# I am a Communist. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 21, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964 "2010-08-21T09:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/101 "2010-08-22T15:39:23Z")
Sure. There’s my wife’s grandsmother, who’s almost completely senile, but still a communist; there’s also my FiL, who was raised a communist but got over it, although if you get him drunk he’ll sing the Internationale, in Bulgarian. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/102 "2010-08-22T15:42:38Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Seriously, there are still communists out there? There are still \*flat earth \*proponents out there. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/103 "2010-08-22T15:54:43Z")
When did your family move from the USSR to the US? Why did they move? When were you naturalized? Are your parents US citizens? What are their political views? Have you visited China? When or why not? Let me tell you, someone who can teach English and Russian over there can probably lead a really good socialist lifestyle. (I taught English in Beijing in the late 90s.) Why do you choose to live in the one country that is most closely associated with the fall of communism? ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/104 "2010-08-22T18:18:10Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I mean, I can even consider myself a communist under some definitions, but not to the point of authoritarianism. If people are not perfect, it stands to reason that the leader of the Communist party will not be perfect, and I do not want an imperfect being calling all the shots without some way to stop him. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. You know, I am somewhat bothered by the ridiculous Western myth that you democrats have the power to “stop” your own leaders if they get too dangerous. Really? When has this ever happened? When has a representative democracy ever removed a truly dangerous leader from power? No, what tends to happen is one of two things: either the dangerous leader rigs the system so an render himself immune to popular checks, or he is able to surf a wave of mass hysteria and human stupidity while staying well out of the reach of his opponents. For an example of the prior, look no further than Adolf Hitler, who is after all an excellent example of the type of individual that representative democracies tend to spew forth. For an example of the latter, take a look at Little Bush, who spent his first term starting illegal wars and taking a huge steaming dump all over the US economy, only to have the cretins reelect him to a second term for more of the same. No, your myth of true democratic power is a lie. Were your system to produce intelligent, thoughtful, effective leaders, rather than mass-murdering abominations, perhaps I would be able to share its politics. As things now stand, though, I’ll stick with the single-party states; they tend to be less dangerous than you supposedly enlightened Westerners. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/105 "2010-08-22T18:18:13Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Why is Taiwan so much wealthier (for its size) than the PRC? Also would like an answer to this. ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/106 "2010-08-22T18:24:40Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > And communism would work in the real world if there was no such thing as scarcity. If someone consuming something didn’t take it away from the ability of other people to consume it. Right now, there is something that works like that, and that’s information. If I consume information, generally, I can add value to it, and toss it back, without removing the ability of anyone else to get that information. That’s how science (and Linux) works. > > Problem is, it’s not really good for physical objects till we hit a post-scarcity society. Which is gonna take a while. In the meantime, communism seems, like anarchy, to be a small-scale philosophy that doesn’t work so well when you scale it up to country size. Not sure what the maximum size is, though. I’m betting it’s bigger than a monkeysphere, which is where anarchy is limited to. Your reasoning contradicts your conclusion. In a situation of scarcity, which of the following is a better solution: to do nothing, or to carefully manage the distribution of the scarce goods? Your capitalist theory advocates doing nothing. You admit the existence of scarcity, yet your solution is to turn your back on it and let individual people fight it out over the control of scarce resources. It is an anarchical and senseless approach to a very real problem. We socialists, on the other hand, want to see governments take an active role in distributing the resources. Only then can we assure equitable and fair distribution. Only then can we have a system in which no one is left behind, in which everyone’s basic needs are met. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/107 "2010-08-22T18:41:31Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Your reasoning contradicts your conclusion. In a situation of scarcity, which of the following is a better solution: to do nothing, or to carefully manage the distribution of the scarce goods? > > Your capitalist theory advocates doing nothing. You admit the existence of scarcity, yet your solution is to turn your back on it and let individual people fight it out over the control of scarce resources. It is an anarchical and senseless approach to a very real problem. > \*\* > We socialists, on the other hand, want to see governments take an active role in distributing the resources. Only then can we assure equitable and fair distribution. Only then can we have a system in which no one is left behind, in which everyone’s basic needs are met.\*\* And the U.S.S.R was _such_ a shining example of this. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/108 "2010-08-22T18:46:50Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Seriously, there are still communists out there? _walks up and bites **Paul** _ ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/109 "2010-08-22T18:47:40Z")
hugs Olentzero. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/110 "2010-08-22T20:02:29Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > > [@Commissar](#): > > > > [color=pink]Hello, my new-found friends. > > > > I am a long-time lurker on these forums, and I believe that now is as good a time as any to register and partake in your discussions. > > > > I look forward to participating in a great number of dialogues with you over the coming weeks, months, and years. > > > > The point of this thread is to make my political views perfectly clear. In my experience, this helps to avoid needless tangents at a later date. > > > > Thus, I would like it to be known that I am a Communist of the Marxist-Leninist strain. I applaud Trotsky, Mao, and Castro. I abhor Stalin and the North Korean corruption of our philosophy. > > > > If you would like to know any further details about my philosophies, please let it be known. I welcome and am fully willing to answer any and all serious questions about my beliefs. > > This post has been pinked by the pinkist![/color] Did you post this from a parlour?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/111 "2010-08-22T20:20:03Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Your reasoning contradicts your conclusion. In a situation of scarcity, which of the following is a better solution: to do nothing, or to carefully manage the distribution of the scarce goods? > > Your capitalist theory advocates doing nothing. You admit the existence of scarcity, yet your solution is to turn your back on it and let individual people fight it out over the control of scarce resources. > > We socialists, on the other hand, want to see governments take an active role in distributing the resources. Only then can we assure equitable and fair distribution. Yeah, except for that inconvenient fact that during times of scarcity, especially in the case of emergencies, the capitalist pig country the USA seems to be pretty generous in distributing scarce resources to those in need…and not just at home either. How generous are the communist countries? Back in the USSR days, they couldn’t even feed themselves, because…TA DA! They couldn’t even manage their own resources effectively, let alone help anyone else. Where did a lot of the USA’s surplus grain go? Russia, that’s where! Why? Because a communist government like the USSR had doesn’t provide incentives for people to do a really good job at what they do, breeds inefficiency. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/112 "2010-08-22T21:19:25Z")
Lenin was no saint…he probably accounted for 2-3 million deaths (extermination of the Kulaks), plus famines caused by collectivization. Stalin was the big achiever-possibly 50 million deaths (including 4 million Ukrainians). After that, it was not too bad-Kruschev probably accounted for a few hundred thousand, Brezhnev less. With a track record like that, how can you endorse such a system? Mao was up there also-perhaps 35 million deaths. I would say that Communism was probably one of the most efficient destryers of human life. in history. ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/113 "2010-08-22T21:59:58Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Yeah, except for that inconvenient fact that during times of scarcity, especially in the case of emergencies, the capitalist pig country the USA seems to be pretty generous in distributing scarce resources to those in need…and not just at home either. How generous are the communist countries? Back in the USSR days, they couldn’t even feed themselves, because…TA DA! They couldn’t even manage their own resources effectively, let alone help anyone else. Where did a lot of the USA’s surplus grain go? Russia, that’s where! Why? Because a communist government like the USSR had doesn’t provide incentives for people to do a really good job at what they do, breeds inefficiency. What fairy-tale world do you live in? The US is “generous?” Are you kidding me, or do you really think you can sneak that one past me? For your information, the US has long been one of the most reluctant foreign aid donors in the world; year after year, it consistently ranks near or at the bottom in terms of per capita giving among industrialized nations. It has NEVER lived up to its promise to give 0.7% of its gross national income in international developmental aid - a promise it made FORTY years ago! What little giving it does engage in tends to be political rather than sincere; year in and year out, one third of the aid goes toward supporting the genocidal regime in Israel and the vicious dictatorship in Egypt. You need some further education on this topic, my friend. I suggest starting here: [Foreign Aid for Development Assistance — Global Issues](http://www.globalissues.org/article/35/foreign-aid-development-assistance) And for your information, the Soviet Union was charitable and generous to the fault. It was our aid that enabled China, Vietnam, and North Korea to catapult themselves into the modern age. Oh, and let us not forget that we single-handedly kept the economies of Cuba and all our satellite states up and running. And we committed countless billions of rubles to aiding left-leaning governments around the globe. Our generosity is something that you can only ever dream of emulating. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/114 "2010-08-22T22:01:18Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I would say that Communism was probably one of the most efficient destryers of human life. in history. The OP clearly doesn’t care about that given the mindset he has shown, which is typical of communists, that anyone not properly serving the cause of communism should be marched out back and shot in the head. Time and time again he has extolled the wonders of communism while utterly ignoring the pain, suffering and death that has invariably been the result of its implementation. And frankly, I prefer a system where I can choose any of a number of grocery stores to go to in order to select however many loaves of bread I want from a number of different brands and then pay for it and be on my way, all in a matter of minutes. I hate long lines. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/115 "2010-08-22T22:15:39Z")
I really have to wonder… is this thread a whoosh, or is \*\*Commissar \*\*serious? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/116 "2010-08-22T22:22:24Z")
Hmm…speaking of “satellites”, OP, I wonder how many democratic countries have sent their tanks running over students protesting for a little freedom? Mother Russia has. And China, of course, has done the same thing to its very own people. You are pissing in the wind of human history by trying to extoll the wonders and righteousness of communist forms of government. You can continue to tilt at these windmills all day long, but you aren’t getting anywhere and you can’t get anywhere. The ship has long ago sailed (and sunk) when it comes to the viability of communism as either an economic system or form of government. And on preview, I still agree with you, **Crafter\_Man** , that the OP is likely a whoosh. Perhaps even a back door way of encouraging criticism of communist regimes. But since people are people are playing along anyway I thought I’d add my two cents again. Enough can’t be said with regard to the evil that is communism and new generations need constantly to be reminded of that lest it rear its ugly head yet again. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/117 "2010-08-22T22:27:22Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I really have to wonder… is this thread a whoosh, or is \*\*Commissar \*\*serious? I wonder, too. He has that whole _Pravda_-style “glorious workers paradise” rhetoric down a little too pat. Who actually talks like that in real life? ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/118 "2010-08-22T22:45:16Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Time and time again he has extolled the wonders of communism while utterly ignoring the pain, suffering and death that has invariably been the result of its implementation. I do no such thing. I am, however, a realist. Look at your own economic model. You’ve had a thousand years of feudalism, several centuries of proto-capitalism, and a solid two hundred years of true capitalism to iron all the bugs out. And yet, here we are in the 21st century, watching the global flagship of capitalism sinking before our very eyes. Communism has been around for less than 100 years, and its flagship is now pretty much running the show. It’s clothing your people and taking care of their material needs, and it is buying up your debt so that you don’t go under too quickly. From any sane perspective, it is clear that socialism has won. Game over. Time to accept it and move on into a glorious Communist tomorrow. And yet, all you can do is shriek about some mistakes that were made decades ago, when we were still trying to perfect our system. Seriously, let it go. > [@](#): > > And frankly, I prefer a system where I can choose any of a number of grocery stores to go to in order to select however many loaves of bread I want from a number of different brands and then pay for it and be on my way, all in a matter of minutes. Fine with me. I’m with the Chinese on this one - private businesses are to be encouraged, as long as they do not harm the people or the economy. You’ll have all the privately owned stores and bakeries you can ever want in our brave new world. > [@](#): > > Hmm…speaking of “satellites”, OP, I wonder how many democratic countries have sent their tanks running over students protesting for a little freedom? Er, most of them? How can you try to take the moral high ground when your hands are drenched in the blood of innocents? > **[Kent State shootings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings)** > > The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre) were the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio, United States. The shootings took place on May 4, 1970, during a rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into Cambodia by United States military forces, as well as protesting the National Guard presence on campus and the draft. Twenty Krause and ... And let us not even start on the subject of what you do to other people… The Native American genocides, the annexation of half of Mexico, the illegal invasion of Hawai’i, the dirty Latin American wars, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the outrageous occupations of Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the destruction of Yugoslavia… This could go on forever. Suffice it to say that when it comes to viciousness and mass murder, your people wrote the book. > [@](#): > > And on preview, I still agree with you, Crafter\_Man, that the OP is likely a whoosh. Perhaps even a back door way of encouraging criticism of communist regimes. But since people are people are playing along anyway I thought I’d add my two cents again. No, I am completely serious. This is what I truly believe, and I like to discuss it with other people in a serious and intellectual manner. This is not some game that I am playing with you for some dubious amusement. I am what I am. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/119 "2010-08-22T22:46:47Z")
He must be for real, a communist troll doesn’t make sense. Not allowed to charge for crossing the bridge you see. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/120 "2010-08-22T22:51:19Z")
If nothing else, the thread has revealed this [utterly ludicrous image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1950s_%E6%AF%9B%E4%B8%BB%E5%B8%AD%E7%BB%99%E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E7%9A%84%E5%B9%B8%E7%A6%8F%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB.jpg) (also posted upthread) of happy Chinese life under Mao. Who knew they got The Donna Reed Show in China? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964.md?page=7)