Why is Marxism so Attractive?

[Baruch]

I look at life and ask for more.

No more gruel for you, Oliver!

[Baruch]

Don't you mean "long in the tooth"?

That only applies in Transylvania.  These people are older than I am ... they are lucky if they still have any teeth.

[Hakurei Reimu]

Historically, the countries that switch over to communism (which is the first stage of Marxism) turn out to be countries where capitalism isn't working for the >90% of the people, and usually results in slaughter of the privileged few where capitalism worked for them. It is in the best interest of the 1% to give the lower 99% a decent life.

This is not to say that communism works either. It just becomes aristocracy by another means.

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Thankfully, nobody is advocating Marxism in the West.

Only because it has never ever been tried before anywhere at any time.

[pr126]

A breakdown of the unholy trinity of Cultural Marxism, Islamism and Feminism; psychological warfare and subversion tactics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkjNAFUgLwU&feature=youtu.be

[trdsf]

Only because it has never ever been tried before anywhere at any time.

The single truest thing I heard in any of my political science classes was: "The only political theorist whose ideas worked without modification was Machiavelli."

[Jason78]

Because 3/4 of the people expect the other half to support them?

I think it's because that it's obvious to people that working together for the common good is an efficient way to achieve a goal.

I think this works in well small groups.   However in large groups, it's easy for a cheater to coast.

It's not difficult to imagine someone seeing it work in a small group and thinking that such a thing would work on the scale of a whole state.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

But seriously folks, who wouldn't like a day at the races followed by a night at the opera?

[Mr.Obvious]

Stupid sexy communism, strutting around in a bikini, acting like it doesn't want us to look.

...

It wants us to look.

*grumble* *grumble*

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I would think People's Republic is trolling the alt right if I wasn't sure he's lacking the skills.

[Baruch]

But seriously folks, who wouldn't like a day at the races followed by a night at the opera?

It isn't over until the fat lady sings!

[Baruch]

Stupid sexy communism, strutting around in a bikini, acting like it doesn't want us to look.

...

It wants us to look.

*grumble* *grumble*

With fiat money and other forms of magic (BitCoin or even Adam Smith) nobody needs to work for a living anymore.  Put the whole population on welfare, it would be better if the peasants stopped coming to work and messing things up ;-)  We have had this problem ever since agriculture became more efficient and the peasants moved from the farm to the city.  Just give them addictive phone apps and other social media, to keep them distracted ...

[orcus]

Communism fails because communists as a general rule are destructive, angry, irrational people. It doesn't matter how "perfect" your system is if the people suck.

[fencerider]

Communism fails because communists as a general rule are destructive, angry, irrational people. It doesn't matter how "perfect" your system is if the people suck.

are you talking about communists or capitalists?

[Shiranu]

Communism fails because communists as a general rule are destructive, angry, irrational people. It doesn't matter how "perfect" your system is if the people suck.

Why are they angry, though? Almost always it comes in response to capitalism and absolutism being taken to their extremes; when you are barely scraping by with little to no power while there is an aristocracy that is unbelievably well of... Yeah, you're going to be angry, destructive and irrational. It's that, or remain a serf.

Even in England and countries that had more economic equality, the early communists were people working the coal mines, the factory workers living in horrible tenants and nearly all day in dangerous sweatshops, and so on.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction; communism is just a response of the people to unregulated capitalism. Both are way too far to the left/right.

That's why when pr and someone else said socialism is on the road to communism, I don't inherently disagree; they do follow the same path. But if we want to be honest and not ideologically biased, then we have to confess that capitalism is the road to child labour, slavery, mass poverty, and so on.

Frankly, holding socialists responsible for communism is as stupid as holding regulated, ethical capitalists responsible for the slave trade. That argument can be made, and it's what was made by pr, but it's a pretty impractical, and frankly stupid, argument (not to mention hypocritical when you only want to make it about one side and not the other).