SOS Letter from China

[Snake-Pit]

They don't like machines doing their job because that'll put people out of a job, I presume, however, forcing them to work makes it a whole lot easier to control.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Snake-Pit

[Ace Nova]

What you have been taught by the capitalist system is that communism always leads to genocide. Do you know why they peddle that line? So that workers accept it as reality rather than discussing ways to organize without inadvertently creating tyranny.

I was reading through this thread when I read the second part of your statement...which is incredibly inquisitive...sorry I missed it the first go-around....

The problem with following the Marxist path (absolutely) is that it always leads to tyranny. Even if a group were to follow it as written, the dictatorship of the proletariat needs to elect a leader....(or a ruling majority)....and they will not give their power back to the people once things stabilize....this has already happened many times throughout history....humankind must learn from its mistakes.

Now, if you want to form a "Marxist" party in the midst of a democratic government (with checks and balances) then I'm all for it. If that's what the people want, then they can vote to make it happen....if it gets out of control...turns into "tyranny" then they can easily be removed from office and the people can take back the power....is that not closer to "true" socialism than what "absolute" communism is?

Edited November 27, 2013 by Kasanova King

[Ace Nova]

All form of human endeavour will be coloured by the ability (or lack of) of the people executing it, by which reckoning no way or tao or method ever functions in reality as it does on paper, this isn't to say that they aren't functional, be it capitalism or socialism or whatever. Personally i think that, despite shortcomings on both sides, i will always lean or sympathise somewhat with socialist ideals because, at the bottom of it they function on the basis of the greater good, it's an inclusive philosophy.

Quite frankly, as far nullifying the individual goes, personally, i think they're both pretty even it's just socialism, in the eyes of some, is more clear cut with it's intent. Political systems, ideologies all function under the concept of society, the populous, so in a sense they all nullify the individual to a point. Patriotism nullifies the individual, this is something that a lot of red-blooded capitalists ignore.

And not to have too much of a pop at America but their weird fear of socialism under the guise of 'it nullifies the individual' doesn't really sit comfortably alongside the 'you're either with us or against us' modern American ethic. I remember shades saying once that if you didn't take off your hat and stand up for the national anthem at baseball there's a good chance you'll get accosted.

The point of my saying this is that these age-old adages like 'it kills the individual' are decrepit hoaxes that do not bear even the most simplistic of scrutinies, the truth is always in the grey area and to me the grey area is best defined by the notion that political systems are as good as the people attempting to execute them.

Does the corporate power structure begat by every successful capitalist regime not nullify the individual too?

The notion that any man-made system is or will ever be perfect is just daydreaming.

Sorry my response is 3 weeks late but I had to respond to such an eloquently worded post....hope ya understand, Lenny....

I agree with the vast majority of what you write. I'm not sure if you grasped the entire concept of my argument....but long story short....I'm not against socialism....AS LONG AS IT IS A PART OF A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES....if the people want to elect Karl Marx for president, then I'm all for it (the election process, anyway... ) but if 4 years later, they no longer want Mr.Marx in charge, they will have the option of removing him from power.

Get it?

[Snake-Pit]

I saw people practicing Falun Gong in Chinatown today and this lady gave me some Falun Gong flyers and asked me to sign this petition saying 'It'll save lives'

I signed their petition to the UN Human Rights High Commissioner to stop China from targeting innocent Falun Gong for their organs.

(I didn't even know they did that until today). There is no organ donation in China, organs are harvested from executed prisoners. In 2006 an investigation into these claims concluded them to be true and that tens of thousands Falun Gong practitioners may have been killed for their organs.

Here's a link to their online petition

www.dafoh.org/petition-to-the-united-nations

Edited May 4, 2014 by Snake-Pit