Liberalism and Communism Have Exactly One Difference

Submitted by David Ryan (United Kingdom), Jul 15, 2019 at 00:33

Such rose-colored glasses - The only difference between Liberalism and Communism is the duration of the transition.

After the Czar was overthrown, the Kerensky transition government lasted just 7 months before the Bolshevik communist takeover and Red Terror. After WWII the transition to official communist governments in eastern European countries took just 1 to 3 years. The communist takeover in China was basically instantaneous. The faster the takeover by Leftism (my preferred term for both) the bloodier the result. That is because the ground and minds throughout society have not been prepared for such a radical and counter to human nature change by ideological isolation and propaganda. The Left has changed its approach and timeline to communism by gradualism with the goal that by the time full communism is instituted, hardly anyone will be left who knows any other way.

They believe things like a 50-year transition will be enough for Hong Kong. Recent events indicate it will not be. At the end of Kerenskyism will be the same horrors regardless of the duration. (After China has gotten the industrialization and military it wants from controlled Capitalism, it will probably slaughter its capitalists in one night like France's Philip IV and Avignon Pope Clement V disposed of the Knights Templar in 1307 and took their wealth.)

That Leftist blame largely ineffective conservatives for the failures of Leftism in the West, and almost imaginary reactionaries in communist countries is more logical than you seem to think. Look at it this way. Leftism has an absolute need for 100% enthusiastic participation. If just one single person were exempted, that person would perform and accumulate above the average, holding more and more resources needed for redistribution, ultimately sucking the sustenance and people's faith from entire socialist system, bringing it down, or conversely under-perform and likewise take increasingly scarce resources. Of course the Soviet Union was brought down by cynicism from redistribution mainly benefiting the redistributors, and people realizing that was the real purpose of Leftism from the beginning.

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