I was talking with a few members of my family about these debates going on here, from the "What's wrong with the left" thread that went horribly awry, to the other threads where Communism is brought up.

My cousin gave me one very good point about Communism. He pointed out to me that Communism was never intended to be used in an industrial setting, it was designed for agrarian culture based on subsinence (sp?) farming, where everybody contributed their wares and crops to the communal good so they could all survive and thrive in their environment.

It was never intended for Communism to be applied to the industrial world, so like I said in many posts before, none of the things people have been calling "Communism" or any derivitive of the word are actually that. Socialistic at best, and fascist in many cases, but nothing Communistic really truly exists there.


*skips merrily down the path* la dee da dee dah...sleep time...

Ah, that's almost exactly wrong, at least, from a Marxist standpoint. Marx believe Communism would evovle out of inducstrialised nations (and none of the "Communist" nation were industrial, pre-revolution.).

I'm talking before Marx....

The very first societies were communist this is true. Marx thought that industrial societies would return to this.

The application of Communism is not what is usually questioned in my opinion. It is the method. That is why you see so many comparisons. The threat of an enforced social change is most easily referred to in modern terms as "communism".

Besides, thats usually who is trying to pull it:p

Regardless of what your pet theories tell you, it just doesn't work in real life. Human nature is contrary to everyone playing nice and sharing everything. History repeats this over and over despite the best efforts of people far more interesting than any of us.
Don't forget the hippy communes of the 60's. Bunch of well-meaning kids fresh out of school, gonna change the world that their parents f*cked up for them. Sound familiar?
Flower Power. Free love, drugs to die for, social change, protest marches, and on and on. All fun and games until Captain Trips' girlfriend got knocked up by Bobby the Wonder Surfer, new latrines needed to be dug, the Tipi fell down, and the groovy little bugs (who had just as much right to live as the rest of us, man) ate their crops, then they had to go get jobs just like everyone else does.
Guess what? Now they're selling used cars and fondly remembering their "Summer of Love" over Buds at the table next to the factory workers in the corner bar.
Get over it.

Originally posted by Griff
Regardless of what your pet theories tell you, it just doesn't work in real life. Human nature is contrary to everyone playing nice and sharing everything. History repeats this over and over despite the best efforts of people far more interesting than any of us.
Don't forget the hippy communes of the 60's. Bunch of well-meaning kids fresh out of school, gonna change the world that their parents f*cked up for them. Sound familiar?
Flower Power. Free love, drugs to die for, social change, protest marches, and on and on. All fun and games until Captain Trips' girlfriend got knocked up by Bobby the Wonder Surfer, new latrines needed to be dug, the Tipi fell down, and the groovy little bugs (who had just as much right to live as the rest of us, man) ate their crops, then they had to go get jobs just like everyone else does.
Guess what? Now they're selling used cars and fondly remembering their "Summer of Love" over Buds at the table next to the factory workers in the corner bar.
Get over it.

Well stated.

Thanks. Meant it.