Hi, squad!
This thread is starting to look like a politics forum! ;-)
Fintan Dunne wrote:
> mm..........I wonder now.....
>
> Let me make the following case for Marxism over Capitalism:
>
> First, why did we win the war against Communism- despite the losses in Vietnam.
> Becasue our system is superior, of course!!!
>
> Superior in what way?
>
> Is it that we are morally superior?
Well, yes, actually we (meaning capitalism/republicanism) are, due to the fact that the system allows much greater individual autonomy and is much more dynamic.
> If so, then has the lot of South American peasants now improved since the
> demise of their Russian allies?
> I think not.
The two main client states of the Soviet Union were Nicaragua, which is markedly better off since it threw off its communist government, and Cuba, which is still in the grip of the totalitarian Castro.
Cuba's economy is a shambles. That probably has as much to do with U.S. policy as anything else and is not really a test of the communist system.
The Soviet Union and China are the two econmomies that really should be examined, and the one failed miserably (USSR). China has at least adopted some market reforms. I can only extrapolate from that
fact that the communist/Marxist system was inadequate.
>Is it that we are politically superior?
Again, yes, although the body politic in the U.S. is, I think, in some trouble due to the "dumbing down" of the populace. I think we may have become too fat, dumb and happy for our own good.
> If so, then is it because the Russians had a sham version of rule by the proletariat?
There was never any question of rule by any other than the elite. Marx knew that. Lenin certainly knew that. Any time a political system is dictatorial, power will ultimately come to the few who are
prepared to wield it. Any system of government will become less free over time as power gradually accrues to the state and by extension the ruling economic class. The meek may inherit the earth but
they will not run it.
> Or, do we not have a similar sham version called rule by the people?
We are not ruled by the people, thank God. Democracy would be as big a disaster now as it was in Athens.
> Are not the American people actually convinved that it is Washington that rules!
> just the same as it is Moscow that rules.
I'm not sure Moscow is ruling anything at the moment. The reform movement was hijacked by the robber barons who had been running the underground economy. That's a real mess.
Some American people see the need for restraining the U.S. government from grabbing even more power than it has already usurped. Theoretically, we are ruled by law, not by men or govenment. In our
system, the government is checked by law as well as the body politic. That principle is in some danger here in the U.S.
> Is it because we are socially superior?
>
> If so, then which city has the higher murder rate: Moscow or New York?
> If so, then which country has a more entrenched Mafia problem?
> .....the biggest marital breakdown rate?......more in jail?......
Actually, the Russians have major problems in those departments, too. The problems in the U.S. go back to the demise of the Victorian social codes. They are not the fault of the capitalist/republican
system. In fact, the U.S. system is based on very strong morals.
> Is it because it is our Republic that frees man from his chains?
>
> Or have we simply fashioned new chains for the underclass and the Third World?
> While we are ever more chanied to the 9 to 5 Rat Race?
People make their own chains. No one is really totally free. They have some duty to perform. Earning money, producing food, hunting & gathering food, etc. to feed and clothe and shelter yourself and
your family are necessary and proper activities. If you, your family and society are to survive, then you must undertake some economic activity. Better a system that makes allowance for satisfaction of
self-interest and allows some freedom for growth than one that does not. Someone has to own the means of production, whether individual or state. The state is not the best way to manage production. That
has been proved over and over again.
> Is it that we won because we were militarally superior?
>
> Now that's more like it!
> Wars are not really won by those who are more Noble (except in comics).
> No, they are won by those who are more ruthless and efficient.
> In other words- stronger militarally.
>
> We won because Capitalism is simply a vastly better military/industrial complex!!!
> As Ronald Regan proved when he bankrupted Russians at playing catch-up.
Exactly. Proves my point.
> No doubt about it folks, we are the undisputed champs when it comes to Atomic bombs,
> Tanks, Cars, Nuclear Power, Missiles, Pollution, Global Warming, Ozone depletion,
> .........
>
> If anyone is going to win the race to destroy the Whole Planet first,
> then it is Western Capitalism.
If you think that is so, look at the unmitigated environmental disaster that was the legacy of the USSR. Ultimately, who manages capital (resources) best is going to be the most successful
conservationist. That is capitalism/republicanism. If the government has no watchdog, it can get away with anything. Our laws give us the power to restrain our government; it is in fact our duty to do
so.
> And that makes us Superior.
>
> Or does it?
Yes, it does.
>
> After all:
>
> Communism was based on the idea of freedom for the oppressed.
The dictatorship of the proletatariat can hardly be called freedom.
>
> It was hijacked by a bunch of self-serving politicians.
> What a shame- now wasn't it?
What system isn't?
> Capitalism was based on the idea of raw naked self-interest.
> It was hijacked by a bunch of self-serving polticians.
> Inevitable- now wasn't it?
Do not mistake me - capitalism without some representative government oversight is not going to work either. It is an economic system, not a social system.
> So which was morally superior?
Capitalism/republicanism, of course. It is much more dynamic.
Be well,
Don R. (drose)
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