As a Polish American, I'm quite well versed in the Soviet era, in many ways it was bad, of course, there was lack of freedom, oppression, anti-religion, and a stagnant economy.
This includes 10's of thousands of Poles killed for resisting the Soviet regime, and this goes on into the 1980's when Polish priest Popieluszko was killed.
However, on the whole it was more Nationalistic, and Socially right wing, than modern Capitalist Poland.
Gays were not allowed to have parades in Soviet Poland, there were almost no immigrants, everyone drove a Polish car, the economy was not controlled largely by foreigners, and Jews were barred from holding positions of power.
These are things that have actually become quite more Liberal in modern Capitalist Poland, as opposed to Soviet Poland.
What sort of fool would simply mention this....and shrug it off....
"...the Soviet era, in many ways it was bad, of course, there was lack of freedom, oppression, anti-religion, and a stagnant economy."
I'd be more than thrilled to discuss the iniquities of Liberals, Socialists, etc. in contemporary America....
....but far.....FAR....more interested and prepared to remind all of the source of our modern political and economic problems.....Marx, Hegel, Stalin and Roosevelt.
Clearly, you lack the ability to prioritize.
Stick with King John at the gates of Vienna.
Communism is an inferior system, but so is Capitalism.
Communism leads to lack of economic growth, but remains a little Socially Conservative.
Capitalism leads to somewhat strong economic growth, but remains very Socially Liberal.
Fascism leads to the strongest economic growth, and remains the most Socially Conservative.
Fascism is actually what Republicans should be supporting, but many are too duped to know better.
You're a moron.
1. Modern history presents us with two divergent models of economic arrangement: socialism, and capitalism. One of these appears preoccupied with the common good, and social betterment, the other with profits and production.
2. In its modern beginnings, socialism was optimistic and well intentioned, without the overlay of its contemporary varieties that tend to bemoan prosperity, romanticize poverty, and promote a view that place individual rights are a secondary concern. This is to say that the earliest socialists sought the fullest possible flourishing of humanity, “the common good.”
3. A half-century before Karl Marx published the
Communist Manifesto, there was Gracchus Babeuf’s
Plebeian Manifesto, which was later renamed the
Manifesto of the Equals. Babeuf’s early (1796) work has been described as socialist, anarchist, and communist, and has had an enormous impact. He wrote: “The French Revolution was nothing but a precursor of another revolution, on which will be bigger, more solemn, and which will be the last…We reach for something more sublime and more just: the common good or the community of goods! Nor more individual property in land: the land belongs to no one. We demand, we want, the common enjoyment of the fruits of the land: the fruits belong to all.” Here, then, are the major themes of socialist theory. It takes very little interpolation to find that opponents profit at the expense of the environment, and conditions of inequality in society.
4. For Babeur, socialism would distribute prosperity across the entire population, as it would “[have] us eat four good meals a day, [dress} us most elegantly, and also [provide] those of us who are fathers of families with charming houses worth a thousand louis each.”
5. Oscar Wilde: “Under socialism…there will be no people living in fetid dens and fetid rags, and bringing up unhealthy, hunger pinched children in the midst of impossible and absolutely repulsive surroundings…Each member of society will share in the general prosperity and happiness of the society…”
6. Marxism rested on the assumption that the condition of the working classes would grow ever worse under capitalism, that there would be but two classes: one small and rich, the other vast and increasingly impoverished, and revolution would be the anodyne that would result in the “common good.” But
by the early 20th century, it was clear that this assumption was completely wrong! Under capitalism, the standard of living of all was improving: prices falling, incomes rising, health and sanitation improving, lengthening of life spans, diets becoming more varied, the new jobs created in industry paid more than most could make in agriculture, housing improved, and middle class industrialists and business owners displaced nobility and gentry as heroes.
From a speech by Rev. Robert A. Sirico, President, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.
Delivered at Hillsdale College, October 27, 2006
BTW.....did I mention that you're a moron?