I think the conditioning is more like a story that previous attempts at communism were devious tricks played on the population by power hungry opportunists. The people wanted a more egalitarian society, then a small band of grinning Marxists promised to make such a society, but it involved relinquishing free speech and gun ownership like an infernal Faustian bargain. Then the dictators had power and the everyday population either couldn't stop it or was too brainwashed to care. It's the plot of Animal Farm.
It's a story I hear over and over among people taking first steps into leftist theory and history. The story has no reflection in reality at all but that doesn't stop a lot of people from internalizing it, even if they're otherwise on our side.
It's also a kind of narcissism I feel, like saying those previous attempts at communism were clearly tricks, but me as an educated westerner am immune to such deceptions. I clearly have a much better plan to bring about communism. Just stop doing capitalism, how hard can that be?
I also have a feeling it's just a straight up antisemitic narrative.
Oh yeah Animal Farm is absolutely a massive part of the propaganda. We were essentially taught in school that Stalin just kind of tricked everyone into giving him absolute power and then they couldn’t do anything when he turned evil. It’s actually insulting how Orwell portrays the non westerners as stupid animals who can’t realise when they are being exploited.
After reading it people either think “fighting for a better world always leads to things getting worse” (ie becoming liberal), or they don’t resolve the contradiction and think “I can make true communism because I would make sure there’s no evil dictator running things”
Some leftists and others fall back on the old stereotype of power-
hungry Reds who pursue power for powers sake without regard for
actual social goals. If true, one wonders why, in country after coun-
try, these Reds side with the poor and powerless often at great risk
and sacrifice to themselves, rather than reaping the rewards that
come with serving the well-placed.
I love Parenti and he's correct here, but this wouldn't get through to liberals or most ultras. They have a warped conception of socialism in practice. They often believe Fidel Castro and company lived in opulent wealth. A guy I know will bring up how Cuba isn't socialist because National Assembly members drive in fancy cars that most people couldn't afford.
I remember during the Bolivian coup a while ago there was a bunch of footage of people who broke into Evo Morales' house. There were a bunch of people saying they were disgusted he lived in such wealth when so much of Bolivia was poor, even through from what I could see it was just a kind of normal two story house.
It reminds me of that one lady in Disco Elysium who won't believe the union president is a leftist because he's fat.
They're not satisfied unless communist leaders live in absolute destitute poverty except they're not even satisfied about that because it's just a bad faith rhetorical tactic.
I think the conditioning is more like a story that previous attempts at communism were devious tricks played on the population by power hungry opportunists. The people wanted a more egalitarian society, then a small band of grinning Marxists promised to make such a society, but it involved relinquishing free speech and gun ownership like an infernal Faustian bargain. Then the dictators had power and the everyday population either couldn't stop it or was too brainwashed to care. It's the plot of Animal Farm.
It's a story I hear over and over among people taking first steps into leftist theory and history. The story has no reflection in reality at all but that doesn't stop a lot of people from internalizing it, even if they're otherwise on our side.
It's also a kind of narcissism I feel, like saying those previous attempts at communism were clearly tricks, but me as an educated westerner am immune to such deceptions. I clearly have a much better plan to bring about communism. Just stop doing capitalism, how hard can that be?
I also have a feeling it's just a straight up antisemitic narrative.
Oh yeah Animal Farm is absolutely a massive part of the propaganda. We were essentially taught in school that Stalin just kind of tricked everyone into giving him absolute power and then they couldn’t do anything when he turned evil. It’s actually insulting how Orwell portrays the non westerners as stupid animals who can’t realise when they are being exploited.
After reading it people either think “fighting for a better world always leads to things getting worse” (ie becoming liberal), or they don’t resolve the contradiction and think “I can make true communism because I would make sure there’s no evil dictator running things”
:parenti:
I love Parenti and he's correct here, but this wouldn't get through to liberals or most ultras. They have a warped conception of socialism in practice. They often believe Fidel Castro and company lived in opulent wealth. A guy I know will bring up how Cuba isn't socialist because National Assembly members drive in fancy cars that most people couldn't afford.
I remember during the Bolivian coup a while ago there was a bunch of footage of people who broke into Evo Morales' house. There were a bunch of people saying they were disgusted he lived in such wealth when so much of Bolivia was poor, even through from what I could see it was just a kind of normal two story house.
It reminds me of that one lady in Disco Elysium who won't believe the union president is a leftist because he's fat.
They're not satisfied unless communist leaders live in absolute destitute poverty except they're not even satisfied about that because it's just a bad faith rhetorical tactic.