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   Communism has been disproven historically and scientifically, yet it (and    
   its cousin socialism) keep popping up again and again.   
      
   Why do we never learn our lesson?   
      
   I guess one change is that it is no longer possible in big parts of the    
   world to argue that the haves exploit the not-haves since general living    
   conditions have improved astronomically.   
      
   So the modern communists and socialists have found new groups to pit    
   against each other. Men/women, Heterosexuals/*sexuals, Man/planet and I'm    
   sure many other groups.   
      
   The playbook is the same, support the minority against the majority and    
   feed it with hate and envy.   
      
   The problem however is that the party then consists of warring factions    
   and the groups today are too small (except for the global warming angle    
   with man against the planet) so it can never dominate in the same way it    
   could in the 1800s when living conditions were so much worse.   
      
   Now what about the planet?   
      
   I'd argue that this is the single, best success socialism/communism had    
   since after WW2. You contrl the masses with fear, the politicians are the    
   only one who have the solution, and you can be absolved by paying taxes    
   for climate compensation. And only the politicians can absolve you.   
      
   Since it's about the planet, politicians claim the power over markets and    
   production in order to save everyones lives. Striking similarities.   
      
   The problem however is, as we all know, that global warming is a natural    
   phenomenon that has happened since time immemorial. Northern europe has    
   had 3 km of ice covering it, and grapes have been grown in sweden in the    
   middle ages. The vikings started farms in greenland etc. And all these    
   changes happened without man.   
      
   CO2 was 10x higher if not more during periods of very distans history and    
   there were no tipping points or global disasters. What happened was that    
   the planet was basically covered in vegetation without big deserts.   
      
   So by claiming that we can no longer emit CO2 and that we can no longer    
   consume, that we must sacrifice for the planet, living conditions will    
   deteriorate, quality of life will suffer, and this yields fertile ground    
   for the next authoritarians who'll take the power back from the climate    
   lobby and give their riches to the people.   
      
   So my greatest fear is that the current mass hysteria about the climate    
   will breeds the dictators and authoritarians of the next generation.   
      
   Best regards,   
   Daniel   
      
      
   On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Ilya Shambat wrote:   
      
   > There are lessons that stand to be learned from just about everything. I am   
   now focusing on lessons that should come from the world’s experience of   
   Communism.   
   >   
   > The main lesson from Communism is that you don’t get to keep people’s   
   loyalty for long if you insist on treating your workers like dirt. When a   
   section of a population is being mistreated, it is only a matter of time   
   before someone comes along and    
   caters to that. With Communism, the hardest lessons were learned by places   
   like Russia and China, where abuses were the worst, and the least hard lessons   
   were learned by places like America, where the abuses were the least.   
   >   
   > We have some in conservatism claiming that anyone who’s had anything to do   
   with Communism is evil. In fact most people who supported Communism came from   
   the right place. They didn’t like seeing workers being mistreated. They   
   didn’t like seeing    
   women being mistreated. They didn’t like seeing people of other races being   
   mistreated. Many of these people were ethical and compassionate. Much more so   
   than people who want them lynched.   
   >   
   > While Marxism itself is wrong – and I have written about all the ways in   
   which Marxism is wrong – it doesn’t take an evil person to want to improve   
   the conditions for workers, women and other races. All this does not require a   
   revolution and can    
   be done within the framework of capitalism and democracy. When I worked in the   
   computer industry I did not feel exploited. I was being paid right and I was   
   being treated right. These people in business have learned their lesson from   
   Communism, and they    
   made correct changes in their practices.   
   >   
   > It is in no way valid to advocate for slaughter of propertied class. It is   
   however valid to work to improve conditions for workers, women and other   
   races. Once again, this does not require a revolution; it can be done within   
   the framework of the system    
   that we have now.   
   >   
   > There are many valid arguments in favor of business being good to the   
   workers. There is an argument toward compassion – that the worker has a   
   family to support. There is an argument toward reason – that the worker is   
   working hard and should be    
   correctly compensated. There is an argument toward the Golden Rule. One does   
   not have to be a Commie to care about such things. Both rationality and   
   Christianity favor this approach. And a person claiming to practice either has   
   it demanded of himself    
   that he treat people in general – and his workers in particular - well.   
   >   
   > There are also many valid arguments in favor of better treatment of the   
   environment. What we have here is timeless treasures that man has not created   
   and cannot recreate. These should be protected, even as the world goes on with   
   scientific and    
   technological progress.   
   >   
   > This being done, the more idealistically minded people will work within the   
   system instead of advocating for a revolution. They will find home in the   
   capitalist system in fields that they can believe in. And the same people who   
   are now troublemakers    
   will becomes significant contributors, applying what is in many cases   
   extraordinary creative intelligence to come up with and implement real   
   solutions to the problems of the world.   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)