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If this is true (which I might be willing to concede), then should the same standard not be applied equally to anyone who self-identifies as a communist in toda

If this is true (which I might be willing to concede), then should the same standard not be applied equally to anyone who self-identifies as a communist in today's world? Simply existing as a communist might be a call to repeat the same mistakes of the 20th century (and 21st century, because they're ongoing), which are in no way less horrific than the mistakes of fascism. Silencing has the opposite effect to what you wanted. It's the Streisand Effect. Your act of censorship only serves as arsenal for the people you are censoring, because they can point at it and say "look, if they didn't have anything to hide, they wouldn't restrict us from talking about it." This is why I won't call for silencing communists, even though I vehemently disagree with their ideology. I have a bit more faith that humans can recognize bad ideas themselves and do not need to be told what to think.

mschuster91 8y ago
> Simply existing as a communist might be a call to repeat the same mistakes of the 20th century, which are in no way less horrific than the mistakes of fascism. Communism in itself does not imply violence towards minorities or putting people into Gulags. Nazism or fascism always does, the demonization of those not in the "Volkskörper" (or deemed too weak to be worthy) is the core ideology. While I agree that autoritarian Communism has failed and those who still adore Stalin are morons, there are many more Communist views that do not resort to authoritarianism.
- sparkie 8y ago
  Communism implies violence against anybody who does not wish to have the fruits of their labour stolen from them by the state. If people had the choice as to whether or not they can keep the wealth they generated, or to give it up "for the greater good," then which option do you think most people would take if they were not under threat of violence? This is why communism simply cannot work. If you give people choice, it turns out they generate wealth not only for themselves - but they generate wealth for the societies in which they live too. This is what Adam Smith calls the invisible hand. Free markets economies are prosperous because people's self-interest leads to innovation and improved standard of living for everyone. http://freedomschool.us/how-an-economy-grows.pdf http://freedomschool.us/how-an-economy-grows.pdf Communism is rooted in jealousy. Even though people owe their standard of living to the merits of the capitalists which built their societies, they're bitter because they are not among the most wealthy. It is no surprise that there are now countless examples of it being tried in the real world and it leading to all around suffering. The "dictatorship of the proletariat" is always going to be controlled by bitter people, and they're going to use their newly found powers to extract wealth in attempt to cure their own bitterness.
normal_man 8y ago
I'm not going to give any credence to the moronic belief that both "extremes" are fascist. Communism is a far-left ideology based on public ownership of the means of production, there is nothing inherently violent about it.
- CapricornNoble 8y ago
  Please explain the process by which the means of production passes from private ownership to public ownership WITHOUT coercion via threat of force/violence or actual usage of force.
  - ConceptJunkie 8y ago
    Unicorn farts. Unicorn farts will make people willingly give up what they own in order to watch it be squandered and wasted.
  - normal_man 8y ago
    Same way your taxes are taken you dork. Or do you square up with the FBI every April?
    - ConceptJunkie 8y ago
      If the IRS was literally going to confiscate his whole salary and property he might have a different view. I expect you might as well.
    - CapricornNoble 8y ago
      1. Income taxes != capital asset confiscation, especially as taxes are not anywhere near 100%. The closest thing we have to that is civil asset forfeiture, perpetrated at the state and local levels. Note that civil asset forfeiture is increasingly being challenged by the courts as Unconstitutional.[1] 2. Do you know what happens when you DON'T pay your taxes? The government exercises its monopoly on violence and throws you in jail. If this tax analogy is the best your mind could conjure up to prove "communism is non-violent", your thought process is just as much of an unsurprising failure as every other Communist implementor to come before you. [1]https://www.libertyheadlines.com/new-mexico-civil-asset-forfeiture-unconstitutional/ https://www.libertyheadlines.com/new-mexico-civil-asset-forf...

mschuster91 8y ago

> Simply existing as a communist might be a call to repeat the same mistakes of the 20th century, which are in no way less horrific than the mistakes of fascism. Communism in itself does not imply violence towards minorities or putting people into Gulags. Nazism or fascism always does, the demonization of those not in the "Volkskörper" (or deemed too weak to be worthy) is the core ideology. While I agree that autoritarian Communism has failed and those who still adore Stalin are morons, there are many more Communist views that do not resort to authoritarianism.

sparkie 8y ago
Communism implies violence against anybody who does not wish to have the fruits of their labour stolen from them by the state. If people had the choice as to whether or not they can keep the wealth they generated, or to give it up "for the greater good," then which option do you think most people would take if they were not under threat of violence? This is why communism simply cannot work. If you give people choice, it turns out they generate wealth not only for themselves - but they generate wealth for the societies in which they live too. This is what Adam Smith calls the invisible hand. Free markets economies are prosperous because people's self-interest leads to innovation and improved standard of living for everyone. http://freedomschool.us/how-an-economy-grows.pdf http://freedomschool.us/how-an-economy-grows.pdf Communism is rooted in jealousy. Even though people owe their standard of living to the merits of the capitalists which built their societies, they're bitter because they are not among the most wealthy. It is no surprise that there are now countless examples of it being tried in the real world and it leading to all around suffering. The "dictatorship of the proletariat" is always going to be controlled by bitter people, and they're going to use their newly found powers to extract wealth in attempt to cure their own bitterness.

normal_man 8y ago

I'm not going to give any credence to the moronic belief that both "extremes" are fascist. Communism is a far-left ideology based on public ownership of the means of production, there is nothing inherently violent about it.

CapricornNoble 8y ago
Please explain the process by which the means of production passes from private ownership to public ownership WITHOUT coercion via threat of force/violence or actual usage of force.
- ConceptJunkie 8y ago
  Unicorn farts. Unicorn farts will make people willingly give up what they own in order to watch it be squandered and wasted.
- normal_man 8y ago
  Same way your taxes are taken you dork. Or do you square up with the FBI every April?
  - ConceptJunkie 8y ago
    If the IRS was literally going to confiscate his whole salary and property he might have a different view. I expect you might as well.
  - CapricornNoble 8y ago
    1. Income taxes != capital asset confiscation, especially as taxes are not anywhere near 100%. The closest thing we have to that is civil asset forfeiture, perpetrated at the state and local levels. Note that civil asset forfeiture is increasingly being challenged by the courts as Unconstitutional.[1] 2. Do you know what happens when you DON'T pay your taxes? The government exercises its monopoly on violence and throws you in jail. If this tax analogy is the best your mind could conjure up to prove "communism is non-violent", your thought process is just as much of an unsurprising failure as every other Communist implementor to come before you. [1]https://www.libertyheadlines.com/new-mexico-civil-asset-forfeiture-unconstitutional/ https://www.libertyheadlines.com/new-mexico-civil-asset-forf...