# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/121 "2010-08-22T22:53:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@emarkp](#): > > > > So you want to steal from me and my family? Thanks for identifying yourself as an enemy. > > In a perfect Communist system, it isn’t ‘stealing’. Citizens contribute to society, and in return society provides benefits to the citizens. In our system, are taxes ‘stealing’? > > Human nature being what it is, Communism can’t work on a large scale. But in theory it is equitable. In a perfect Stonian system, everyone would willingly give everything they have to me, Sam Stone. Since the world isn’t yet perfect, I have every right to take what I want and kill anyone who tries to stop me. Sure, today no one wants to give me their stuff, but in theory, if everyone did it would be a perfectly equitable system. So I’m just a crusader for societal perfection. A benefactor of mankind, so to speak. So give me your television set. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/122 "2010-08-22T22:58:38Z")
What happens if it becomes clear that the one party government in power are not following the true Communist path but are instead corrupt and lining their own pockets? How do you get rid of them and install a true communist government? ---
**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, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/123 "2010-08-22T23:07:42Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > 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. Afganistan? 😃 Hi, **Pot** , I’d like you to meet my friend **Kettle**. ---
**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, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/124 "2010-08-22T23:12:52Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > > [@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. Your ideas of “generosity” extend to arms sales to try to keep the USSR solvent (it didn’t work by the way) and as for your snark about the US not being “generous” when it comes to foreign aid, you are sadly mistaken. Private citizens of this country donate more money than any other nation, and if they don’t, its damn close. And please don’t bring up the “donations per GDP” argument either. Money and aid is money and aid, and I don’t care where you sit, we shell out a shit ton of it. You got served, comrade. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/125 "2010-08-22T23:21:15Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Having said that, I really doubt that he killed “millions,” as you allege. What’s the difference between this and Holocaust denial? > [@simple\_homer](#): > > > [@Commissar](#): > > > > No, my take on a perfect communist system is very close to what the glorious People’s Republic has now achieved. I dream of a system in which people are truly free, in which they are unshackled by wants and deprivations, in which a strong single party carefully manages a centralized economy while allowing private entrepreneurs to fill in some of the blanks. > > Have you ever visited China ? > > I am now living and working in China, > > and you made me laugh Yep, I’ve been living and working in China for 10 years and I have to chime in here. I hate the false Western image of China as a “gulag-state evil empire” where everyone is paralyzed by fear and unwilling to speak their mind. It is so goddamn untrue. Spend a couple days with some Chinese twentysomethings and you’ll find out how opinionated and cynical they can be. But, at the same time, I also hate the “glorious People’s Republic” image that so many foreign left-wingers desperately want to believe. Your description of the government’s role in the Chinese economy is close enough, and it is undeniable that the Chinese are freer now than they have ever been in the past, but unshackled by wants and deprivations? That’s just insane. > [@Commissar](#): > > It is my strong belief that the People’s Republic of China is not only the greatest nation in existence today, but also in the entire history of mankind. It is a powerful, highly centralized nation in which a single party proudly guides an immense populace into the future. It is a brilliant melding of Marxist-Leninist theory and private ingenuity. It is a glimmering beacon of hope and prosperity, an awe-inspiring trend-setter that will bravely shepherd all of humanity into a golden age of socialism. Damn…where do I start? I love China with all my heart. It is my home, it is my country as much as America, the country of my birth, is. I love it dearly. I think I’m probably the single most sympathetic person to China on the Dope. Yes, for a country with such a huge population and so many developmental and ethnic challenges, China is doing a pretty damn good job. And yes, to many people in the Third World China is a “beacon of hope,” but the hyperbole you use to describe China is frightening. Bravely shepherd all of humanity into a golden age of socialism? Sorry, I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/126 "2010-08-22T23:42:45Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > > [@indian](#): > > > > What did you learn from collapse of communist block (U.S.S.R and other european countries ), that you will apply elsewhere to prevent a repeat ? > > Ultimately, we learned the lesson of firepower. **Had Stalin and Gorbachev been marched out back and shot in the back of the head, as they deserved, none of this would have happened.** We would still be enjoying the glorious fruits of Communism, rather than admiring the power of China from afar. We were too merciful; millions suffer now, and it is a needless suffering. Two bullets is all that it would have taken to save us… (bolding mine) And here is the ultimate description of communism in action. Two bullets, or however many are needed, to kill those who hold back the glorious cause, and hey, the world will be perfect. Until, of course, you are one of the people who is holding back the glorious cause. Obviously you believe violence is acceptable to further your cause. Right? If so, who is it acceptable to kill, and why? Slee ---
**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, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/127 "2010-08-22T23:45:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > [ > Your ideas of “generosity” extend to arms sales to try to keep the USSR solvent (it didn’t work by the way) and as for your snark about the US not being “generous” when it comes to foreign aid, you are sadly mistaken. Private citizens of this country donate more money than any other nation, and if they don’t, its damn close. And please don’t bring up the “donations per GDP” argument either. Money and aid is money and aid, and I don’t care where you sit, we shell out a shit ton of it. > > You got served, comrade. You’re being ridiculous. You originally stated that the US government is an immensely generous one, and now you’re going to backtrack and claim that you meant that the US people are generous? You change your positions pretty quickly, don’t you? And why should I not bring up the GDP argument? Because it is inconvenient to your personal beliefs? The fact that the US is far less generous than pretty much all other industrialized nations is exactly that - a fact. Your government’s own numbers show that it gives a lot less than you would prefer to imagine it does. And you bring up military aid as an argument against the Soviet Union? Really? What form do you think the aforementioned aid to Israel and Egypt takes? Rainbows and unicorns? Your hypocrisy and willful blindness are astounding. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/128 "2010-08-22T23:49:33Z")
_Gorbachev_ deserved to be executed? He was probably the best leader Soviet Russia ever had. For the love of sweet Beavis, this thread is depressing. Communism is not some happy, everyone is equal and let’s all share with each other system. It’s about the violent overthrow of the middle/upper class. Lenin was NOT a savior to Russia. ---
**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, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/129 "2010-08-22T23:53:31Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > What happens if it becomes clear that the one party government in power are not following the true Communist path but are instead corrupt and lining their own pockets? How do you get rid of them and install a true communist government? That is a serious concern - one to which I have given much thought over the years. The way I see it, the only real solution is to get it right from the beginning. When creating the ruling party, care must be taken to forge a large self-regulating entity capable of pruning itself of undesired elements. I believe that China gets it almost right. It has a huge dynamic ruling body that regulates its own membership. Lately, in particular, it has executed several members convicted of corruption. That is the process of self-regulation that I envision. And, frankly, this is a problem for all governments everywhere. Take the US, for example. It is functionally a one-party state, given the fact that its only two viable parties are the two sides of the same right-wing coin. It is no less vulnerable to corruption and ineptitude than any socialist government. ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/130 "2010-08-23T00:01:47Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > Obviously you believe violence is acceptable to further your cause. Right? If so, who is it acceptable to kill, and why? > > Slee Yes, I believe that violence is sometimes necessary for the good of the people. It is a method of last resort and must be used extremely sparingly, but at times it must be used. Execution is a viable response in only two situations: murder and treason. Stalin was guilty of both, and Gorbachev was the poster child of the latter. Yes, I believe that both committed capital offenses and should have been dealt with accordingly. Conversely, had the party properly dealt with them before they attained power and begun committing their crimes, execution would not have been necessary, and an administrative punishment would have sufficed. The point is, violence is an option of last resort. I do not advocate its mindless application, and I would keep it as limited as possible. Everyone has a right to life, and this right must not be withdrawn lightly. No violence may ever be employed in the absence of a full fair trial. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/131 "2010-08-23T00:32:23Z")
Which states are presently communist? China, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and North Korea. None of them come close to first-world standards of living. None of them offer political freedom, or freedom of the press. China is a one-party state that is rapidly moving toward operating on a capitalist basis, with some human rights problems, and a recent history of genocide by communists. Cuba is a write off, with serious human rights problems. Laos is a write off, with some human rights problems, and a recent history of genocide by communists. Vietnam is a one-party state that is rapidly moving toward operating on a capitalist basis, with some human rights problems. North Korea is a write off, with serious human rights problems, repeated starvation, and ongoing war-mongering. All in all, communism has failed to live up to its own expectations. It is a social, political, and economic dead-end. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/132 "2010-08-23T00:37:27Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Yes, I believe that violence is sometimes necessary for the good of the people. It is a method of last resort and must be used extremely sparingly, but at times it must be used. I feel strongly that although communists are a blot on the face of civilization, they should not be executed. The test of a truly free and democratic society is when everyone can express their political opinions, and anyone can run for office on any platform, without fear of punishment by the state. That communism has a history of mass murdering citizens who do not support communism, and that such repeated atrocities have been done in the name of what is necessary for the good of the people, speaks volumes about the ethics of communism, and how very violent and morally bankrupt it truly is. ---
**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 23, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/133 "2010-08-23T00:53:43Z")
**Commissar** : please answer post 103. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/134 "2010-08-23T01:11:52Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > > [@sleestak](#): > > > > Obviously you believe violence is acceptable to further your cause. Right? If so, who is it acceptable to kill, and why? > > > > Slee > > Yes, I believe that violence is sometimes necessary for the good of the people. :: post snipped :: Who gets to decide which people get killed? Who gets to decide what is good? The ones with the most guns? The ones who are the most ideologically pure? Whomever can round up the largest group of thugs? > [@](#): > > That is a serious concern - one to which I have given much thought over the years. The way I see it, the only real solution is to get it right from the beginning. When creating the ruling party, care must be taken to forge a large self-regulating entity capable of pruning itself of undesired elements. So, instead of murder it is pruning? Got ya. Pruning does sound so much more, ummmm, not purely evil. The biggest problem with Communism is rather simple. Once the state is created it requires that everyone buy into the state. Those who don’t buy into the program have to be killed for the system to work. Or sent to [slave](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag)[labor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai)camps. Those who don’t buy in during the revolution are just killed, of course. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/135 "2010-08-23T01:16:58Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > As things now stand, though, I’ll stick with the single-party states; they tend to be less dangerous than you supposedly enlightened Westerners. Time for you to back up your assertion with figures setting out how many of its own people each state kills. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/136 "2010-08-23T01:28:15Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > The biggest problem with Communism is rather simple. Once the state is created it requires that everyone buy into the state. Those who don’t buy into the program have to be killed for the system to work. Or sent to [slave](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag)[labor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai)camps. Those who don’t buy in during the revolution are just killed, of course. > > Slee I’ve told this countless times, but I had a professor who spent time in a gulag after being accused of being an American spy. What lead to this? He owned a record of “Chatanoogah Choo Choo”. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/137 "2010-08-23T01:42:22Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > 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; The US has been very generous to Israel. 🙂 Bertha, zionist ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/138 "2010-08-23T01:43:24Z")
Still waiting for the answer about Taiwan. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/139 "2010-08-23T02:26:14Z")
The only Communist societies that have been a success are small, religious communes. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964/140 "2010-08-23T02:45:20Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > I like the fact that my father, the son of peasants, was able to receive a completely free basic, college, and medical education. I like the fact that my mother, born to a tour guide and an engineer, had the opportunity to become a preeminent microbiologist renowned throughout my nation. I like the fact that I myself, having come into this world with numerous life-threatening abnormalities, received the thousands of hours of free expert health care that it took to turn me into a fully functional and non-disabled human being. > > Believe you me, I know what a functional socialist nation looks like. I am the product of such a nation, and I will carry my pride of this fact to my very grave. When I was born our family was dirt poor. By the time I left high school my parents had moved us up to middle class. I and my two siblings all graduated from university - me with a Bachelor’s degree, and out of the other two there is one PhD and one Master’s degree. We were the first generation of our family to go to Uni. At the time there was free education in this non-socialist, non-communist country (Australia) and free medical treatment. I am now in a position where I can send my children to the best private school in the city. All this in one generation. I’m sure this board is full of stories from non-socialist, non-communist countries around the world which would make mine pale into insignificance. And I’m not going to add any fuel to the Mao/PRC fire, as other posters have already covered this, except perhaps to say +1. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-communist/550964.md?page=8)