> > If there is one lesson, I think it is the absolute priority
of a free press and political democracy. Roads to Utopia that do
not start with speeches and debates appear to have a very high
probability of leading to the Revolution Betrayed instead--to the
Great Terror or the Cultural Revolution or Tuol Sleng or to
whatever . . . >>
God knows N. Korea is not on my short list of vacation destinations. But the main thing is, if free press/democracy was always an option, we would not be having this discussion. We don't know where the road to utopia begins.
When it isn't an option, we are thrown back to counter-factuals which rely on extended extrapolations of world history from alternative initial conditions. I suppose these ought to be done, but they do not inspire bold confidence in any single judgement about how, say, China would have evolved under the KMT vis-a-vis the CCP. Or we get into the totalitarian/authoritarian discussion, which has been superceded by history. The "totalitarians" were not immortal, and authoritarians can have considerable staying power.
Then there's at least the single counter-example of Cuba -- no picnic in democratic terms but no great terror etc. either. You yourself have indicated a preference for the previous Afghan regime relative to what succeeded it.
Great shifts of power can give rise to great crimes against humanity. China is an obvious example of this. But great danger seems inherent in any historical juncture where great good is also possible.
The practical importance of all this is highly debatable. Certainly in the U.S., Japan, and the EU, no sane person would contemplate a revolution which entailed a significant retreat from the democratic institutions we have, such as they are. Indeed, apologias to excess for totalitarian or authoritarian regimes are a warning signal of such inclinations. People signal their political incompetence in this way. Putting aside marginal political voices, however, the dispute seems more academic than eventful.
Things are different in the case of undemocratic places where there are no appealing options and one must choose among the unappealing (e.g., Albania vs. Milosevic). But in future such cases, we may never see any communist vs. capitalist choice if the only remaining communists are the ones ensconced in capitalist countries, railing against the creature comforts they are forced to enjoy.
mbs