3 ms·

A quote from none other than libertarian idol Ludwig van Mises comes to mind: "If a man has been hurt by being run over by an automobile, it is no remedy to le

by scythe 15y ago

A quote from none other than libertarian idol Ludwig van Mises comes to mind: "If a man has been hurt by being run over by an automobile, it is no remedy to let the car go back over him in the opposition direction." But the real motivation for the rapid privatisation was not economic growth or stability. Indeed, the article states this: "Its aim was to guarantee a swift transition to capitalism, before Soviet sympathisers could seize back the reins of power." In other words, the goal of rapid privatization was to prevent, at any cost, the return of Communism. Was that a good idea, from an economic point of view? Probably not. But an ideology that, several times, nearly plunged the world into a nuclear war, and was responsible for the deaths of over a hundred million people, between the gulags, famines, and the Great Leap Forward, might have generated a bit of fear among the Western countries, who wanted to get rid of Communism as quickly as possible. Similarly, emancipating the slaves destroyed the economy of the South for two decades -- but it was worth it.

guard-of-terra 15y ago
"But an ideology that, several times, nearly plunged the world into a nuclear war" Citation needed. Any nuclear conflict had two sides. One of those tended to be USA. Also, USA is the only country to ever drop a nuclear bomb on a city.
- maratd 15y ago
  > Also, USA is the only country to ever drop a nuclear bomb on a city. The peace we're enjoying now is a direct consequence of that. After the realization of the devastation, everyone suddenly lost the appetite for using those weapons again. Which is why there haven't been any nuclear bombs dropped on any living person in the last 70 years.
  - guard-of-terra 15y ago
    Maybe so, still I don't see why one can accuse one party in "nearly plunging the world into a nuclear war" while turning the blind eye on another side.
  - EvilTerran 15y ago
    That's pure conjecture. We can't exactly run a parallel reality where the US didn't nuke Japan to see how it'd've turned out differently.
- Tangurena 15y ago
  In 1962, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis In 1983, the Able Archer got the Soviet hierarchy in a tizzy. They misinterpreted a NATO exercise for an imminent attack. Reagan's announcement of SDI (more commonly called "Star Wars") lead the Soviets to believe that the US possessed technology that would shoot down any retalitory Soviet nuclear missile strikes, while permitting the US to fire nuclear missiles at will - thus defeating Mutually Assured Destruction. Add this to some jokes by Reagan such as the remark "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." While the "5 minute" remark happened the following year, it was in character with Reagans other remarks about (and hostility towards) the Soviet Union. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/a-cold-war-conundrum/source.htm https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 To the Soviets, this exercise looked too much like a repeat of Operation Barbarossa, where the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union causing about 20 million deaths during WW2.
  - guard-of-terra 15y ago
    I know about those, but I don't see why blame those all solely on USSR. It's like the horse is finally dead and it's now safe to kick it. Also I'm not sure there is anybody to blame. All those crises were resolved as if actual adults were behind it, contrary to most of previous crises in the history of manhood. I'd say we've passed that exam collectively as a race.
yread 15y ago
If you count the deaths from famine, industrialization and so on you might as well count deaths from privatization: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60005-2/abstract http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67...

by scythe 15y ago

guard-of-terra 15y ago

"But an ideology that, several times, nearly plunged the world into a nuclear war" Citation needed. Any nuclear conflict had two sides. One of those tended to be USA. Also, USA is the only country to ever drop a nuclear bomb on a city.

maratd 15y ago
> Also, USA is the only country to ever drop a nuclear bomb on a city. The peace we're enjoying now is a direct consequence of that. After the realization of the devastation, everyone suddenly lost the appetite for using those weapons again. Which is why there haven't been any nuclear bombs dropped on any living person in the last 70 years.
- guard-of-terra 15y ago
  Maybe so, still I don't see why one can accuse one party in "nearly plunging the world into a nuclear war" while turning the blind eye on another side.
- EvilTerran 15y ago
  That's pure conjecture. We can't exactly run a parallel reality where the US didn't nuke Japan to see how it'd've turned out differently.
Tangurena 15y ago
In 1962, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis In 1983, the Able Archer got the Soviet hierarchy in a tizzy. They misinterpreted a NATO exercise for an imminent attack. Reagan's announcement of SDI (more commonly called "Star Wars") lead the Soviets to believe that the US possessed technology that would shoot down any retalitory Soviet nuclear missile strikes, while permitting the US to fire nuclear missiles at will - thus defeating Mutually Assured Destruction. Add this to some jokes by Reagan such as the remark "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." While the "5 minute" remark happened the following year, it was in character with Reagans other remarks about (and hostility towards) the Soviet Union. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/a-cold-war-conundrum/source.htm https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 To the Soviets, this exercise looked too much like a repeat of Operation Barbarossa, where the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union causing about 20 million deaths during WW2.
- guard-of-terra 15y ago
  I know about those, but I don't see why blame those all solely on USSR. It's like the horse is finally dead and it's now safe to kick it. Also I'm not sure there is anybody to blame. All those crises were resolved as if actual adults were behind it, contrary to most of previous crises in the history of manhood. I'd say we've passed that exam collectively as a race.

yread 15y ago

If you count the deaths from famine, industrialization and so on you might as well count deaths from privatization: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60005-2/abstract http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67...