How Much Do You Hate Commies?

Posted on | February 6, 2014 | 142 Comments

Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Vietcong terrorist, February 1968.

Salon.com’s Jesse Myerson (@JAMyerson) says “misconceptions” about Communism are the real problem, although survivors who escaped Communist regimes might beg to disagree.

Personally, I think the main problem with Communism is that we haven’t shot enough evil lying Commie scum:

Five years after the Bolshevik Revolution, Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises predicted that the Soviet project was doomed to fail. In his classic work Socialism, Mises explained that the attempt to replace the market system with central economic planning could not succeed, because the planners could not possibly have the information necessary to make all the decisions which, in a market economy, are made by individuals whose needs and desires are reflected in prices: “The problem of economic calculation is the fundamental problem of Socialism.”
“Everything brought forward in favour of Socialism during the last hundred years,” Mises wrote in 1922, “in thousands of writings and speeches, all the blood which has been spilt by the supporters of Socialism, cannot make Socialism workable. …. Socialist writers may continue to publish books about the decay of Capitalism and the coming of the socialist millennium; they may paint the evils of Capitalism in lurid colours and contrast with them an enticing picture of the blessings of a socialist society; their writings may continue to impress the thoughtless — but all this cannot alter the fate of the socialist idea.”
Undeterred by Mises’ criticism, the Soviet Union spent the next seven decades proving his prediction correct. By the time the Communist utopia collapsed in bankruptcy and disgrace, it seemed that everyone with two eyes and a brain understood the lesson: The Marxist-Leninist project was a complete failure and, as historians documented in The Black Book of Communism, tens of millions of people had died for this mistake, deliberately starved or slaughtered by totalitarian Communist governments.
The persistence of Marxist-Leninist regimes in Pyongyang and Havana notwithstanding, socialism has been utterly discredited in exactly the way Mises prophesied in 1922. . . .

Read the whole thing at The American Spectator. It’s already a Memeorandum thread, linked by Instapundit and Patterico — thanks! — and to answer the question, “How much do you hate Commies?”

Probably not as much as you should.

Category: American Spectator, Economics, History

Comments

142 Responses to “How Much Do You Hate Commies?”

RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:27 pm

If a child in a capitalist country starves to death – does your little head wrap itself around that or are you just too heartless to do so?

I seem to recall a previous thread on these pages in which you equated those of us who think modern industrial agriculture, which BTW feeds lots and lots of people here and abroad– see, e.g. Indonesian Tsunami, Philippines Typhoon, Haitian Earthquake and about a zillion others–as a good thing with those individuals who like to torture cats. I think, in reality, you merely enjoy parading your sanctimony on the interwebs and it really doesn’t matter to you what the issue is. You will darn sure everyone knows you’re the better human being. Newsflash: You’re not.
Finrod Felagund
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:37 pm

Spoken like a generic leftist troll.
K-Bob
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:52 pm

I hate Illinois Commies
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:55 pm

“More than nine decades after Mises wrote those words, it is astonishing to witness the obstinate persistence of bad arguments for communism. Of course, there were never any good arguments for communism, but there is no use trying to explain this to young fools like Jesse Myerson who insist on rooting around in the ash heap of history, attempting to revive the worst idea in the world.”

At least McCain is being honest here…he has no interest in even attempting to refute the arguments in the Salon piece; rather, its one sneering, straw-man conflating paragraph after another. More therapeutic (for him and sycophants) than enlightening…but isn’t that the point of all Wingnut media? Facts and reality are not the friends of the irrationally ideological, are they?
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:57 pm

I dare you to say that with a straight face to a Wallstreeter or Banker…but then I’d run, if I were you, before they spit their Martini out of their mouth from laughing down at you.
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:59 pm

Um, er, that’s the Conservative Republican Mantra, in case you have’t noticed…
ThomasD
February 6th, 2014 @ 1:59 pm

What exactly are the ‘arguments’ in the Salon piece other than strawmen and misdirection?
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:01 pm

You guys really do the “poor poor persecuted White Christian” routine quite well.

What an insufferable ass.
ThomasD
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:02 pm

Speaking engagement paid for by Wallstreeters, Banksters, and their cronies in the Democrat party.

But don’t tell young little P Tillman, the cognitive dissonance would harm his fragile egshell mind.
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:02 pm

I see you haven’t read it either (just like McCain)….
ThomasD
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:05 pm

If you mean we should also condemn other utopian socialist totalitarians , like fascism, and nazism then I agree.

But who said anything about being against violence? The proper response to the evils of totalitarianism is violence.
P. Tillman
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:05 pm

Guess you’ve never heard of IOKIYAR? Or the religion known as “American Exceptionalism” (but only if you’re a Republican or conservative, of course)….
ThomasD
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:10 pm

Then how did I know how to properly characterize the dishonest strawman argument that “Communism killed 110 million people for resisting disposession?’

No, you’d rather pretend we don’t know the arguments, rather than actually having to make and defend any argument yourself.

Personal attacks and a total lack of substance being the mark of communist true believers. Or did you not actually read Mises?
ThomasD
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:18 pm

Have you ever read anything Marx actually wrote?

Do you know what his religious background was? Why his father converted to Christianity?

Do you know what influence Ludwig Feuerback had on Marx?

Do you know what the central focus of his doctoral thesis was?

Marx was not so foolish to think he could replace something with nothing.
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:22 pm

Yes, and Communist regimes have such a marvelous history of tolerating Christian practice and belief without interference and persecution by the state. Really, if you’re going to troll, at least make an attempt to understand history beyond what you ordered three minutes ago in the drive-through.
rustypaladin
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:31 pm

We’re probably going to have to agree to disagree. I will point out that China seems treat all religions badly considering the forced abortions for Christians, the suppresion of Buddist in Tibet and the fact they like to use Islamic Uirgurs for spare organs. I would actually argue Atheism is the greater cause of this than Socialism. When the Puritans tried Socialism they didn’t deliberately kill anyone. Once they realized how horribly badly it was working they changed how they did things.
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:31 pm

I did read it. It’s a rehash of many things others have written or said before and most of it is patently absurd. Consider his first point, wherein he attempts to equate the rule of law in preventing theft, using the police if necessary, with the “state violence” of, oh let’s just pick one, Stalin’s forced collectivization of the kulaks in the Thirties.
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 2:34 pm

I wasn’t disputing your point generally. My point is, the Left seems to jump on Christianity more than others because of the reasons I cite.
The Osprey
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:11 pm

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (In the Philippines)
Eric Ashley
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:11 pm

This conversation raises an interesting point. The Puritans were more scientifically, as in experimentally minded than the proponents of ‘scientific socialism’.
richard mcenroe
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:27 pm

the Puritans had to eat the results of their experiments.
richard mcenroe
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:30 pm

and your brilliant insight into why this is invalid is what, exactly?
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:38 pm

Your silliness derives from the false assumption that there is only a limited amount of wealth and its distribution is zero sum. From there originates Envy and the attempt to redistribute which destroys wealth, even for those on the receiving end.
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:39 pm

So, what in your wisdom, is the proper response to totalitarianism?
RS
February 6th, 2014 @ 3:49 pm

I think you’re responding to the troll, not me.

If not, my point was Myerson’s first “misconception” is predicated upon the false equivalence between living in a country with the rule of law protecting private property and forced taking of private property in an attempt to argue that Capitalist systems are no better than Communist. It’s an absurd argument on its face.

Further, Myerson refuses to define his terms or shifts definitions in midstream when it suits his purpose, begs numerous questions, assumes facts not proven, and commits a host of other fallacies throughout. One hardly knows where to begin with a proper “fisk.” McCain does an admirable job of cutting to the chase: Communism doesn’t work, and history demonstrates that conclusively.

The reason we have to remain vigilant, however, is such shoddy thinking keeps appearing in successive generations. The reason? It’s an infantile philosophy which appeals to those who stopped growing emotionally in third grade.
RKae
February 6th, 2014 @ 4:00 pm

…Although I do tend to say that about the “Green Lantern” movie.
Um… Is Stoned in Colorado is Still Stoned? | Regular Right Guy
February 6th, 2014 @ 4:22 pm

[…] How Much Do You Hate Commies? […]
Wombat_socho
February 6th, 2014 @ 4:52 pm

You are a pathetically ignorant troll, even for a leftist. Bored now. *plonk*
Wombat_socho
February 6th, 2014 @ 4:54 pm

You’re probably too young to remember the Cold War, and too illiterate to read Solzhenitsyn, Conquest or Pipes. So much the worse for you.
*plonk*
ZZZZZZZZ......
February 6th, 2014 @ 4:57 pm

ZZZZZZZZZZ……
JeffS
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:00 pm

Yep. Concern trolling, using deliberate obtuseness. I haven’t seen this tactic since Tim Blair left his old blog for the one hosted by the Telegraph.
K-Bob
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:03 pm

Clearly an argument for more gun control.

Or a better trigger-pull to match your situation.
Alessandra
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:10 pm

First you will have to explain to me why the starvation of a child in a capitalist country is at least 100 times better than if it occurred in a communist country. Not from your lofty (and belly full) perspective, but from the one of the child. Take all the children that starved today in capitalist countries while you sat there comfortably asking me to condemn the commies as the only horrible people in the world. From the perspective of these children who starved today, why is their starvation so lovely or so innocent in your eyes compared to the children who starved in communist countries?
K-Bob
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:11 pm

Note the total lack of self-awareness in the ironic use of “you guys” at the beginning.

Right in the very midst of dividing people into groups in order to demonize and defame, these clowns struggle to convince people that others are the “real” racists.

Clearly the cause of liberty is far from their minds.
K-Bob
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:16 pm

I think it goes deeper than just obvious leftist Christian hatred. China may be a bad actor against all religion, but their persecution of Christians pales in comparison to the jihad and ethnic cleansing going on in muslim-controlled lands right now.

The left has made common cause with the muslim, anti-Christian and anti-Jew cleansing. Some are looking at the data and have recognized that we are, in fact, in the midst of a new Holocaust.

barack and his rich, white sycophant donors have been helping this new holocaust along.

The resemblance to the connection between al-Husseini and the Axis powers is beyond horrifying.
Alessandra
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:29 pm

India has the highest number of undernourished people in the world — 230 million. But that’s OK if they all live horrible lives because of hunger. And, a million children starve in India per year, so that’s 50 million in 50 years – just counting young kids. And that’s just India.

Yeah, you don’t know what is equivalent to what.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/16/10424930-indias-hunger-shame-3000-children-die-every-day-despite-economic-growth?lite

http://www.ifpri.org/tools/2013-ghi-map

And it’s true that while the Rwandan genocide was going on, it was reported that Clinton was out playing golf. In your view, that makes him not evil, I suppose. See, he wasn’t murdering his own citizens, he was simply turning his gaze the other way regarding the genocide of other people. The wonderfulness of capitalism.

So superior, after all.
Alessandra
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:36 pm

Why do you think that torturing a chicken or a veal or a piglet in any way moral and torturing kittens is not?
Wombat_socho
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:49 pm

Modern agriculture is not torture, and if you keep insisting it is against all logic and reason, you’ll not be darkening the comment sections here much longer.
Wombat_socho
February 6th, 2014 @ 5:51 pm

You can’t see the difference between deliberate starvation as government policy and a Third World country with a badly broken distribution system? I’m not waiting for you to say something dumb about modern agriculture again. You’re done here.

*plonk*
JeffS
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:01 pm

“Veal” comes from calves.

Just so ya know.
JeffS
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:02 pm

Thank you.
Zohydro
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:05 pm

Not Alessandra…

Et tu, vvombate?
Alessandra
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:08 pm

Touchy subjects, eh? 🙂

It’s OK… but thanks for the “not Alessandra” 😉
Benghazi=squirrel
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:14 pm

Title of this thread should really be changed to reflect the sentiments and subtext of the author/commenters…you know, for the sake of honest discussion (which you are interested in, I assume…LOL).

Here are a few suggestions for you to gnaw on, rabid dogs:

“How much do you hate Liberals?”
“How much do you hate Obama?”
“How much do you hate Rationality?”

But here’s my suggestion, encapsulating the mood here very well I think:

“How much do you Hate?”

If you want to go in a different direction altogether, here are some others that pop to mind:

“White Christians Under Attack by Illegitimate Kenyan President”

“How to substitute the word “Commie” for “Liberal” in 6 simple-to-understand paragraphs”

“Glzaya %^!!$%#o929ierjk” (what people usually hear when people like you open their muzzles)/
Quartermaster
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:20 pm

Alas, not in the context it was used.
Quartermaster
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:22 pm

Wallstreeters and Bankers have both said that. With a a straight face, I might add.
Quartermaster
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:23 pm

The only people I’ve seen say or write that have been you leftist wingnuts.
Quartermaster
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:24 pm

The trolls are strong tonite.
Quartermaster
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:27 pm

The title is accurate. However, if you go open your own blog you can post any headline you like and it will always be accurate. Obviously, it can’t be any other way since you write it, nicht wahr?

RSM has the right to post any headline he likes, and it does fit quite well with what he wrote. Smokes you fascists out quite well too.
DaveO
February 6th, 2014 @ 6:29 pm

Alessandra is certainly out of character. Hacked ID?

Cap’n Ed featured a good essay on Communism recently: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2014/02/05/communism-socialism-and-christianity-one-of-these-does-not-belong/