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My experience as well! Pragmatism over idealism is a fantastic virtue for everyone — but turns out a vital one for communists :P
by erulabs 2y ago
My experience as well! Pragmatism over idealism is a fantastic virtue for everyone — but turns out a vital one for communists :P
- Liquix 2y agoIs pragmatism really a "fantastic virtue" when people are forced away from alternatives by an overbearing government?
- throwaway19972 2y agoIs there any culture on earth that prioritizes idealism over "pragmatism", if we must use that term? What does this even look like?
- whythre 2y agoThere are individuals and subcultures that prioritize idealism, yes. Often they are young people. Idealistic individuals can get ground down and turned into pragmatists, but some hold onto their hopes and dreams very tightly.
- erulabs 2y agoI mean, one could argue that the early Soviet Union suffered from this issue. Or early revolutionary China. Cambodia is certainly an example. The french revolution might be an even better example, what with wanting to re-do the clock and calendar and such. To convert startup culture speak's "pragmatism beats idealism" into political science speak, it might come out as "rationalism has tremendous difficultly reinventing all unconscious behavior".
- blaufuchs 2y agoI wasn't aware that Chinese citizens owned the means of production ;) just looks like another authoritarian dictatorship to me.
- AlexandrB 2y agoOne could argue that the only system under which a citizen can own the means of production is capitalism. If you "own" something you can sell it, trade it, and otherwise use it as you wish. In any realistic version of communism these powers are transferred to a central authority instead.
- rgrieselhuber 2y agoGuess they never really tried it.
- lysace 2y agoWow, even mentioning communists made you get downvoted. That's sad.
- erulabs 2y agoAnd I was being cheeky too! Such is life.