Life is swift, craft elaborate, opportunity fleeting, trial erroneous, judgment questionable.
Monday, March 4, 2013
The Individualism of Communism
Seeing a documentary about Mao Zedong's China I was reminded of the anomaly of communism: Why are these ideologies of the collective given names of individuals? That should be enough to dismiss them.
I think it sounds plausible that communists would fall into those old habits more easily than others, despite the apparent hypocrisy. Such ideas of equality that communism convey generally appeal more to the emotional mind than the cold analytical one. I mean, we don't hear many political songs being made about the fabulous wonders of capitalism, the free market and cutting taxes. Obviously musicians tend to be more emotionally oriented. Also, right-wing opinions would make terribly boring song lyrics. Point is, I think it's safe to say that idolatry also appeals to emotion. So it makes sense.
Democracy emerged in Athens at the head of violence when Ephialtes disbanded the Council of the Aeropagus. Even then, it was the aristocrat Pericles that guided Athens first democracy but again, he was pseudo-monarch. Athenian democracy is no different than the mass democratic movements of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Democracy always engineers a tyrant. Socrates and Plato in the Republic point to the Kyklos, that democracy always turns into a tyranny.
Athenian democracy only did well under the guiding hand of Pericles. Once he was gone, it foundered and Athens suffered under two turns of the kyklos, i.e. tyrannies.
I think it sounds plausible that communists would fall into those old habits more easily than others, despite the apparent hypocrisy. Such ideas of equality that communism convey generally appeal more to the emotional mind than the cold analytical one. I mean, we don't hear many political songs being made about the fabulous wonders of capitalism, the free market and cutting taxes. Obviously musicians tend to be more emotionally oriented. Also, right-wing opinions would make terribly boring song lyrics. Point is, I think it's safe to say that idolatry also appeals to emotion. So it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy emerged in Athens at the head of violence when Ephialtes disbanded the Council of the Aeropagus. Even then, it was the aristocrat Pericles that guided Athens first democracy but again, he was pseudo-monarch. Athenian democracy is no different than the mass democratic movements of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Democracy always engineers a tyrant. Socrates and Plato in the Republic point to the Kyklos, that democracy always turns into a tyranny.
ReplyDeleteAthenian democracy only did well under the guiding hand of Pericles. Once he was gone, it foundered and Athens suffered under two turns of the kyklos, i.e. tyrannies.
Indeed,democracy is not yet solid. Without active protection it tends to dissolve. Maybe it's an alpha male thing.
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