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José Epita Mbomo, a Spanish electrician who sabotaged the Nazis
- MrBuddyCasino 6y ago“I can’t say for sure, but it is likely that he participated in all that,” says his grandson, Yvan Mbomo, who has formed a picture of his grandfather as a communist of such firm convictions that he put the fight for his ideals before his family’s safety and his own. I guess we should celebrate that he was a fan of the right kind of murderous authoritarian ideology.
- capableweb 6y agoWe shouldn't celebrate any particular ideologies but we should celebrate the fact that José Epita had peoples best interest at heart and tried to change it for the better. Please note that nowhere in the article communism is actually celebrated, not even in the snippet you posted. So not sure why you got that takeaway.
- Zardoz84 6y agoHe didn't had the effort to read the article. If not, he will found this : > "In 1968, Epita tore up his communist membership card while watching Soviet tanks crush the Prague Spring on TV." Every body should remember that one thing it's communism and other authoritarian communism regimes. I'm pro-communist, but I'm against any kind of authoritarian government (and so, I see Stalin as a hideous dictator like was Hitler or Franco). And isn't something incompatible, as I believe that some kind of communist democratic government can be possible.
- MrBuddyCasino 6y ago> I'm pro-communist, but I'm against any kind of authoritarian government Communism necessarily implies authoritarian government. What you think you believe in is a false utopianism due to a lack of erudition.
- capableweb 6y ago> Communism necessarily implies authoritarian government What? Since when and in what way? The common definition of Communism is where all participants are sharing the ownership of production and trying to remove things like money and financial class. Many ideas in Communism in fact assumes the absence of any kind of central government. Then that the states that have tried "Communism" in modern haven't actually aimed for any of the original goals is less important. But let's not change meaning of words willy nilly like you did here.
- Mediterraneo10 6y agoThe OP's claim that communism implies authoritarian government is likely based on the concept of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" in Marxism, and this is a quite common view [0]: "In The Road to Serfdom (1944), the Austrian School economist Friedrich Hayek wrote that the dictatorship of the proletariat likely would destroy personal freedom as completely as does an autocracy. The European Commission of Human Rights found pursuing the dictatorship of the proletariat incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights in Communist Party of Germany v. the Federal Republic of Germany (1957)." Of course, Marxism is just one version of communism among several. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletaria...
- lucian1900 6y agoEven that is frequently (and often wilfully) misinterpreted. The dictatorship of the proletariat is contrasted to the current dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. It just means that workers are collectively the ruling class in socialist countries, as opposed to owners (of capital) in capitalist countries.
- Tossitto 6y agoSeems to me like network effects and a command economy would fall well under the definition of authoritarian.
- MrBuddyCasino 6y ago
- offby37years 6y agoThere are only two ways to coordinate human societies at scale: free markets and physical power. Any ideology rejecting free markets is just advocating for power.
- MrBuddyCasino 6y agoNaval! Not sure if HN has really gone down the drain, or if this would always have been downvoted. Hypothesis: nerds are bad at politics because they lack intuition for game theory.
- nicklecompte 6y agoCome on man, right at the beginning of the article: > He was an active communist back when communism was almost a religion, but tore up his party membership card when the Soviet Union crushed the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia.
- MrBuddyCasino 6y ago> He was an active communist back when communism was almost a religion You mean, exactly like fascism? Pictures / visits to concentration camps had the effect on the nazis that the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia had on communists. Funny how neither the Holodomor nor the Chinese cultural revolution nor the Killing Fields moved the needle much. He fought for his homeland, and later saw the errors of his ways. I can respect that.
- refraincomment 6y agoMrBuddyCasino owning everyone. Nazism is unsexy and communism is sexy while by any possible metric they are comparable.
- dieortin 6y agoDidn’t expect to see people talking about “owning” people in HN. A bit sad.
- BXLE_1-1-BitIs1 6y agoI know a pilot for the EG Air Force One. Yep, the oil revenues go to the élite. Typical African story as far as natural resources are concerned.
- WalterBright 6y agoA remarkable man. Very interesting.
- iagovar 6y agoNice story. To this day many Spaniards are unaware that Ecuatorial Guinea is a former colony. My memories from High school are that we glanced over it.
- enriquto 6y agoIt is still de facto a colony, conveniently ruled by a spanish-supported dictator.
- Uberphallus 6y agoHe was originally supported in the coup because his uncle (the then dictator) was exterminating Spaniards (and Guineans as well). Since then, trade between Spain and EG is nothing to write home about, with Spain only being third to US and China as trading partners, and EQ's exports are a drop in the ocean of the Spanish economy. Investment from either country in the other is residual (<10 million euros). [0] Also Obiang regularly blames Spain for funding/supporting oppositors, notably during the coup attempt in 2004[1], which is probably true[2]. Most of the time these oppositors also have Spanish citizenship. So, in what sense is he supported by Spain, and how is it a colony? [0] https://www.icex.es/icex/es/navegacion-principal/todos-nuestros-servicios/informacion-de-mercados/paises/navegacion-principal/el-pais/relaciones-bilaterales/index.html?idPais=GQ https://www.icex.es/icex/es/navegacion-principal/todos-nuest... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/16/equatorialguinea.spain https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/16/equatorialguin... [2] https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/12/espana/1205318523.html https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/12/espana/1205318523....
- fcatalan 6y agoUmmm no. In fact the relationship between Spain and Guinea is surprisingly tenous considering the colonial past. Guinea hardly makes it to the news and it isn't in the "national conscience" at all. The average educated spaniard would have to be reminded of the whole story. Diplomatic relations are somewhat cordial, probably protecting some remaining economical interests, but a bit at "an arms length", as with other dictatorships. Opposition politicians routinely seek refuge or meet in Spain without any trouble. If anything they decry the "hands off" stance of Spain, hardly the same as a "de facto colony" situation.
- refraincomment 6y agoEl Pais chooses the facts in a way that pushes a particular agenda. Read at your own peril.
- Google234 6y agoIs this article using the old definition of Nazi or the new one (anyone that is slightly conservative or supports trump)?
- dualbreathe 6y agoReally?
- janeroe 6y agoYes. That's a legit question.
- mcosta 6y agoThe real one.