Socialism is to the economy as ...

Originally posted by scherzo
Just Marxist-Leninist.

And that's your excuse?

Originally posted by Palynka
And that's your excuse?

It's not enough?

Originally posted by scherzo
It's not enough?

If you say so.

Originally posted by Palynka
If you say so.

No, honest question. What bad things have we done in the name of our proposed economic structure?

Originally posted by scherzo
No, honest question. What bad things have we done in the name of our proposed economic structure?

Who are 'you'? You called yourself a "Marxist-Leninist". This term has a loaded history. From wikipedia:

Marxism-Leninism is a communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted as the ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist-leninist

Is that who 'you' are? If not, please describe who 'you' are in more than two words.

Originally posted by Palynka
Who are 'you'? You called yourself a "Marxist-Leninist". This term has a loaded history. From wikipedia:

Marxism-Leninism is a communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted as the ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era.

http://en. ...[text shortened]...

Is that who 'you' are? If not, please describe who 'you' are in more than two words.

For the purposes of this discussion, I am mostly Marxist, but also Leninist, as I feel that Lenin's ideals were a natural outreach of Marx's.

Originally posted by scherzo
For the purposes of this discussion, I am mostly Marxist, but also Leninist, as I feel that Lenin's ideals were a natural outreach of Marx's.

There are many strands of Marxists...

What would your preferred economical organization be like?

Originally posted by scherzo
[b]For the purposes of this discussion, I am mostly Marxist,

Sadly, that would be Harpo.

Originally posted by scherzo
For the purposes of this discussion, I am mostly Marxist, but also Leninist, as I feel that Lenin's ideals were a natural outreach of Marx's.

Marx was the worst thing that ever happened to socialism. And Lenin was even worse.

Originally posted by scherzo
For the purposes of this discussion, I am mostly Marxist, but also Leninist, as I feel that Lenin's ideals were a natural outreach of Marx's.

Then you misunderstand one of the two, and probably the latter.

Originally posted by DrKF
Then you misunderstand one of the two, and probably the latter.

I have two latters in that one, which were you talking about?

Originally posted by rwingett
Marx was the worst thing that ever happened to socialism. And Lenin was even worse.

What kind of IWW guy are you?!?

Originally posted by scherzo
What kind of IWW guy are you?!?

Marx fostered the authoritarian wing of the socialist movement. Lenin solidified that with the nonsense about the 'vanguard party.' The two were a linear progression straight to Stalin, which set socialism back about a hundred years. Millions of lives and billions of dollars later, what does the world have to show for the Marxist-Leninist misadventure?

Bakunin represented the anarchist wing of the socialist movement. That was carried on by the IWW. But the false hope of the premature Bolshevik revolution shifted the balance toward the authoritarian, Marxist-Leninist conception of socialism. The Kronstadt sailors were then massacred, the anarchists were suppressed, all power was stripped from the soviets, and socialism was led down the path toward perdition.

Socialism existed before Marx. Maybe one day it will recover from his influence.

Originally posted by scherzo
Democracy is to politics.

Discuss!

You mean only a small percentage of the population participates?

Originally posted by scherzo
Socialism.

But Gaza isn't relevant to this.

In capitalism, unrestricted capitalism, we get the robber barons. That's worse than Stalinism.

Gaza is extremely relevant. Why are the Palestinians fighting? If they stop strugggling, the Israelis will give them enough food to live on, medicine, etc. That's socialism. It doesn't really matter which government you depend on.

Palestinians want more than that. They want to run their own affairs. They want choice.

Freedom of choice is what capitalism is all about.