<< I call for a new world order based on cooperation rather than
competition, sharing rather than greed, serving people rather than capital, and
perservating the environment rather than abusing it.
Do you have any objection to that?
Adopt a longer view of history. It will add meaning to your life. >>
I agree with the above statement, I just object to your calling what existed in the Soviet Union "socialist". I don't really know what you mean about saying that Goldman thought that revolution was a "tea party" or something like that. If a tea party is a place where they don't arbitrarily round up anyone accused of being a counter-revolutionary, crush democracy and worker's control of industry, implement wild inflation to wipe out the value of money based on some "socialist" scheme, a establish a police state run buy quixotic pointy-headed intellectuals which causes the slow destruction of an entire society, you can count me in. I prefer Earl Grey, thank you. Leftists should have listened to Bakunin's warnings. Oh, but I guess the end justifies the means. I'm fully aware that she was deported to Russia at that time, but she also had the idea that the Bolsheviks were actually doing what they said they were going to (eg, "All power to the soviets", etc.) just like Jack Reed and others. I'd like a society to be based on cooperation rather that competition and greed, but I think that leftists should open there eyes to the realities or Bolshevism instead of excusing them because they are the first government to call themselves "socialist". If this is a "selective view of history" then I guess I'm guilty, but at least I'm not an apologist. I'm not going to try and point my finger and say, "4 centuries of capitalism was bad too!" to justifiy socialist horror. That's just silly. I have argued this crap with socialists till I'm blue in the face. I think we should work for the goals you stated above, but divisions on the left over tactics will get us no where.
Oh, and as far as China goes, they are rounding up people who are trying to help the unemployed as I am writing this. Jiang Zemin and co. are just as capitalist as JD Rockefeller. Probably worse. Oh, but since they call themselves Communists, they must be.
And as far as that stuff about "allowing themselves to butchered by the German military" remember that Lenin probably would not be in power were it not for the Germans who wanted Lenin to destabilize Russia so they could win the war. So stop with the sell-out line.
>At any rate, my whole point was that we should not condemn socialism because
we do
>not agree with what some socialists allegedly did in the past.
Uh, if I'm not mistaken, those "socialists" a responsible for what you are calling "socialism", so why can't I condemn something that the people I disagree with implemented?!?!?
Damon Mac Fodge