Communism?

[chang50]

How many atheists on this site are or have ever been Communists?Judging by some recent knee jerk reaction posts you might think the two positions are synonomous..

[chang50]

How many atheists on this site are or have ever been Communists?Judging by some recent knee jerk reaction posts you might think the two positions are synonomous..

I'll start,I have never ever been a Communist,even as a idealistic,naive youth.

[Baron Von PWN]

I once considered myself a Communist in High school, as embarrassing that is to say now. Idoubt anyone would seriously claim I am a communist now. Though I'm certainly an atheist.

[pmchugh]

Atheist, not communist. A poll might help.

[Phatscotty]

I think if you didn't state your premise backwards, you would have more answers if you started with "Communists tend to be Atheists".

[army of nobunaga]

It is working in China and will continue to work.

there is nothing wrong with communism.

The fear from you people leaches through a stink that I can smell from the laptop.

[saxitoxin]

I am a card-carrying communist (SED).

Literally, here's my card:



Unfortunately, of course, I haven't been able to renew it for awhile due to the principal sabotage event of 1990 orchestrated by The Main Adversary.

[Phatscotty]

It is working in China and will continue to work.

there is nothing wrong with communism.

The fear from you people leaches through a stink that I can smell from the laptop.

What do you mean

[saxitoxin]

I once considered myself a Communist in High school, as embarrassing that is to say now. Idoubt anyone would seriously claim I am a communist now. Though I'm certainly an atheist.

Baron, according to your profile you are 23.

At the rate you're going, by the time your high school reunion rolls around, you'll be an Orthodox Rabbi.

[Baron Von PWN]

I once considered myself a Communist in High school, as embarrassing that is to say now. Idoubt anyone would seriously claim I am a communist now. Though I'm certainly an atheist.

Baron, according to your profile you are 23.

At the rate you're going, by the time your high school reunion rolls around, you'll be an Orthodox Rabbi.

Hmm I've never met a Rabi i didin't like. Also I'm already circumcised...

[Army of GOD]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

[Phatscotty]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

[Army of GOD]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

the town I'm from is pretty conservative so that doesn't really make sense.

I think I really got into communism because that's the best government type in Civilization II (no corruption and you don't have to deal with a congress like in a Democracy).

[Phatscotty]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

the town I'm from is pretty conservative so that doesn't really make sense.

I think I really got into communism because that's the best government type in Civilization II (no corruption and you don't have to deal with a congress like in a Democracy).

I especially liked how military units in the city made the people happier.

[Baron Von PWN]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

I really don't know where you get this "academia are communist" nonsense. Marxism/communism got short shrift at my University, other than discussion of its impacts on Russia and the fsu.

[Phatscotty]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

I really don't know where you get this "academia are communist" nonsense. Marxism/communism got short shrift at my University, other than discussion of its impacts on Russia and the fsu.

The Communist party of the USA changed it's name to the Progressive Party of USA

[saxitoxin]

haha I was obsessed with communism in high school, but I think it was more of a joke than a serious idealogy.

I'm thinking I might get a hammer and sickle tattoo just for the hell of it though.

You ever wonder if it's possible you were too clever for the academic brainwashing to firmly take hold?

I really don't know where you get this "academia are communist" nonsense. Marxism/communism got short shrift at my University, other than discussion of its impacts on Russia and the fsu.

The Communist party of the USA changed it's name to the Progressive Party of USA

That's not strictly true and I suspect you're about to get some flack for it.

Metaphorically, however, you and Watts or West or whomever said that may have a case.

Either ANSWER or Not In Our Name - I can't recall - was formed as a front group of the RCPUSA back after 9/11 as a vehicle to recruit members from the mainstream who otherwise would never know about them and was probably the biggest PR success communism had in the US in 40 years. This was never much of a secret - IIRC Bob Avakian even wrote their full page Stop the War ad in the NY Times from wherever in Europe it is he's been camped the last 20 years to escape the US and Canadian warrants on him. Both of those groups had support from Democrat Party backbenchers, but it's more likely a marriage of convenience than ideology.

The RCPUSA, Socialist Alternative and other groups in the Maoist, Trotskyist and Pathfinder tendancies have had a boon from 9/11 and the immigration hysteria and recovered most of the ground they lost in the 90s but most likely the steam that's been lost from the immigration debate and the election of Obama has neutered most of their momentum.

[Phatscotty]

I know, I have failed to find solid evidence of that actual statement. However, if you look at progressive ideals and Communists ideals, they are 2 peas in a pod, and the statement is based on that. The substance of the ideals is far more important than an official name change.

I should rephrase: Communists and Progressives share the same ideology. As related to BVP, it's easy to call it silly that Communists are teaching in our schools. But everyone knows the Progressives and the Liberals DOMINATE academia, especially at the union level.

Been going on since Woodrow Wilson started shipping in European Professors, and it only took a generation to get to the great depression.

[saxitoxin]

I know, I have failed to find solid evidence of that actual statement. However, if you look at progressive ideals and Communists ideals, they are 2 peas in a pod, and the statement is based on that.

Okay, I'll acknowledge/understand the metaphorical intent of your statement but will have to agree to disagree with its applied meaning as described above.

[Phatscotty]

I know, I have failed to find solid evidence of that actual statement. However, if you look at progressive ideals and Communists ideals, they are 2 peas in a pod, and the statement is based on that.

Okay, I'll acknowledge/understand the metaphorical intent of your statement but will have to agree to disagree with its applied meaning as described above.

I hate you

heh, You can operate on that if you want. I want to show at least 4 examples off the top of my head, but it will have to wait for tomorrow.

[chang50]

I think if you didn't state your premise backwards, you would have more answers if you started with "Communists tend to be Atheists".

Maybe committed communist ideologues do tend to be atheists,so what?They are only a small fraction of the total number of atheists worldwide,including hundreds of millions of religious atheists in Asia mostly.
It seems almost every time someone is critical of Christianity,we get this facile kneejerk reaction along the lines of "the communists were responsible for far more deaths",as if that was remotely pertinent to the subject at hand.By that standard,and I would not use this other than to illustrate my point,there is a strong connection between Catholicism and Fascism in recent European history,Germany,Italy,Spain,Portugal,Croatia,not forgetting large swathes of Latin America under US protection.

[saxitoxin]

I know, I have failed to find solid evidence of that actual statement. However, if you look at progressive ideals and Communists ideals, they are 2 peas in a pod, and the statement is based on that.

Okay, I'll acknowledge/understand the metaphorical intent of your statement but will have to agree to disagree with its applied meaning as described above.

I hate you

heh, You can operate on that if you want. I want to show at least 4 examples off the top of my head, but it will have to wait for tomorrow.

Well Democrats don't really need the meager resources the fringe can provide. Rather, they're obliged to corral all parts of the U.S. left as part of the National Front strategy the U.S. uses for domestic political discipline - where all competing ideologies are penned up together in a single patriotic mass movement ... the left-wing loosely under the Democrat Party and the right loosely under the Republican Party, but the two parties ultimately unified; the system the U.S. imposed on itself after WWII so that nuclear weapons would be in the hands of a boringly predictable regime with no risk of sudden radicalism as had (and still?) plagued Europe.

Anyway, I digress.

Interesting thread, chang50, Scott, BVP, et. al.!

[Army of GOD]

Interesting thread, chang50, Scott, BVP, et. al.!

f*ck you

[nietzsche]

I'm very interested in the inner life of those living in a communist state. Both with capitalist "propaganda" and without it.

It's clear that capitalism is failing (right now) in enriching the inner life of people, in fact it empoverishes it. In general.

[pmchugh]

It's clear that capitalism is failing (right now) in enriching the inner life of people, in fact it empoverishes it. In general.

+1 although I don't think communism is likely to be the answer either.