While doing some thinking for a paper I was writing for school, I came across a parallel (If I am using this literary term right) between democracy as practiced by the Bush Administration and Lenin's communism. The Bush Administration seeks to spread, by force or not, democracy across the world, regardless of whether it would be fitting in that area or not. Did the Soviet Union not practice the same idea? One of Lenin's ideas was that communism could not be fully adopted in the USSR, therefore ridding of the opressive state, until it was adopted everywhere else in the world. I just thought that was interesting.
Democracy and communism parallel I noticed
By textra - Posted on October 15th, 2007
You have to make a HUGE stretch to really say that the two are parallel.
Our current push to help the oppressed people in many countries have a democracy benefits them, not us. Apart from making another friend and lowering the number of people wanting us dead simply for existing, we don't greatly benefit directly from a democratically lead Iraq.
However, THEY greatly benefit. Both in personal freedoms and also being able to live a life in which they don't have to worry about Saddam gassing another 100 thousand kurds.
When Lenin wanted to push communism, it was not to benefit the people, but to benefit himself. He wanted the soviet empire to grow to suit his will. On the other hand, President Bush and the United States of America do not seek to take over the country of Iraq, nor did we seek to take over Afghanistan before it. Should we end up in Iran next, we will not seek to own that country either.
Communism, in practice, is focused around the oppression of the masses to provide for the elite. Democracy is focused on giving the masses a vote, a say, in what happens, granting liberty to the people.
Communism is based on oppression, TRUE democracy is based on liberty.
Saddam had elections and he always won. He had a form of democracy, but it was not true democracy.
Without liberty, there is no democracy. That Liberty is what we fight for anywhere we can, and have done so for decades.
It is said that Democracy is 2 wolves and a sheep voting for what's for dinner. Liberty is arming the Sheep.
Communism is not based on oppression in the original Marxist view. Marx called for the working class to overthrow the ruling class, as he believed a peaceful revolution was impossible. While there is an oppressive aspect in his theory of the intermediate stage where the working class rules for some time in order to establish socialist idealology. However, as soon as their job is done, the government is disbanded and the dissolution of state in total takes place.
Who gets a friend? We certainly don't. Countries don't become allies when one occupies another with 150,000 troops who regularly commit atrocities. I'm pretty sure more people want us dead now than before the Iraq intervention.
We are forcing democracy on the Iraqis, much as the USSR forced communism on Eastern Europe and tried to on Afghanistan and Africa. There is also the issue of how hypocritical it is to try and turn other countries democratic when democracy fails here in the good ol U S of A.
Yeah..... I don't think I'll correct you. There isn't sufficient time.
If you want to believe that we in the United States are more oppressed than those in the former USSR, or China... then go ahead.
Unlike those countries, where you'd be arrested, imprisoned and/or shot for ranting about the government, here you're allowed to.
Textra, you are completely right, and if you want to study further along these lines here is a good place to start:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j061303.html
I can see what you're saying. Lennin believe that Communism would spread around the world (which is why he gave up part of Russia to the Germany because he believed that soon or later everybody would be one and there would be no boreders) There is a small parallel in the fact that Bush is trying to spread Democracy in any way that he can. We have been an imperialist country since...forever.
I don't believe that our basic fundementals are the same as those that are Communist. Our democratic society is becoming more communist because the government is starting to controll more businesses and put more regulations which is EXTREMELY against Capitalism/Democracy.