the internal policies of the societies I mentioned (which were much better than those of the US, I might add), but it was you who made this about military success, you who lost that argument, and I have zero reason to allow you to worm your way out of it. B) And you pointed to an area where the communist societies in question preformed remarkably well.

2. Yes they did, which was part of my point.

1A. False. It was someone else who brought up that communist societies do not survive then you brought up three different examples and stated that it was foreign conflicts that caused them to fall. How did I make this about military success? 1B. That they got conquered?

2. So Vietnam held out against the US remarkably well. Does that means Vietnams system is superior?

1. A) You made it about military success when you stated that the societies getting conquered would lend weight to anti-communist arguments. B) That they preformed as well they did against numerically superior and better equipped opponents.

2. No, yet by your reasoning it would tend to lend weight to the argument that Vietnamese society is superior.

You can't have your cake and eat it to.

[4years]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

Then you should be implacably opposed to communism which is inherently very democratic and very supportive of capitalism which and a very poor record at correlating with democracy.

[Conscentia]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

[Marsisian]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

That's called Democracy. You don't know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

[Marxina]

Personally, I admire Communism. I think that Communism is a wonderful ideology, and I really like the idea of it. I really love the stateless society that it attempted to create, but I really feel that it tried to accomplish it in the wrong way.

[Marketalia]

I'm a welfare capitalist, so my feelings on communism are, essentially, that it was of naive conception, that it stifles innovation, it sacrifices important parts of individual autonomy and freedom by necessity, and that it is unworkable in practice - especially since people who've had experience with communists are often willing to risk getting shot in order to get away.

It also seems to be extraordinarily vulnerable to corruption into a dictatorship or oligarchy.

To put it another way, not one socialist or communist society has managed to create as good a life for its citizens as a well-run welfare capitalist republic. Or, considering the United States, even a somewhat-less-than-well-run one.

[Clone Creatures]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

Capitalism isn't a political ideology. Its a business philosophy, and it specifically supports dictatorial rule, which you
may have noticed is how it works in the supposed world of big business. They are all a bunch of little Hitlers who think they are special.

[Conscentia]

I'm a welfare capitalist, so my feelings on communism are, essentially, that it was of naive conception, that it stifles innovation, it sacrifices important parts of individual autonomy and freedom by necessity, and that it is unworkable in practice - especially since people who've had experience with communists are often willing to risk getting shot in order to get away.

It also seems to be extraordinarily vulnerable to corruption into a dictatorship or oligarchy.

To put it another way, not one socialist or communist society has managed to create as good a life for its citizens as a well-run welfare capitalist republic. Or, considering the United States, even a somewhat-less-than-well-run one.

Sir, you've been trusting propaganda.
States like the USSR were not communist (except in the sense of being governed by parties with names such as the Communist Party). The governments of these states never made this claim, though they maintained Revolutionary rhetoric for propaganda purposes (else they' become unstable, as Gorbachev showed when he permitted dissent).

States born of violence are vulnerable to dictatorship and/or oligarchy.

[Clone Creatures]

I believe communism is better than capitalism since i feel that being able to elect any person into office is stupid and flawed

That's called Democracy. You don't know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

To believe that a person would also believe the TV Boobs daily stream of lies as well.

[Frihetskommunen]

Libertarian communism is alright in my book. Authoritarian communism is not so alright.
A lot of bad things have been done in the name of communism, things that I do not condone. However, I am very sympathetic towards the basic idea.

Authoritarian communism is oxymoronic.

I was referring to Stalinism and similiar ideologies. Maybe "Authoritarian" isn't really the best word to use, but the distinction between libertarian/authoritarian is the one I usually make when people bash communism.

[Conscentia]

Authoritarian communism is oxymoronic.

I was referring to Stalinism and similiar ideologies. Maybe "Authoritarian" isn't really the best word to use, but the distinction between libertarian/authoritarian is the one I usually make when people bash communism.

Red fascism isn't communism.