Is Deliberately Starving Millions of the Populace to death A Good Thing

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

Rupert Murdoch famously had a bust of Lenin in his room as a student.

So presumably he's a Commie as well.

Perhaps he changed his mind. I was a member of the Labour Party aged 16 or at least I would have been had they been able to get their act together to process my application.

drc

Generali wrote: »

I've met plenty of middle aged or elderly people that genuinely believe in various forms of Communist rule. A late Uncle of mine for example.

Middle class students and post-students seem to make up a disproportionate number of Communists it should be said.

If only Stalin had stuck to smoking pot in his bedsit.......

When I was at university a Che Guevara t shirt (or the hammer and sickle ones) were almost compulsory wear for any hip student. Normally bought in Camden market.

jonewer

Dave101t wrote: »

the British also invented concentration camps.....

I really do wonder if its worth arguing with people who trot out these mythical statements that so many seem to take for granted without bothering ever to look at the facts.

Another of my (least)favourites is "We import most of our food" *sigh*

Masomnia

Generali wrote: »

Perhaps he changed his mind. I was a member of the Labour Party aged 16 or at least I would have been had they been able to get their act together to process my application.

I'm curious Gen, was it studying economics that made you the right-leaning, freemarketeer that you are?

I used to be fairly left leaning, then found this place...

vaporate

Dave101t wrote: »

your looking at one facet of very complicated people who shaped the entire culture of their continents.
didnt we butcher thousands for no less than refusing christianity? just because our horrors are mostly past memory doesnt make them less significant.
the British also invented concentration camps.....

Yeh, Erith, sidcup, orpington lmao

jonewer

Generali wrote: »

Middle class students and post-students seem to make up a disproportionate number of Communists it should be said.

Students are often left wing because they stand to benefit from other people paying loadsa tax, while not paying tax themselves.

When/If they do get a job, they quickly swing right when they see how much they have to pay to keep the parasites in Special Brew and Lambert & Butlers.

Masomnia

jonewer wrote: »

Students are often left wing because they stand to benefit from other people paying loadsa tax, while not paying tax themselves.

When/If they do get a job, they quickly swing right when they see how much they have to pay to keep the parasites in Special Brew and Lambert & Butlers.

Indeed, they don't have really any money so don't object to 'sharing the wealth'!

A friend of mine (we're students) has been campaigning for Labour recently, and always bangs on about how 'redistributing wealth' is a good thing. He came home one day from work and complained that petrol's getting really expensive. We pointed out to him that it was mostly tax, and due to go up again on 1st April due to duties. He went all quiet at this point, funnily enough! Happy to spout about redistributing wealth, but when it's his wealth it's another matter entirely!

kennyboy66_2

Generali wrote: »

I've met plenty of middle aged or elderly people that genuinely believe in various forms of Communist rule. A late Uncle of mine for example.

Middle class students and post-students seem to make up a disproportionate number of Communists it should be said.

The first bit should be fairly obvious.
British communism dates to the 1920's. Its fairly easy that anyone who had a brother or father killed in the WW1 might at least be attracted to communism.

If that didn't persuade you then the way you were treated as a docker or mineworker might.

What's perhaps more surprising is that compared to say France or Italy, communism has never taken off in the UK - membership of communist parties in those countries has always been higher by a factor of 20.

Hard to say why anyone post WW2 would be commuinst once the horrors or both Russia (Stalin) and China (Mao) were known.

Perhaps students are just idealistic.

I'm not quite sure what your point is.
The market allocates resources more efficiently most of the time (although perhaps not in extremis) ?
People are irrational ?
You like flogging a dead horse ?

ukcarper

Masomnia wrote: »

People do often say that Communism's good in theory, so I ask them exactly in what way. 'Umm... well...'

Has any communist government ever been voted in? Genuine question, because I can't think of any. How many of them have free and fair elections in which the population are asked 'do you want a communist system?', it just doesn't happen.

Communism is always forced on people and strips them of their freedom and right to pursue whatever goals they choose.

Isnt that the point in theory

Sapphire

Dave101t wrote: »

your looking at one facet of very complicated people who shaped the entire culture of their continents.
didnt we butcher thousands for no less than refusing christianity? just because our horrors are mostly past memory doesnt make them less significant.
the British also invented concentration camps.....

Irrelevant. One wrong doesn't make a right. As someone whose parents originated in a part of central Europe that was handed to the Soviets, I am very well aware of the fact that Russian communism alone was responsible for the deaths of millions of people – though many western 'socialists' like to deny that or use apologistic 'arguments' such as yours to avoid the issue. There's no conceivable justification for the horrors Russian communism inflicted on central Europe (and parts of central Asia).