have i got news for you

The Soviet Union was Marxist Tsarism, the same way Modern China is living through the Maoist "dynasty," and Cuba through Marxist caudillismo. The horrors and excesses of �Marxist� states are similar to the form of government that existed before them.

About 15 years ago many European thinkers were pondering how could they have backed Marxism, the ideological justification for Stalinism.

Many thought that these were the "demons of reason." I disagree.

Marxism worked as a religious belief system. Religion gives people meaning for their life, but it can morally blind them, leading them to commit horrible acts in the name of furthering god�s work.

Marxism is in many ways secular Christianity. Both lead the believer to the promise land: one on earth, the other in the afterlife.

The excesses of Marxists are the same of those of religious zealots since both are in many ways, the same.

It was the religious faith in Marxism that blinded so many European intellectuals from the crimes of Stalin, even when there was plenty of evidence right under their noses that he was a bloodthirsty dictator.

This explanation doesn�t absolved Marxism in any case. It just explains what happens. For that matter, the crimes of zealot Christians do not wash away due to their good intentions either.

Originally posted by ill_teknique Originally posted by Paul This is utterly ridiculous, next you'll be saying the west supported the Taliban in Iran, trained Kmere Rouge terrorists in Cambodia and supported murderous fascist dictators in latin America. actually the Taliban got 53 million dollars from the US gov't in 96 and the Al-Quada leader Osama got 6 billion dollars form the US gov't from 1989 to 1992

Those statements don't mean much.
The Taliban got that money before they "turned bad."
Bin Laden got that money because he was part of the anti-Soviet mujahadeen (or however you spell it).

To the original poster: Communism is dead.  Give it up.

Absolutely true, Mixcoatl.

The United States is by the no means the good guy of the world. WWII was the last time they could have been considered so. After this, they became so desperate in their ideological war with the Soviet Union that they would have chosen a murderous pro-US dictator over a just-minded communist, just because he was a communist. The reason why everyone no longer trusts Americans these days is entirely the Americans' fault. 

Originally posted by Mixcoatl Originally posted by Tobodai Lets ask th emillions of dead Ukranians what they think about government managed economies...oh wait, we cant! I don't think the famines in the Ukraine during Stalin's rule was caused by economic mismanagement. It was deliberately caused by Stalin, he could have avoided it if he wanted to. Blaming the deaths in the Ukraine on government managed economy is like blaming the deaths of the Irish potato famine on laissez faire capitalism.

Very very true.

It was the Ukrainians whom Stalin disliked most among the ethnicities of the Soviet Union.

He had complained about The Ukrainian nationalism for many times.

The Ukrainians remember the famine still in vain.I saw many memorials dedicated to the famine when I was in the Ukraine in August.It is called Holodomor,a term The Ukrainian scholars want to refer to as The Ukrainian Genocide.