If you think about it, this contention is actually a great self-own because it implies all socialists of the past were either idiots or charlatans. Not a great look for the present day purveyor of the ideas.
10/27/25: "Are people really this crazy?" Anyone who asks this question is nuts. And anyone who mocks the person asking that question is nuts. You will be able to identify all of us on October 31st by our Brooks Brothers-Day-Glo straight-jackets. Ignore "Bottoms Up" Buttigieg, who has had nothing to do since January 21st (he just invited himself to come along before we could say "no").
It seems there is an entire generation, minds muddled with bullshit, that completely believes the "Socialism/communism has never *really* been tried before!" argument. Of course, they are referring to the elusive, magical *pure* socialism, not that perverted shit we saw in all those shithole countries that called themselves communist.
Speaking of memory holes, not long ago I saw the first episode of a Netflix documentary series about World War II.
It depicted the German invasion of Poland from the West. I expected to see the corresponding Soviet invasion of Poland from the East, next, but it never came. Instead the show went directly to the German attack on the Soviet Union.
My son's middle-school history curriculum in 2020 at Dwight-Englewood School was "America sucks." The reading was Zinn, Kendi, and several other authors who had a solely negative perspective on the US. It was taught by a guy who told us he was "challenging the narrative" of American history. He denied being "woke" at a parent-teacher conference, but I just took a look at his LinkedIn and his politics are quite clear.
Frank Herbert was visionary. Dune is amazing. Too bad about the movie adaptations. They don't capture the small details that convey the deeper truths beyond the plot.
I've just pulled a number of Google-search definitions of fascism as they seem remarkably like ... governments that declare themselves Marxist:
For example:
-- "a governmental system led by a dictator [politburo] having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism ..."
-- "Philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state, unquestioning obedience to its leader[s], subordination of the individual will to the state's authority, and harsh suppression of dissent."
-- "Many experts agree that fascism is a mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of the nation over the individual."
About the only difference between it and Marxism is racial differentiation.
The program is the same but the rhetoric has some opposites.
For example, in communism, the party embodies the will of the people and the state is a tool to enact that will, which is supposed to "wither away." Whereas in fascism, the state embodies the will of the people, and the party is a tool to bring about that state.
In communism, bourgeois society alienates man from his true socialist self, and recovers the ability to be a socialist when society is destroyed, whereas in fascism, man is alienated by being excluded or exiled from society and is saved by participation in the state.
In communism, merit is whatever benefits the powerful, and that's bad, so we won'thave merit, and in fascism merit is whatever benefits the powerful, ans that's good, so we will have "merit".
Yep, evergreen and ever stupid. Even if we accept the premise, it means that "pure Comminism", whatever that's supposed to mean, is essentially impossible to implement, given the scope and scale of the attempts we've seen.
Oh, and the attempts have resulted in the death of tens of millions, not to mention poverty and national level catastrophe and the hollowing out of millions of souls.
Continuing the attempt is a damnable exercise, even if there is some non-zero chance of finally succeeding--which there isn't.
It's odd. They're supposed to be pure materialists, yet they seem to believe in some kind of Platonic ideal of communism that will someday manifest from the world of forms.
The Commie argument. You are in a 4 story building. Commies convince you that you can fly. They tell you to go jump out the second story window and flap your arms. You fall and break your leg. Then they say you weren’t high enough go up to the roof jump off and flap your arms. You die. Then they say you didn’t flap your arms fast enough.
Communism = communes have existed in it's pure form. From AI: "Most American communes ended due to a mix of practical, social, and economic challenges. Key factors included internal conflicts and lack of effective leadership, difficulties sharing resources and responsibilities, disputes over land ownership, economic strain from lack of income or resources, and the effects of drug and alcohol abuse among some members". Now, multiply that by a nation population. See what you get. Oh wait! We have seen...
I know it’s trite, but with the invention of affordable travel, I would simply leave if I thought the country I was living in was a great evil! What people say, tells you less than what they do.
Those in the USSR and East Germany were not allowed to leave. That was part of Communism. Still is, in North Korea.
The Chinese Commies allow movement outside the country only if they benefit from it. Such as their citizens abroad spying or stealing patents for them or otherwise infiltrating.
Money-laundering is one of their most popular hobbies. In Canada, CCP infiltrators money-laundered our whole real estate industry to exorbitant asking prices, so that normal people can seldom afford to buy a home now.
This is one of those unappreciated spirals in emerging socialism. When socialist solutions to problems fail as they inevitably do---for obvious reasons, we can't centrally plan even the most fundamental part of the economy, agriculture---socialist planners will look for an explanation. The first explanation will be capital flight, people leaving with their money, and in response, the socialist planners will institute capital controls to prevent people from taking money out of the system. When as inevitably happens, people abandon their money and start leaving just to escape the misery, the socialist planners institute exit controls on the theory that because the state educated and cared for you despite the desires of you or your family, the state's investment in you creates an ownership stake in you; you won't be allowed to leave because you supposedly owe everyone else. These developments follow one another like night follows day.
We've already seen hints of these tendencies in America. Currently, California greedily goes after whatever its bureaucrats and lawmakers think can be taxed after a resident leaves the state to establish residency elsewhere.
Despite the set of tax obligations being referred to as an exit tax, it's not a bona fide tax for just leaving the state, but the California legislature sometimes takes up the idea. Look for it to happen in the future, and look for New York to attempt the same.
The danger for America is that the socialists in America do not operate in a closed system: because their states' residents have the freedom to move to another state, the socialists don't have to accept failure and can fall back on one more excuse. They can shift blame to the country as a whole, claim that the reason for the failure is that the system isn't closed nationally and run everywhere on socialist principles, and sadly, there are a lot of people who will believe despite the fact that historical examples like the USSR followed the same path and failed miserably.
Interesting info. I search out the patterns too. Always tells me a great deal.
Britain under the current Labour govt. is attempting the same thing you describe.
Two other red flags I have observed -- note when the private home of a politician or businessman mysteriously sells for a large amount over asking, though there seemed to be little competition for it. It is a way for wealthy Communist infiltrators to buy influence. I have seen several cases of this, the most notable being the sale of the marital home of Prince Andrew years ago. And later, he was accused of involvement with a Chinese spy. But the lower-downs do it too.
Or when a person desperate for influence announces that someone higher on the totem pole is going to be the godparent of their child, which under normal circumstances is reserved for close family members practicing Christianity. These would-be godparents are not even personal friends or relations, but other political or business figures. The odd thing is that none of the parties had ever expressed an interest in Christianity prior to this, but then they are falling over themselves about their roles in a baptism. Former Canadian politician and WEF member Chrystia Freeland (from a Ukrainian Nazi family) named current PM and WEF-man Mark Carney as a godparent to her child years ago, then they ran against one another in the last election. Naming influential "godparents" is now a cynical political move by the power-hungry. More than ironic that the world's eugenicists are going around staging Christian baptisms as a tactic.
I went to Venice in 1991. The parking lots in the land areas around Venice were packed with buses full of people who after the fall of the Berlin Wall were finally able to see parts of the world forbidden to them. It was obvious they were living and sleeping in the buses while they were there. Cooking outside around them as well.
I love responding to my Lib friends, who are forever threatening about "Moving to Canada/Portugal/wherever" that they should really follow through and do it. I usually get a look of surprise, because most of them aren't really serious about doing it, they just think they're scoring points with their Blue MAGA bubble komrades.
2) I've spent significant chunks of my life living, and working, in Canada, and am married to a Canadian. I'm fairly familiar with both the immigration and labor laws for foreigners.
3) Reading comprehension is obviously a big challenge for you. Are you a product of the Canadian education system?
So your idea is they’re all independently wealthy and don’t need to work in order to live? Thanks for agreeing that they can’t just permanently move to Canada.
"My idea?" I'm simply repeating the talking points of some people that I know, and am stating no opinions about living or working in Canada whatsoever.. This must be really hard for you to keep up with.
We are ignorant of your immigration laws mainly because we don’t give a shit . Why would we? Most of the population lives within 30 miles of our border for a reason.
So don’t comment on things you’re ignorant about, if you don’t want your ignorance to be pointed out to you. And are you trying to suggest that Canadians mostly live in the south to be closer to Americans? They live in the south because it’s warmer than the north
Why would you conclude he was ignorant about immigration law? He was simply telling people to go do what they were threatening to do. Canada was just one of three places.
Your response suggests you are simply trying to incite reaction, not thought. Perhaps the ignorance in question is your own lack of self awareness?
My friend sold her home, car etc.. she was going to move to Sicily .. great grandparents from there. No problem right? Wrong. When asked if she had a job, she’s retired, they denied her dual citizenship. She’s crying on FB now. She can’t even fathom living here 3 more years with Trump. Now here’s a true example of TDS, just jump ship don’t do any homework. Those other countries might not want you!
Most countries you might want to live in have stricter rules than we do. If you don't qualify for Italian citizenship by ancestry (the law was recently changed to make that more difficult), you need to demonstrate that you bring with you a secure livable income and gain an intermediate working fluency with Italian. The food is great but most of the time the Italian bureaucracy will drive a sane American around the bend.
I once got yelled at by a friend who told me my agreeing with controlled borders was equivalent to North Korea and East Germany. Is that the definition of a straw man argument? Those regimes’ goals are to KEEP PEOPLE IN, not out. What an odd way of thinking.
Ghana, for one. My former SIL literally flew out today to move to Ghana. Former British colony. People speak English. I saw a photo of her newly built house. It's lovely! 200K. So, find the US intolerable? Move to Ghana!
Let's see how long she lasts in Ghana. Black or white, she won't last long. My favorite picture of my several month stint working in Ghana is the sign (common in upper class residential neighborhoods): No Defecating Here
"A black American woman who allegedly moved to Ghana to flee what she described as “white racism” in the U.S. is now begging to come back. The issue? Africa isn’t the safe haven she quite imagined.
The unnamed woman went viral Tuesday after several conservative pages shared a video of her unleashing a verbal tirade about her experiences in Ghana. Headline USA could not independently verify the authenticity of the date of the video.
“I’d rather go back to America and deal with the racism in America before I sit here in Africa and deal with the bullsh*t robbery, the bullsh*t fraud, the bullsh*t scams, the bullsh*t too expensive, the bullsh*t not having no snacks, the bullsh*t not having no food, the bullsh*t electricity, the bullsh*t hot water,” she claimed.
The woman also complained about her house being invaded by “bullsh*t animals,” such as scorpions and “big *ss spiders, big *ss lizards, colorful lizards you ain’t never seen before—all in the room with you, sleeping with you.”
According to her, locals constantly attempt to get money from her because they believe she is wealthy."
American citizens who have a job offer in Italy, or wish to work in Italy, either temporarily or permanently, must be provided with a work permit obtained by the prospective employer, and must obtain a work visa from the Italian Consular authorities BEFORE coming to Italy. A written job offer or an employment contract is not regarded as a valid document for working in Italy: the prospective employer is required to apply for preliminary clearance from the provincial employment office (Ufficio Provinciale del Lavoro e della Massima Occupazione) in the proposed city of employment by submitting evidence that persons qualified for the position offered to a non-resident foreigner are not available in the local labor market. If clearance is granted, the prospective employer is further required to obtain a work permit with the approval of the regional and central authorities. The permit is then sent to the worker so that he or she may apply for the entry visa. There are Italian consular offices in most major cities in the U.S. The procedure for professional and self-employment is basically the same as that described above. A permit to reside in Italy for the purpose of employment is obtained after arrival in the country from the central police office (Questura) having jurisdiction. To apply for permit, you must submit a valid Italian visa and work permit.
I'm sure that's all he was aiming for. And Matt took the bait. And we got the greatest paragraph with the most commas in the history of prose. Everybody wins.
And the theatrical musical, as well as the possibly as many as 1,000 brilliant popular songs which comprise what is commonly referred to as The Great American Songbook. ( Yes, I know about European operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan, and "revue," but the musical itself, whether musical drama or musical comedy, gelled here. )
One wonders what claims Edwards would make for his (apparently) preferred governance system. Can't think of anything notable besides death, tyranny and the destruction of the human spirit produced by Communism and Socialism.
I was born behind the iron curtain and now live in Canada. What America and the West in general allowed to fester within the walls of its schools and colleges boggles my goddamned mind.
so u think it was a mistake to turn all our educational institutions over to dimwitted zealots drunk on jargon who hate us, our country, culture, history (and hate themselves most of all) and who want to "radically deconstruct" aka destroy it?!
It's called the Critical Theory of History, and was introduced by people like Zinn and Cloward in the 50's 60's. The idea was to analzed, evaluate a society by everything they did that was wrong. That's how we got to today; a lopsided chart.
I'm more of a Marcuse guy when it comes to malevolent Marxists who tried to install a program of "socialist liberation", meaning they would get to be omnipotent philosopher-kings dictating what we'd be allowed to say, write, think, etc.
Also Marcuse has to be History's least grateful refugee, we saved him from Hitler's gas chambers and he paid us back with constant denunciations.
Have you read Matt's takedown of Marcuse? Was brilliant.
I agree that it was Herbert Marcuse and his ilk from the Frankfurt School, transplanted to the US in the 50s, and given faculty positions, which spread the Marxist poison on this continent.
Angela Davis was a prominent and fawned-over grad student of Marcuse. You can easily see where her indoctrination came from.
The beauty of free speech is not that it lets us wallow in self-praise but just the opposite. No nation is perfect but the ones that allow criticism and dissent are far and away the best. All of you seem to want to quash that freedom. I see it as the very thing that makes people want to be better simply because they know they CAN be better. To me that is freedom.
You're about 30 years too late. The operation to destroy Normal American culture began in the 1920's. The Comintern genius of covert influence, Willi Muenzenberg conceived of the operation, sent out his operators to penetrate American cultural transmission (Hollywood, education/academia, the media), and created the "America sucks" belief system that they inserted into our culture.
"Covert Influence Payload
Babette Gross, wife of KGB agent Willi Muenzenberg, explained the content of the Soviet payload to Stephen Koch:
You claim to be an independent-minded idealist.
You don’t really understand politics, but you think the little guy is getting a lousy break.
You believe in open-mindedness.
You are shocked, frightened by what is going on right here in our own country.
You’re frightened by the racism, by the oppression of the workingman.
You think the Russians are trying a great human experiment, and you hope it works.
You believe in peace.
You yearn for international understanding.
You hate fascism.
You think the capitalist system is corrupt.
This payload exactly matches today’s PC-Progressive message. The message that Soviet covert operators propagated through American Willing Accomplices. The Willing Accomplices, wittingly or unwittingly, spread the anti-American message. And this message bloomed and grew into the pernicious set of taboos and strictures that we call PC today."
This reminds me of hearing Kruschev say, "We will bury you without firing a shot". Seeing the pervasive cultural rot and political chaos in which we now live, I understand what he meant. It was his very open threat of destroying us from within. The question now is, How much longer will the Fifth Column exist? Where are the forces that will confront it? Trump has begun the gutting, but has a short time in which to complete the excision.
They had a little help. Totalitarianism crept in from post-war Europe. And Americans fell for the scam of self-denigration, starting in the 60s. They were carefully groomed to hate themselves. BIG mistake!
The self denigration began earlier, blossomed in the 20's and 30's with the rise of the labor movement which was heavily infested with Communists. In spite of the fact that Communism lost its lustre as Stalin's atrocities were revealed and with the failure of Communism in Eastern Europe following WWII, the Hate America retained its allure in our main cultural structures, academia, media and the Democratic Party. Hating America morphed from being a serious political movement to a sophistication signal, and currently to a virtue signal as intense as any religion. As a result, it is resistant to confrontation by facts. It's like having lead infested soil surrounding your house: you can't just cover it over; you have to dig it out entirely and replace it with healthy soil. Fly your flag; it will help.
‘Never been implemented’ . Ask the millions of dead in Cambodia, China , Russia, etal. I hope this guy comes back as a worm in Katyn Forest in his next non-life.
It's such an arrogant statement. They are basically saying they are smarter than anyone else that has tried and that THEY can implement it properly.
The architects of the Killing Fields of Cambodia were all educated at the Sorbonne in Paris. Khieu Samphan has a lomg doctoral thesis on the economic situation of Cambodia.
Meanwhile, these other folks probably got $200k in debt for some useless advanced degree
The prime directive of Marxist utopian elites (whether they accept the label or not) is absolute superiority complex to the level that justifies (to them) enslaving and killing others.
I hate to say it, but the only way to deal with these people is to eliminate them.
"Do you believe America has been a great force for good in the world? If so, where?"
Hard to believe that's a serious two questions.
I'll add one more to the responses here.
How about the millions of people that came to this country legally, fleeing famine, oppression, or to live a better life? (Rhetorical question. No need to respond.)
People who question the good America has done for the world are embarassing. However, they are useful to the globalists who begin the Big Takeover by first making enough people hate their country, their neighbors.
My father escaped from Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, fleeing the communist regime that Russia foisted on Hungary. He, along with many other Hungarians, were legitimately granted asylum because they were fleeing a dangerous revolution and regime. Most of my father's family stayed in Hungary and I spent time there before the Wall came down. Hungary had the least repressive government of any of countries behind the Iron Curtain, but communism still inflicted serious damage to the society. It is evil and will always be a destructive force.
Only, are they ever found in anything resembling an actual wild landscape? I doubt most could survive long. There are no Starbucks, and no cell phone chargers. Often no cell phone service, even!
Not only would it easily happen in the US the reaction to it would be far more severe and supported by more of the country than in Canada. There's no way it would have lasted two weeks if it was on the front lawn of the White House.
That’s ok.. apparently we just hire non English/reading truck drivers that never pass their drivers test. Probably don’t even have bank accounts but they make dandy u turns
Absolutely. If you think they wouldn't have used FinCen and the Patriot Act to seize and freeze all assets under "terrorist" assertions you are being naive. Or used civil asset forfeiture under the same rationale.
In any case, its irrelevant because we both know that a gathering of trucks, would have been moved on, violently if necessary, from in front of the Whit e House, or the Capitol building. And that it would have been supported by the majority of Americans.
I will state it too. And I am actually Canadian. I admire the U.S. The great experiment in human freedom. Needs a bit of work right now; but glory days will be ahead.
I have never been leftwing. I am very sad to see Canada fall this way. It may come to the point where Canada will either be taken by Communist China, or choose to join the U.S.
"[Marxism] has never once been implemented anywhere!"
The No True Marxist Fallacy captured in the wild! YES!
Today must be my lucky day, I'm going to buy some lottery tickets.
But first a few words from Bakunin, who struck a nerve and pushed Marx into a rage (which was his automatic response to any criticism). This is from "Statism and Anarchy" (1873):
—The words “learned socialist” and “scientific socialism,” which recur constantly in the writings and speeches of the Marxists, are proof in themselves that the pseudo-popular state will be nothing but the highly despotic government of the masses by a new and very small aristocracy of real or pretended scholars. The people are not learned, so they will be liberated in entirety from the cares of government and included in entirety in the governed herd. A fine liberation!
The Marxists sense this contradiction, and, recognizing that a government of scholars, the most oppressive, offensive, and contemptuous kind in the world, will be a real dictatorship for all its democratic forms, offer the consoling thought that this dictatorship will be temporary and brief.
They say that this state yoke, this dictatorship, is a necessary transitional device for achieving the total liberation of the people: anarchy, or freedom, is the goal, and the state, or dictatorship, the means. Thus, for the masses to be liberated they must first be enslaved."
A "highly despotic government of the masses by a new and very small aristocracy of real or pretended scholars"—sounds like the last 5 years of the BLM/George Floyd era. Paging Pol Pot!
Ah, the timeless "real Communism has never been tried" argument. Evergreen.
If you think about it, this contention is actually a great self-own because it implies all socialists of the past were either idiots or charlatans. Not a great look for the present day purveyor of the ideas.
(Or malevolent misanthropes ….)
I think you called that one right.
Great argument! I'm going to borrow that one!
10/27/25: "Are people really this crazy?" Anyone who asks this question is nuts. And anyone who mocks the person asking that question is nuts. You will be able to identify all of us on October 31st by our Brooks Brothers-Day-Glo straight-jackets. Ignore "Bottoms Up" Buttigieg, who has had nothing to do since January 21st (he just invited himself to come along before we could say "no").
But you see, our new techno slime layer will enable it...
It seems there is an entire generation, minds muddled with bullshit, that completely believes the "Socialism/communism has never *really* been tried before!" argument. Of course, they are referring to the elusive, magical *pure* socialism, not that perverted shit we saw in all those shithole countries that called themselves communist.
You’ll see if looking the Cold War vanished from the primary school curriculum in the 1990s.
Memory holed.
Speaking of memory holes, not long ago I saw the first episode of a Netflix documentary series about World War II.
It depicted the German invasion of Poland from the West. I expected to see the corresponding Soviet invasion of Poland from the East, next, but it never came. Instead the show went directly to the German attack on the Soviet Union.
I never even knew about Stalin or Mao until I read about them by chance as an adult.
Public, private, or parochial school?
A half-decent public school in a poor town.
My son's middle-school history curriculum in 2020 at Dwight-Englewood School was "America sucks." The reading was Zinn, Kendi, and several other authors who had a solely negative perspective on the US. It was taught by a guy who told us he was "challenging the narrative" of American history. He denied being "woke" at a parent-teacher conference, but I just took a look at his LinkedIn and his politics are quite clear.
Probably so we could revive Russia Scare for impeachment and Ukraine War
Perhaps it's not the "system" per se but the leaders who are supposed to implement them.
You mean, like HUMAN BEINGS?
I know, that's the part that fails.
"The system" requires everyone pool their money/resources and trust that a corrupt leader won't take over said "system".
Under what system would our leaders NOT be problematic? Did you not listen to the podcast today?
Right?! Power corrupts, unfortunately. I nominate a Benevolent Dictator AI.
And let's call it Skynet.
I think James Cameron has a copyright on that name, but yeah, sure!
It also, as Frank Herbert astutely noted, attracts the corruptible.
Frank Herbert was visionary. Dune is amazing. Too bad about the movie adaptations. They don't capture the small details that convey the deeper truths beyond the plot.
I've been confronting the faithful with this point for thirty years. The response has never been cogent.
Just tell them we could bring true utopia if only we would implement real capitalism; but alas, it's never been tried.
I like that, and it’s actually true.
Hong Kong got fairly close, for awhile....
The best…..
I lived in a commune for a month once.
did you ever read "Drop City" by TC Boyle?? :)
You mean, like a book?
tee hee. :) :)
Evergreen is right. If you’re over the age of 25 and trundling out this sad bromide, you may need to get out more.
Gulag deniers.
Are people really this crazy? They have been for quite some time.
Real Fascism has never been tried either.
I've just pulled a number of Google-search definitions of fascism as they seem remarkably like ... governments that declare themselves Marxist:
For example:
-- "a governmental system led by a dictator [politburo] having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism ..."
-- "Philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state, unquestioning obedience to its leader[s], subordination of the individual will to the state's authority, and harsh suppression of dissent."
-- "Many experts agree that fascism is a mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of the nation over the individual."
About the only difference between it and Marxism is racial differentiation.
Read “Travellers in the 3rd Reich” a collection of letters from people who visited germany (and the Soviet Union) in that time frame.
Many could not see much difference between them
The program is the same but the rhetoric has some opposites.
For example, in communism, the party embodies the will of the people and the state is a tool to enact that will, which is supposed to "wither away." Whereas in fascism, the state embodies the will of the people, and the party is a tool to bring about that state.
In communism, bourgeois society alienates man from his true socialist self, and recovers the ability to be a socialist when society is destroyed, whereas in fascism, man is alienated by being excluded or exiled from society and is saved by participation in the state.
In communism, merit is whatever benefits the powerful, and that's bad, so we won'thave merit, and in fascism merit is whatever benefits the powerful, ans that's good, so we will have "merit".
"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite" -- John Kenneth Galbraith.
Fascism is just communism with a different paint job.
Yep, evergreen and ever stupid. Even if we accept the premise, it means that "pure Comminism", whatever that's supposed to mean, is essentially impossible to implement, given the scope and scale of the attempts we've seen.
Oh, and the attempts have resulted in the death of tens of millions, not to mention poverty and national level catastrophe and the hollowing out of millions of souls.
Continuing the attempt is a damnable exercise, even if there is some non-zero chance of finally succeeding--which there isn't.
It's odd. They're supposed to be pure materialists, yet they seem to believe in some kind of Platonic ideal of communism that will someday manifest from the world of forms.
Materialists aren’t materialists, as Nietzsche strongly implies.
(They’re still metaphysicians looking beyond the apparent world.)
LOLLLLL
Right into my pocket for quipping out later!
Real Flyism has never been tried!
https://principlesvstribes.substack.com/p/beware-the-flyist
The Commie argument. You are in a 4 story building. Commies convince you that you can fly. They tell you to go jump out the second story window and flap your arms. You fall and break your leg. Then they say you weren’t high enough go up to the roof jump off and flap your arms. You die. Then they say you didn’t flap your arms fast enough.
OK, sure, it didn't work that time, but wait until the next time.
It is as predictable as night following day.
Communism = communes have existed in it's pure form. From AI: "Most American communes ended due to a mix of practical, social, and economic challenges. Key factors included internal conflicts and lack of effective leadership, difficulties sharing resources and responsibilities, disputes over land ownership, economic strain from lack of income or resources, and the effects of drug and alcohol abuse among some members". Now, multiply that by a nation population. See what you get. Oh wait! We have seen...
It’s either that one or “they only do it in Latin America, Europe or Asia. We would never attempt it here because we are the best.”
I know it’s trite, but with the invention of affordable travel, I would simply leave if I thought the country I was living in was a great evil! What people say, tells you less than what they do.
See how easy that was? There are plenty of socialist countries around the globe - go there.
Amen.
“Men may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you you do.”
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Those in the USSR and East Germany were not allowed to leave. That was part of Communism. Still is, in North Korea.
The Chinese Commies allow movement outside the country only if they benefit from it. Such as their citizens abroad spying or stealing patents for them or otherwise infiltrating.
And money laundering. You can tell when semirural Chinese restaurants serve Costco spring rolls and frozen reheats.
Money-laundering is one of their most popular hobbies. In Canada, CCP infiltrators money-laundered our whole real estate industry to exorbitant asking prices, so that normal people can seldom afford to buy a home now.
lol
This is one of those unappreciated spirals in emerging socialism. When socialist solutions to problems fail as they inevitably do---for obvious reasons, we can't centrally plan even the most fundamental part of the economy, agriculture---socialist planners will look for an explanation. The first explanation will be capital flight, people leaving with their money, and in response, the socialist planners will institute capital controls to prevent people from taking money out of the system. When as inevitably happens, people abandon their money and start leaving just to escape the misery, the socialist planners institute exit controls on the theory that because the state educated and cared for you despite the desires of you or your family, the state's investment in you creates an ownership stake in you; you won't be allowed to leave because you supposedly owe everyone else. These developments follow one another like night follows day.
We've already seen hints of these tendencies in America. Currently, California greedily goes after whatever its bureaucrats and lawmakers think can be taxed after a resident leaves the state to establish residency elsewhere.
https://www.taxesforexpats.com/articles/expat-tax-rules/california-exit-tax.html
Despite the set of tax obligations being referred to as an exit tax, it's not a bona fide tax for just leaving the state, but the California legislature sometimes takes up the idea. Look for it to happen in the future, and look for New York to attempt the same.
The danger for America is that the socialists in America do not operate in a closed system: because their states' residents have the freedom to move to another state, the socialists don't have to accept failure and can fall back on one more excuse. They can shift blame to the country as a whole, claim that the reason for the failure is that the system isn't closed nationally and run everywhere on socialist principles, and sadly, there are a lot of people who will believe despite the fact that historical examples like the USSR followed the same path and failed miserably.
Interesting info. I search out the patterns too. Always tells me a great deal.
Britain under the current Labour govt. is attempting the same thing you describe.
Two other red flags I have observed -- note when the private home of a politician or businessman mysteriously sells for a large amount over asking, though there seemed to be little competition for it. It is a way for wealthy Communist infiltrators to buy influence. I have seen several cases of this, the most notable being the sale of the marital home of Prince Andrew years ago. And later, he was accused of involvement with a Chinese spy. But the lower-downs do it too.
Or when a person desperate for influence announces that someone higher on the totem pole is going to be the godparent of their child, which under normal circumstances is reserved for close family members practicing Christianity. These would-be godparents are not even personal friends or relations, but other political or business figures. The odd thing is that none of the parties had ever expressed an interest in Christianity prior to this, but then they are falling over themselves about their roles in a baptism. Former Canadian politician and WEF member Chrystia Freeland (from a Ukrainian Nazi family) named current PM and WEF-man Mark Carney as a godparent to her child years ago, then they ran against one another in the last election. Naming influential "godparents" is now a cynical political move by the power-hungry. More than ironic that the world's eugenicists are going around staging Christian baptisms as a tactic.
I think you might be interested in:
"Canada Under Siege: How PEI Became a Forward Operating Base for the Chinese Communist Party" by Garry Clement
Lots of general information about Communist Chinese infiltration tactics around the globe -- Canada and US too.
I went to Venice in 1991. The parking lots in the land areas around Venice were packed with buses full of people who after the fall of the Berlin Wall were finally able to see parts of the world forbidden to them. It was obvious they were living and sleeping in the buses while they were there. Cooking outside around them as well.
I love responding to my Lib friends, who are forever threatening about "Moving to Canada/Portugal/wherever" that they should really follow through and do it. I usually get a look of surprise, because most of them aren't really serious about doing it, they just think they're scoring points with their Blue MAGA bubble komrades.
They can’t just permanently move to Canada and work there. Why are Americans like yourself so ignorant of how immigration works?
1) I never said anything about "working there."
2) I've spent significant chunks of my life living, and working, in Canada, and am married to a Canadian. I'm fairly familiar with both the immigration and labor laws for foreigners.
3) Reading comprehension is obviously a big challenge for you. Are you a product of the Canadian education system?
Hey, steady on there. I am a product of the Canadian education system. Some years ago. Used to be superb.
Not anymore.
So your idea is they’re all independently wealthy and don’t need to work in order to live? Thanks for agreeing that they can’t just permanently move to Canada.
"My idea?" I'm simply repeating the talking points of some people that I know, and am stating no opinions about living or working in Canada whatsoever.. This must be really hard for you to keep up with.
I’m responding to what you said. Go back and re-read what you wrote. Sorry that you’re having issues with your reading comprehension skills
We are ignorant of your immigration laws mainly because we don’t give a shit . Why would we? Most of the population lives within 30 miles of our border for a reason.
So don’t comment on things you’re ignorant about, if you don’t want your ignorance to be pointed out to you. And are you trying to suggest that Canadians mostly live in the south to be closer to Americans? They live in the south because it’s warmer than the north
"And are you trying to suggest that Canadians mostly live in the south to be closer to Americans?"
I am implying this. Most wont admit it, but deep down every single Canadian wishes they were American.
You all love us and want to be as close as possible.
Obviously, most of us Australians live in the southern half of the continent to be closer to Antarctica.
Perhaps you like being a nasty person?
Why would you conclude he was ignorant about immigration law? He was simply telling people to go do what they were threatening to do. Canada was just one of three places.
Your response suggests you are simply trying to incite reaction, not thought. Perhaps the ignorance in question is your own lack of self awareness?
My friend sold her home, car etc.. she was going to move to Sicily .. great grandparents from there. No problem right? Wrong. When asked if she had a job, she’s retired, they denied her dual citizenship. She’s crying on FB now. She can’t even fathom living here 3 more years with Trump. Now here’s a true example of TDS, just jump ship don’t do any homework. Those other countries might not want you!
Most countries you might want to live in have stricter rules than we do. If you don't qualify for Italian citizenship by ancestry (the law was recently changed to make that more difficult), you need to demonstrate that you bring with you a secure livable income and gain an intermediate working fluency with Italian. The food is great but most of the time the Italian bureaucracy will drive a sane American around the bend.
The grass is always greener......
We’re not. We just enjoy watching them bloviate about moving to Canada, only to meet Canada’s immigration roadblocks, and be rejected.
You can if you have brown skin. I thought this was common knowledge?
No, you can’t 🙄
Add the “No Kings” protestors moving to the UK! Ummmm…should we tell them?
I once got yelled at by a friend who told me my agreeing with controlled borders was equivalent to North Korea and East Germany. Is that the definition of a straw man argument? Those regimes’ goals are to KEEP PEOPLE IN, not out. What an odd way of thinking.
Ghana, for one. My former SIL literally flew out today to move to Ghana. Former British colony. People speak English. I saw a photo of her newly built house. It's lovely! 200K. So, find the US intolerable? Move to Ghana!
Let's see how long she lasts in Ghana. Black or white, she won't last long. My favorite picture of my several month stint working in Ghana is the sign (common in upper class residential neighborhoods): No Defecating Here
"A black American woman who allegedly moved to Ghana to flee what she described as “white racism” in the U.S. is now begging to come back. The issue? Africa isn’t the safe haven she quite imagined.
The unnamed woman went viral Tuesday after several conservative pages shared a video of her unleashing a verbal tirade about her experiences in Ghana. Headline USA could not independently verify the authenticity of the date of the video.
“I’d rather go back to America and deal with the racism in America before I sit here in Africa and deal with the bullsh*t robbery, the bullsh*t fraud, the bullsh*t scams, the bullsh*t too expensive, the bullsh*t not having no snacks, the bullsh*t not having no food, the bullsh*t electricity, the bullsh*t hot water,” she claimed.
The woman also complained about her house being invaded by “bullsh*t animals,” such as scorpions and “big *ss spiders, big *ss lizards, colorful lizards you ain’t never seen before—all in the room with you, sleeping with you.”
According to her, locals constantly attempt to get money from her because they believe she is wealthy."
https://headlineusa.com/black-american-who-fled-to-ghana-over-racism-now-wants-to-return/
You can’t just move to other countries. Ask Matt — he tried to move to Canada but couldn’t get through the immigration system
People move to other countries, already having, or obtaining, work visas all the time. You are absolutely clueless.
It’s not that easy. Ask Matt — he tried to move to Canada but was denied. He’s talked about it on the show
Why/when did he want to move to Canada? Link me to the show if you can.
Work Permits (Italy)
American citizens who have a job offer in Italy, or wish to work in Italy, either temporarily or permanently, must be provided with a work permit obtained by the prospective employer, and must obtain a work visa from the Italian Consular authorities BEFORE coming to Italy. A written job offer or an employment contract is not regarded as a valid document for working in Italy: the prospective employer is required to apply for preliminary clearance from the provincial employment office (Ufficio Provinciale del Lavoro e della Massima Occupazione) in the proposed city of employment by submitting evidence that persons qualified for the position offered to a non-resident foreigner are not available in the local labor market. If clearance is granted, the prospective employer is further required to obtain a work permit with the approval of the regional and central authorities. The permit is then sent to the worker so that he or she may apply for the entry visa. There are Italian consular offices in most major cities in the U.S. The procedure for professional and self-employment is basically the same as that described above. A permit to reside in Italy for the purpose of employment is obtained after arrival in the country from the central police office (Questura) having jurisdiction. To apply for permit, you must submit a valid Italian visa and work permit.
Nope, not true. Read my previous reply about my friend trying to move to Italy.
And become a victim of America's foreign policy? I think not!
Yeah, the world was such a better place before America's foreign policy. Read a book.
A comment so absurd it inspired an entire new post. My hat is off.
I'm sure that's all he was aiming for. And Matt took the bait. And we got the greatest paragraph with the most commas in the history of prose. Everybody wins.
... and he didn't even mention billions upon billions upon billions of charitable & other $$ to other nations!
And the theatrical musical, as well as the possibly as many as 1,000 brilliant popular songs which comprise what is commonly referred to as The Great American Songbook. ( Yes, I know about European operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan, and "revue," but the musical itself, whether musical drama or musical comedy, gelled here. )
In all fairness, that wasn't real money. We just kinda printed it up and pretended it was real.
I wonder if that will ever come back and bite our grandkids in the ass?
And the $20 Trillion "War On Poverty."
Is it too much to ask for Mr. Edward’s to come back on here and defend his comment?? I mean, if we promise to be “nice”??
Nah...let's go knock on his door!
I like how you think…
Oh I used quotes for a reason 😉
Damn, I missed that. Well played, sir.
I’m a woman in my late 60’s and I will totally take that as a compliment! 😊
Go ahead and be nice. I don't agree to that.
Not even fucking close.
Hyperbole?
Absolutely.
One wonders what claims Edwards would make for his (apparently) preferred governance system. Can't think of anything notable besides death, tyranny and the destruction of the human spirit produced by Communism and Socialism.
Are you the legislator who penned us up a bill that banned the use of certain things? Like this and that?
Don't have any idea what you are talking about.
I was born behind the iron curtain and now live in Canada. What America and the West in general allowed to fester within the walls of its schools and colleges boggles my goddamned mind.
so u think it was a mistake to turn all our educational institutions over to dimwitted zealots drunk on jargon who hate us, our country, culture, history (and hate themselves most of all) and who want to "radically deconstruct" aka destroy it?!
NAAHHHH /s
It's called the Critical Theory of History, and was introduced by people like Zinn and Cloward in the 50's 60's. The idea was to analzed, evaluate a society by everything they did that was wrong. That's how we got to today; a lopsided chart.
I'm more of a Marcuse guy when it comes to malevolent Marxists who tried to install a program of "socialist liberation", meaning they would get to be omnipotent philosopher-kings dictating what we'd be allowed to say, write, think, etc.
Also Marcuse has to be History's least grateful refugee, we saved him from Hitler's gas chambers and he paid us back with constant denunciations.
Have you read Matt's takedown of Marcuse? Was brilliant.
I agree that it was Herbert Marcuse and his ilk from the Frankfurt School, transplanted to the US in the 50s, and given faculty positions, which spread the Marxist poison on this continent.
Angela Davis was a prominent and fawned-over grad student of Marcuse. You can easily see where her indoctrination came from.
I wish there were more articles like that.
The beauty of free speech is not that it lets us wallow in self-praise but just the opposite. No nation is perfect but the ones that allow criticism and dissent are far and away the best. All of you seem to want to quash that freedom. I see it as the very thing that makes people want to be better simply because they know they CAN be better. To me that is freedom.
You're about 30 years too late. The operation to destroy Normal American culture began in the 1920's. The Comintern genius of covert influence, Willi Muenzenberg conceived of the operation, sent out his operators to penetrate American cultural transmission (Hollywood, education/academia, the media), and created the "America sucks" belief system that they inserted into our culture.
"Covert Influence Payload
Babette Gross, wife of KGB agent Willi Muenzenberg, explained the content of the Soviet payload to Stephen Koch:
You claim to be an independent-minded idealist.
You don’t really understand politics, but you think the little guy is getting a lousy break.
You believe in open-mindedness.
You are shocked, frightened by what is going on right here in our own country.
You’re frightened by the racism, by the oppression of the workingman.
You think the Russians are trying a great human experiment, and you hope it works.
You believe in peace.
You yearn for international understanding.
You hate fascism.
You think the capitalist system is corrupt.
This payload exactly matches today’s PC-Progressive message. The message that Soviet covert operators propagated through American Willing Accomplices. The Willing Accomplices, wittingly or unwittingly, spread the anti-American message. And this message bloomed and grew into the pernicious set of taboos and strictures that we call PC today."
Details:
https://kentclizbe.substack.com/p/origins-of-todays-normal-hating-lying?utm_source=publication-search
This reminds me of hearing Kruschev say, "We will bury you without firing a shot". Seeing the pervasive cultural rot and political chaos in which we now live, I understand what he meant. It was his very open threat of destroying us from within. The question now is, How much longer will the Fifth Column exist? Where are the forces that will confront it? Trump has begun the gutting, but has a short time in which to complete the excision.
They certainly 'analzed' it. Emphasis on the anal.
Why don't you move back where you came from then? Do any of you people realize how ridiculous this conversation is?
They had a little help. Totalitarianism crept in from post-war Europe. And Americans fell for the scam of self-denigration, starting in the 60s. They were carefully groomed to hate themselves. BIG mistake!
The self denigration began earlier, blossomed in the 20's and 30's with the rise of the labor movement which was heavily infested with Communists. In spite of the fact that Communism lost its lustre as Stalin's atrocities were revealed and with the failure of Communism in Eastern Europe following WWII, the Hate America retained its allure in our main cultural structures, academia, media and the Democratic Party. Hating America morphed from being a serious political movement to a sophistication signal, and currently to a virtue signal as intense as any religion. As a result, it is resistant to confrontation by facts. It's like having lead infested soil surrounding your house: you can't just cover it over; you have to dig it out entirely and replace it with healthy soil. Fly your flag; it will help.
"never mind that it has never once been implemented anywhere"
LOL
‘Never been implemented’ . Ask the millions of dead in Cambodia, China , Russia, etal. I hope this guy comes back as a worm in Katyn Forest in his next non-life.
See the movie, "TheRed Girl" for a look at what communism meant in China. It will break your heart.
Also read, Mao the Unknown Story. It was so gruesome I couldn't finish it.
Watch the nine commentaries on the CCP
Tenth time is the charm.
Rather more than that number, I would think . . .
If only the Soviets had Mamdani and AOC - they would be thriving to this day in a Socialist paradise...
It's such an arrogant statement. They are basically saying they are smarter than anyone else that has tried and that THEY can implement it properly.
The architects of the Killing Fields of Cambodia were all educated at the Sorbonne in Paris. Khieu Samphan has a lomg doctoral thesis on the economic situation of Cambodia.
Meanwhile, these other folks probably got $200k in debt for some useless advanced degree
The prime directive of Marxist utopian elites (whether they accept the label or not) is absolute superiority complex to the level that justifies (to them) enslaving and killing others.
I hate to say it, but the only way to deal with these people is to eliminate them.
This is why you can't get them to comprehend that:
https://principlesvstribes.substack.com/p/beware-the-flyist
Flyism: My new mantra.
Are you even capable of understanding a hack mentality like his? I'm not.
On the cutting edge of political thought, 1912.
"Do you believe America has been a great force for good in the world? If so, where?"
Hard to believe that's a serious two questions.
I'll add one more to the responses here.
How about the millions of people that came to this country legally, fleeing famine, oppression, or to live a better life? (Rhetorical question. No need to respond.)
My parents came to the United States in the 1930s fleeing Nazi Germany and indeed lived a better life.
People who question the good America has done for the world are embarassing. However, they are useful to the globalists who begin the Big Takeover by first making enough people hate their country, their neighbors.
My father escaped from Hungary during the 1956 Revolution, fleeing the communist regime that Russia foisted on Hungary. He, along with many other Hungarians, were legitimately granted asylum because they were fleeing a dangerous revolution and regime. Most of my father's family stayed in Hungary and I spent time there before the Wall came down. Hungary had the least repressive government of any of countries behind the Iron Curtain, but communism still inflicted serious damage to the society. It is evil and will always be a destructive force.
As did my grandparents, father's side!
Yes. Yes they are.
People are indeed crazy.
Beat me to my post by 5 minutes.
I actually have met people like this.
I will count myself lucky to have only read their rantings and never actually had to meet one in the wild.
"in the wild".
Brilliant!
Only, are they ever found in anything resembling an actual wild landscape? I doubt most could survive long. There are no Starbucks, and no cell phone chargers. Often no cell phone service, even!
"never mind that it has never once been implemented anywhere"
No one who ever spouts this monumentally idiotic talking point ever wants to address my followup question, "why not given how many places have tried?"
I understand the criticisms of the US. I don't get hating it. Those who hate it the most tend to be the same who refuse to leave it.
Spot on , Matt.
I’m not really sure that they are crazy, but they sure are as nihilistic and egotistical as Marx was.
I am always amused by the, “It’s never been tried.” argument.
Oh really? Would those people accept an argument that Nazi German and Fascist Italy weren’t the REAL fascism?
I think not.
Thank you for stating the good in our country.
It’s very concerning. What Trudeau did the truckers was a gut punch because of how easily it could happen here. I hope things swing back there.
Not only would it easily happen in the US the reaction to it would be far more severe and supported by more of the country than in Canada. There's no way it would have lasted two weeks if it was on the front lawn of the White House.
Do you mean debanking the truckers would be more severe?
That’s ok.. apparently we just hire non English/reading truck drivers that never pass their drivers test. Probably don’t even have bank accounts but they make dandy u turns
Absolutely. If you think they wouldn't have used FinCen and the Patriot Act to seize and freeze all assets under "terrorist" assertions you are being naive. Or used civil asset forfeiture under the same rationale.
In any case, its irrelevant because we both know that a gathering of trucks, would have been moved on, violently if necessary, from in front of the Whit e House, or the Capitol building. And that it would have been supported by the majority of Americans.
I will state it too. And I am actually Canadian. I admire the U.S. The great experiment in human freedom. Needs a bit of work right now; but glory days will be ahead.
I hope so! What do you think of what’s going on in Canada these days?
I have never been leftwing. I am very sad to see Canada fall this way. It may come to the point where Canada will either be taken by Communist China, or choose to join the U.S.
It’s not good
Dead on, my friend! Also from Life of Brian is the highly-apropos-to-our-leftist-friends scene “Why are you always going in about women, Stan?”
“I want to be one”…
“Where’s it going to gestate?”
You gonna keep it in a box?
Why yes, Matt. Yes they are.
It appears they are. Crazy is a kind characterization, however. Stupid, idiotic and just plain dumb, seem more appropriate.
"[Marxism] has never once been implemented anywhere!"
The No True Marxist Fallacy captured in the wild! YES!
Today must be my lucky day, I'm going to buy some lottery tickets.
But first a few words from Bakunin, who struck a nerve and pushed Marx into a rage (which was his automatic response to any criticism). This is from "Statism and Anarchy" (1873):
—The words “learned socialist” and “scientific socialism,” which recur constantly in the writings and speeches of the Marxists, are proof in themselves that the pseudo-popular state will be nothing but the highly despotic government of the masses by a new and very small aristocracy of real or pretended scholars. The people are not learned, so they will be liberated in entirety from the cares of government and included in entirety in the governed herd. A fine liberation!
The Marxists sense this contradiction, and, recognizing that a government of scholars, the most oppressive, offensive, and contemptuous kind in the world, will be a real dictatorship for all its democratic forms, offer the consoling thought that this dictatorship will be temporary and brief.
They say that this state yoke, this dictatorship, is a necessary transitional device for achieving the total liberation of the people: anarchy, or freedom, is the goal, and the state, or dictatorship, the means. Thus, for the masses to be liberated they must first be enslaved."
A "highly despotic government of the masses by a new and very small aristocracy of real or pretended scholars"—sounds like the last 5 years of the BLM/George Floyd era. Paging Pol Pot!
Don’t forget Covid lockdowns
I'd be happy to take you to Portland and introduce you to rooms full of them.
We need places like Portland to act as attractors. It's when they escape it's a problem.
I escaped. They're perfectly happy to stay.
See? We can all get along. Just in different places. The magic of America :)
So far