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Reddit Good Post Archive
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Archiving good Reddit posts in case of censorship.
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I saw this list on Reddit and thought I’d post it here:
Nazi’s Caught Dressing As BLM Protestors To Instigate Riots https://bipartisanreport.com/2020/07/27/nazis-caught-dressing-as-blm-protestors-to-instigate-riots/
White supremacists pose as Antifa online and instigate violence https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/george-floyd-protests-antifa-twitter-white-supremacists-far-right-racist-a9544276.html
Gov Walz: Organized Groups Now Using Protests to ‘Break the Back of Civil Society’ https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/gov-walz-organized-groups-now-using-protests-to-break-the-back-of-civil-society/
Police: Richmond riots instigated by white supremacists disguised as Black Lives Matterhttps: //www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2020/07/27/police-richmond-riots-instigated-by-white-supremacists-disguised-as-black-lives-matter/
Mystery ‘Umbrella Man’ Vandal From Minnesota: Police Say He’s A White Supremacist Instigator https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/07/28/mystery-umbrella-man-vandal-from-minnesota-police-say-hes-a-white-supremacist-instigator/#1b39787f48ee
Trump’s words show that yes, he has encouraged violence https://www.ajc.com/news/national-govt--politics/trump-words-show-that-yes-has-encouraged-violence/7sIekwrBayVArwRRmZf6HI/
‘No Blame?’ ABC News finds 54 cases invoking ‘Trump’ in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889
Were white supremacists following Trump’s advice about dealing with protesters? https://www.newsweek.com/trump-told-white-supremacists-attack-protesters-so-they-did-650622
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Mirrored from Reddit, not my work. Source: https://teddit.net/r/InformedTankie/comments/hg2qu4/why_even_a_free_market_is_doomed_to_fail/
"its not capitalism! its Corporatism." "its not the market, its regulation." we hear these 2 sayings all the time, but lets see what would happen using history and raw data to see what will happen if conservatives and libertarians got there dream of laissez-faire. i will give my case on why the "free market" would fail.
Business will do anything, i mean anything to get out of head to head competition. with a super competitive market, whatever you sell so does your competition, that means lower and lower profits. Why do you think branding exists?
Natural Monopoly:
Merging and simple competition:
Firstly i hope many people know why monopoly is bad, at least capitalist monopolies. Many people like to claim there would not be any monopoly in a free market but this is demonstrably false:
After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 politicians were excited to see many new competitors and thus improving the airline industry. the opposite happened, although competition did flourish and many new competitors hit the market it was a matter of time till the companies started merging, thus eliminating competition and the rest ended up going bankrupt. And there was even more Airline companies before deregulation. Many people don't realize, companies don't want competition and will do anything to assure competition is eliminated, whether this be buying competitors, merging, out performing them based on scale (smaller companies give better quality the richer company can easily temporarily do better) and even other forms of sabotage. this is very general and simple, but competition has winners.
Utility monopoly:
this one is simple for several companies to run sewer systems, power lines, etc is simply inefficient resulting in a very common and natural monopoly.
Resource monopoly:
A resource monopoly occurs when a company has control of a scarce or location specific resource.
Yes, not as widespread but still very possible for example: ALCOA—the Aluminum Company of America controlled almost all the supply of Bauxite. No other companies could produce enough Aluminum to compete.
Another example is DeBeers who had control over the production of diamond in most of the 20th century.
taken from socialisci:
Intimidation and barriers to entry:
Businesses have developed a number of schemes for creating barriers to entry by deterring potential competitors from entering the market. One method is known as predatory pricing, in which a firm uses the threat of sharp price cuts to discourage competition. Predatory pricing is a violation of U.S. antitrust law, but it is difficult to prove. Now imagine no law against it.
Consider a large airline that provides most of the flights between two particular cities. A new, small start-up airline decides to offer service between these two cities. The large airline immediately slashes prices on this route to the bone, so that the new entrant cannot make any money. After the new entrant has gone out of business, the incumbent firm can raise prices again.
After this pattern is repeated once or twice, potential new entrants may decide that it is not wise to try to compete. Small airlines often accuse larger airlines of predatory pricing: in the early 2000s, for example, ValuJet accused Delta of predatory pricing, Frontier accused United, and Reno Air accused Northwest. In 2015, the Justice Department ruled against American Express and Mastercard for imposing restrictions on retailers who encouraged customers to use lower swipe fees on credit transactions.
In some cases, large advertising budgets can also act as a way of discouraging the competition. If the only way to launch a successful new national cola drink is to spend more than the promotional budgets of Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola, not too many companies will try. A firmly established brand name can be difficult to dislodge.
Violent cycles:
Instability would be a plague of Free market advocates whilst the USSR had no recessions besides maybe a downturn during the war, the USA had 50 recessions, let me say that again, 50 recessions. This is some proper stability my friends. i mean ffs free market policies caused the 2008 financial crisis.
the whole idea of competition is instability, tons of new competitors and tons of businesses going out of business. a super packed industry is ideal for quality and lowering of prices (as i've shown there's many problems with this) but this creates violent cycles of job instability, job loss, etc.
Resource allocation:
Yes the usual market forces will be there but so will the crushing poverty worldwide. but without any real government aid to other nations we should expect things to be much worse. It is not profitable to sell food to 3rd world nations, but they are good cheap labour so under a worldwide libertarian type system expect some crazy inequality and unequal exchange.
principles needed to have a "Free market":
(credit to Reddish_vp)
- Rational agents;
- Monoatomic enterprises;
- Homogenuos products;
- No barriers to entry or exit the market;
All of those items are purely theoretical and each have a whole world of problems of their own.
Profit and Waste
its quite simple, a company runs on profits, capitalism runs on profits and if you do not keep coming back to buy there product there not making any money thus fail. this practice which is called planned obsolescence is very common, wasteful and exploitative.
The made to break motive started mainly in the 1930s with the pheobus cartel at a time when the average light bulb could last up to 25,000 hours! but then all companies were commanded to only allow a max of 1,000 hours of life to increase demand. this is a prime example of the wastefulness caused by capitalism. if this is not fixed this wasteful and disgusting trait of capitalism will worsen the lives of many as life grows more unsustainable. these are not just numbers, these are finite resources that with proper allocation and correct production could better the lives of everyone whilst keeping world sustainability.
Excerpt from TBS: "advertisements each and every day whose sole purpose is to convince us to keep on shopping under the promise that doing so will make our lives better. Through advertising, companies have managed to make us confuse our needs with our wants, thus making us desire to acquire things that we don’t truly need, so that we can fill in their pockets by emptying our own." this quote will remain crucial to the following points and crucial to this whole post in general.
Not too long ago apple was fined for deliberately slowing older phones so people buy the new ones.
W: another example, inkjet printer manufacturers employ smart chips in their ink cartridges to prevent them from being used after a certain threshold (number of pages, time, etc.), even though the cartridge may still contain usable ink or could be refilled (with ink toners, up to 50 percent of the toner cartridge is often still full). This constitutes "programmed obsolescence", in that there is no random component contributing to the decline in function.
other examples/ways items are made to break:
Nylons: not nearly as quality as they use to be.
Consumer Electronics: the case of apple deliberately slowing older phones and as shown below the tricks like placing the most sensitive part next to the hottest part on the circuit.
Cars: Vehicles that mere made before world war 2 were still being driven in the 60s. but this is not profitable, so companies created plans.
- “routinely discontinue parts that could otherwise be made available for repairs.”
- ” confirm to a strict yearly cycle of model releases, often introducing purely cosmetic changes from one year to the next.”
- “retire popular models and bring out something new every few years, making it harder to fix older vehicles.” (instead of “sticking with hits and standardizing them over time, which would better support a repair aftermarket”)
Cars today, for many, are seen as a fashion accessory and statement. It has become common for people to buy the new model of a car, even if the one they own is in great shape, and still has years to live.
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Mirrored from Reddit, not my work. Source: https://teddit.net/r/InformedTankie/comments/hfgup4/analysis_of_hong_kong_the_second_most_free/
Archive:
according to the heritage foundation (a conservative think tank) Hong Kong is ranked number to and in other rankings is ranked number 1 in economic freedom and how they go about classifying these nations is i quote:
"We measure economic freedom based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom:
- Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
- Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
- Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom)
- Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)"
so lets see how this mostly "ideal capitalism" serves the people.
first of all Hong Kong has one of the biggest wealth disparities and is still growing (image source). Hong Kong’s gap between the rich and the poor is at its widest in nearly half a century.
rich Hong Kong people live here (image source) all whilst a typical Hong Kong resident lives here (image source), some nice economic freedom. if you want a good illustration of average living space look here:
Nearly one in five people living in poverty. With a minimum wage of $4.82 an hour. again, some nice economic freedom.
all whilst it has the The longest working hours in the world, and even with the best counter arguments still have some of the longest working hours in the world.
They also boast the highest rent prices in the world.
The average home in Hong Kong also costs 20 times the median salary:
It would take the average Hongkonger today more than 18 years, using all their salary, to buy a flat of less than 500 square feet, according to the affordability survey by Demographia.
Average living space for Hong Kong’s poorest residents same as that of prisoners
Corporate tax in Hong Kong is among the lowest for major global cities. but it helps nobody but the rich. the largest wage increase was when a statutory minimum was put in place.
Hong Kong's about half of Hong Kongs flats cost 70% of the median income.
recently Hong Kong hit its highest poverty level in a very long time. very nice economic freedom.
The top 10 percent in Hong Kong earn 44 times more than the lower 10 percent in the city.
Hong Kong came dead last for customer 'smiling index'. this my friends is what its like being a clog in a machine. excerpt from scmp:
"Having to spend an average of nine hours a day at work, on top of three hours commuting between her home and the office, Chow, who is in her 40s, still manages to see the brighter side of life."
this was a small analysis using a bit of resources but it goes to show even being the the "second most free nation" doesn't really make anyone anymore happy, or improve the standard of living compared to countries with heavy intervention. my next post will be on Singapore, the most "free" place on earth.
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Resources to help bernie supporters [or liberals/socdem in general] understand socialism (Mirror)
(lemmygrad.ml)
Mirrored from Reddit, not my work. Source: https://teddit.net/r/bernieblindness/comments/hdiha0/resources_to_help_bernie_supporters_understand/
I've replaced www.youtube.com URLs with yewtu.be, and www.reddit.com with teddit.net. They are open source YouTube and Reddit webclients respectively, for better privacy. Just switch the domains back if you want undo this and get back to the vanilla YouTube link.
TODO: Archive all the Google Drive/Docs stuff too.
NOTE: if you have any good resources please link them in the comments so i can add them to my personal list ive been building.
im giving a decent list of free Marxist books/resources for everyone's use. i compiled this for the comrades who cannot afford to buy/order such books and for learning for everyone. This list should not be credited too much to me, a lot of the resources come from other comrades hard work and compiling and hours of researching, i found much here but most credit should go to everyone else who compiled/made/created these resources (some writing is even pasted from other comrades posts). i recommend the youtubers first.
Introduction to socialism:
Richard Wolff: Introduction to Marxism
The difference between personal and private property
Books:
Reform or revolution by Rosa Luxembourg https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/
How Europe under-developed Africa by Walter Rodney https://archive.org/details/HowEuropeUnderdevelopedAfricaByWalterRodney/page/n1/mode/2up
Unequal exchange: The prospects of socialism https://web.archive.org/web/20170919180937/http://snylterstaten.dk/english/unequal-exchange-and-prospects-socialism-communist-working-group
Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism https://archive.org/details/FundamentalsOfMarxismLeninism
Das Kapital by Karl Marx https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.124455/page/n5/mode/2up
The communist Manifesto by Karl Marx https://archive.org/details/ComManifesto/mode/2up
Its not over: Learning from the socialist experiment https://www.ebookphp.com/its-not-over-learning-from-the-socialist-experiment-epub-pdf/
Economic problems in the USSR by Josef Stalin https://archive.org/details/economicproblemssocialismussrstalin
The Myth of Capitalism Reborn: A Marxist critique of Theories of Capitalist Restoration in the USSR https://archive.org/details/TheMythOfCapitalismReborn/page/n53/mode/2up
Killing hope: US military and CIA interventions since World war 2 https://archive.org/details/pdfy-q0ULBH2DJICRS3Vg/mode/2up
Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Friedrich Engels https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/index.htm
Imperialism The Highest Stage Of Capitalism By Lenin https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.3317/mode/2up
The State and Revolution by Lenin https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch01.htm
Wage Labor and Capital https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/wage-labour-capital.pdf
Marxism and Feminism https://www.marxists.org/archive/harman/1979/marxism/ch12.html
Economics for dummies, to help people understand capitalism but be wary, it is semi pro capitalism https://archive.org/details/EconomicsForDummies_/mode/2up
The great conspiracy against Russia by Michael Sayer and Albert E. Kahn https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/great-conspiracy-against-russia.pdf \
Towards a new socialism by W. Paul Cockshott and Allin Cottrell http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/socialism_book/new_socialism.pdf
Socialist political Economy https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/
Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of communism (an absolute must read for Marxists-Leninists) https://eastsidemarxism.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/michael-parenti-blackshirts-and-reds-rational-fascism-and-the-overthrow-of-communism.pdf
Late Victorian Holocausts by Mark Davis (how the introduction of capitalism causes famine) https://archive.org/details/latevictorianhol00dav_wbr
Anti Communism: Who benefits from it? by Vladimir Mshvenieradze. it reveals just how prevalent anti-communism was and still is. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-V4quceAKK9bXVaOEx0Nm4xXzQ/view
Youtubers and Youtube Videos:
Hakim (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCPPZoYsfoSekIpLcz9plX1Q
TheFinnishBolshevik (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCCvdjsJtifsZoShjcAAHZpA
Every anti-communist argument debunked https://yewtu.be/watch?v=MjwL1mSrPLA
Benji (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCDG87s_QtD4YrIamqb9k5WQ
DemocraticSocialist01 (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/user/MrReco12
ComradeSloth (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCZtETWkXOblKAN5V1GUfnyg
Tovarisch Endymion (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCTG-iJm0HtjWVOAwN8sA4Xg
Spooky Scary Socialist (Marxist-Leninist youtuber) https://yewtu.be/channel/UCl_A_42M6kvjH8Gr-rwfCUw
Capitalism is destroying us, socialism is not an option https://yewtu.be/watch?v=CVpV_wVYOEg
How capitalism is theft https://yewtu.be/watch?v=GFEzJovH2yo
Resource document pages and Archives:
A complete Marxist archive https://www.marxists.org/
Venezuela myths debunked: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FgJdjKwWHow6Yy1-zmiiwxX_DDgaF8kHkmVohkL_Yew/edit?usp=drivesdk
The basics of Marxist-Leninist Theory https://archive.org/details/basics_of_marxist__leninist_theory
Massive document page debunking anti socialist lies by Albamc35 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rRBtOd7tCPwJgXNy4m1PLvDnPrbMcn6yMe7mVIIHZfA/edit
The case for Marxism-Leninism https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uOAy23Rouv_Mg14_NgcEOm-K19ragMTlB03RV7Td01Q/edit
Another document page debunking lies against socialism https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gxwhh-vdeB--47HM-20cEVRC9eAMhrapbNf0Sk8VSOs/edit
massive right winger fact sheet https://socdoneleft.github.io/stinky_rightwinger_factsheet.html#public_healthcare
Socialist archive https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/index.htm
Huge socialist book archive https://archive.org/details/@ismail_badiou
Huge Marxist-Leninist archive https://neodemocracy.blogspot.com/
Huge soviet archive and pro socialist articles https://northstarcompass.org/
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Mirrored from Reddit, not my work. Source: https://teddit.net/r/InformedTankie/comments/hnc2cr/capitalism_is_unsustainable/
a study published in nature found that the world western level quality of life cannot be sustained at all. and not even developing nations can sustain there quality of life.
one word, Capitalism.
made to break:
its quite simple, a company runs on profits, capitalism runs on profits and if you do not keep coming back to buy there product there not making any money thus fail. this practice which is called planned obsolescence is very common, wasteful and exploitative.
The made to break motive started mainly in the 1930s with the pheobus cartel at a time when the average light bulb could last up to 25,000 hours! but then all companies were commanded to only allow a max of 1,000 hours of life to increase demand. this is a prime example of the wastefulness caused by capitalism. if this is not fixed this wasteful and disgusting trait of capitalism will worsen the lives of many as life grows more unsustainable. these are not just numbers, these are finite resources that with proper allocation and correct production could better the lives of everyone whilst keeping world sustainability.
Excerpt from TBS: "advertisements each and every day whose sole purpose is to convince us to keep on shopping under the promise that doing so will make our lives better. Through advertising, companies have managed to make us confuse our needs with our wants, thus making us desire to acquire things that we don’t truly need, so that we can fill in their pockets by emptying our own." this quote will remain crucial to the following points and crucial to this whole post in general.
Not too long ago apple was fined for deliberately slowing older phones so people buy the new ones.
the resources used to make iphones are deemed critically low yet they have the audacity to break phones so people buy new ones? absolutely repulsive.
W: another example, inkjet printer manufacturers employ smart chips in their ink cartridges to prevent them from being used after a certain threshold (number of pages, time, etc.), even though the cartridge may still contain usable ink or could be refilled (with ink toners, up to 50 percent of the toner cartridge is often still full). This constitutes "programmed obsolescence", in that there is no random component contributing to the decline in function.
other examples/ways items are made to break:
Nylons: not nearly as quality as they use to be.
Consumer Electronics: the case of apple deliberately slowing older phones and as shown below the tricks like placing the most sensitive part next to the hottest part on the circuit.
Cars: Vehicles that mere made before world war 2 were still being driven in the 60s. but this is not profitable, so companies created plans.
taken from RTP:
- “routinely discontinue parts that could otherwise be made available for repairs.”
- ” confirm to a strict yearly cycle of model releases, often introducing purely cosmetic changes from one year to the next.”
- “retire popular models and bring out something new every few years, making it harder to fix older vehicles.” (instead of “sticking with hits and standardizing them over time, which would better support a repair aftermarket”)
Cars today, for many, are seen as a fashion accessory and statement. It has become common for people to buy the new model of a car, even if the one they own is in great shape, and still has years to live.
Unavailable/high cost spare parts: underproduction of a spare part leads to no availability of said part. but they will offer this *new* part that costs much more than the old part but its now the only choice you got.
Vulnerability to wear and tear: examples are the fact some electronics most sensitive parts are exposed to the hottest part on the circuit. but it is not limited to the previous example.
Warranty: many do not bother to keep a receipt, it gets lost, etc. but its not limited to that, especially if the repair can take months. also cases of having to send it to the manufacturer with out-of-pocket expenses.
these are just a few examples of 'made to break' or planned obsolescence. this is widespread, considering the fact this system relies on profit and demand.
Overproduction and waste:
relevant comment by u/jbid25
Taken from TWC:
Most things as i've shown are made to break but general wastefulness and environmentally safe procedures are not widespread.
use it and lose it is the western philosophy. We way overproduce, and discard just about everything we use instantly. we dont care what items they are whether it be tossing our old tv in the trash to getting groceries with plastic bags. we waste a lot, some has to do with the fact things are not made to last but it also has to do with the fact capitalism is ecologically inefficient in production.
taken from TG:
"A record 54m tonnes of “e-waste” was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21% in five years, the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor report found. The 2019 figure is equivalent to 7.3kg for every man, woman and child on Earth, though use is concentrated in richer nations. The amount of e-waste is rising three times faster than the world’s population, and only 17% of it was recycled in 2019." this is unsustainable, almost nothing is being done about it. These are precious resources in a finite planet these are not just numbers. we need a more efficient system that systematically deals with waste and we need to systematically deal with how we dispose of things. decades and capitalism has not fixed it. this all gets back to the original study, the world cannot sustain its living standards BECAUSE OF CAPITALISM. capitalisms inabilities to deal with these billions of tonnes of precious finite resources being wasted and dumped. but the study only dealt with current statistics, the thing is we can create a more efficient economy, a planned economy with proper technology, organization and planning so we can give everyone a decent standard of living on a finite planet.
its simple. its not profitable to allocate resources for 'free' so there dumped.
a staggering 2.9 trillion pounds is wasted every year, this is enough to feed the entire world.
taken from here:
The amount of trash generated by the UK could fill Britain’s largest lake, Lake Windermere, in just 8 months.
We used to get through 500 million plastic bags every week in the UK – amounting to billions of bags and thousands of tonnes of plastic. Sadly, each bag will take between 500 and 1,000 years to decompose in landfil
At Christmas, as much as 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper will end up in UK bins when it could have been recycled instead. That’s the same size as Sunderland!
The number of disposable nappies each baby gets through weighs the same as a family car
Humans now buy a million plastic bottles a minute. Most of this plastic ends up in the ocean. By 2050, the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish.
It’s not just what goes in the bin that counts as waste – water can be wasted, too. A single leaky tap in your house can waste as much as 5,000 litres of water a year. If we all fixed our dripping taps we could supply 120,000 people with a day’s worth of water.
Nine-tenths of all solid waste in the United States does not get recycled.
Landfills are among the biggest contributors to soil pollution – roughly 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled.
Although 75% of America’s waste is recyclable, we only recycle around 30% of it.
A single recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. It also creates 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than would be created when making a new bottle.
Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as it takes to burn it.
It only takes 5 recycled plastic bottles to make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket.
Motor oil never wears out, it just gets dirty – and it can be recycled.
Over 11 million tons of recyclable clothing, shoes, and textiles make their way into landfills each year.
Glass bottles take 4,000 years to decompose.
Glass, like aluminum, is infinitely recyclable – without any loss in purity or quality.
the above list is very small and only highlights a few things but i hope this gives everyone an idea of what is going on.
The United States throws out the amount of office paper it would take to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City (2,794 miles).
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Mirrored from a Reddit post, not my work. Source: https://teddit.net/user/SavageTruths74/comments/j6dfxz/list_of_marxist_channels_and_marxist_resources/
I didn't mirror this Reddit thread on archive.org because there were no comments at the time of posting this, so basically all the useful information is in this post.
I've replaced www.youtube.com URLs with yewtu.be, an open source YouTube webclient, for better privacy. Just switch the domains back if you want undo this and get back to the vanilla YouTube link.
I will also be rating the channels from 1-10 based on quality. though opinions may vary so watch them all. i will NR if i have not watched/heard enough to comment.
- YUGOPNIK (covers a wide variety of topics) 7/10
- Socialist Swann (so far, mainly only has amazing videos on the GDR) 9/10
- SpookyScarySocialist (covers a wide variety of topics) 10/10
- Halim Alrah (covers a wide variety of topics) 8/10
- Paul Cockshott (Covers lots of economics and many other topics) 8/10
- Space Babies (covers many things, some better than others) 6/10
- The Marxist Project (covers lots of economics and many other topics) 10/10
- AnotherBolshevikConspirator (New channel so far mainly only has videos on colonialism) NR
- Socialist Voice (an Ireland based channel that covers a wide variety of topics) 8/10
- Politsurm International (covers a wide variety of topics) 7/10
- TheFinnishBolshevik (the OG Marxist-Leninist on Youtube. covers a wide variety of topics) 9/10
- Hakim (covers a wide variety of topics) 10/10
- Swoletariat (covers a wide variety of topics) 9/10
- DemocraticSocialist01 (covers a wide variety of topics) 10/10
- TovarishchEndymion (covers a wide variety of topics) 10/10
- Juche Gang (almost exclusively DPRK focused content) 7/10
- Bay Area415 (dengist [neo-marxist] channel focused a lot on china)
- Paul Morrin (an irish based channel that covers a wide variety of topics) NR
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GZD post: A Chinese blogger’s summary of why Ukraine have gotten to this place today
(www.reddit.com)
Today's home page is full of anti-war reflections and empathy. Since we all want to reflect so much, then I will seriously give you a reflection on how this matter in Ukraine has come to this point.
- Ukraine had a fantastic start
Many people see Ukraine as a small and weak country, but this perception is actually limited.
In terms of the size of the country, Ukraine is as large as Britain, France, Germany, and other European countries, and its population is 50 million. In terms of resources, Ukraine is the third-largest exporter of food in the world, along with the Northeast of China and the Mississippi of the United States. There are more than 80 kinds of rich minerals that can be mined, including coal, iron, manganese, nickel, titanium, mercury, graphite, and so on. Basically, they have all the necessary resources to become a strong power.
It is important to note that Ukraine is not an agricultural country with resources, but an industrial country with a very advanced industrial system and a system of universal education, which was also established as a production center in the former Soviet Union. With a literacy rate of 99.7%, Ukraine probably had the fourth-highest level of education in the world at that time, and had a large number of universities.
Moreover, Ukraine inherited a bunch of highly sophisticated factories from the Soviet era.
For example, the Nikolaev Shipyard - better known to the Chinese as the Black Sea Shipyard - was the largest shipyard in Europe at the time and built nine aircraft carriers for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the predecessor of China's Liaoning aircraft carrier “The Varyag” the predecessor of China's Liaoning aircraft carrier, was nearly 70% completed here.
Kharkiv Morozov Mechanical Design Bureau, where the famous T34 was designed and developed.
Antonov Design Bureau - in the 1980s the world's largest aircraft was built - the An-225 transport aircraft.
Madasich - the world's largest aero-engine research and manufacturing company, specializing in the supply of engines for all types of aircraft, known as the "power tsar"
Ukraine inherited 3,594 Soviet military-industrial enterprises, with 3 million workers, capable of producing aircraft, tanks, aircraft carriers, rockets, large transport aircraft, and land, maritime, aero equipment, and they were all at the top of the world at the time.
The most important thing is that Ukraine is not a fat sheep, it directly inherited 700,000 Soviet troops, more than 6,000 tanks, 1,500 aircraft, 300 ships, 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and -- 2,500 tactical nuclear weapons.
So you think this is a small and weak country? Have you ever heard of small countries with nuclear bombs in their hands?
When the family was divided, Ukraine's overall strength was second only to Russia, to Chinese, it is as known as the "second hairy". (Big hairy Russia two hairy Ukraine three hairy Belarus, hairy bear, of course, is the Soviet Union) Although it is no longer the might of the hairy bear, it by no means is a small country that can be compared to an average country.
But the problem is
In 1989, Ukraine's GDP per capita was 1598$, Romania's GDP per capita was 1818$, Russia's GDP per capita was 3429$, and China's GDP per capita was only 311$. Ukraine was five times larger than us.
Then twenty years passed
In 2016, Ukraine's GDP per capita is still only $2186$, Romania's GDP per capita is $9520$, Russia's GDP per capita is $8748$, and China's GDP per capita has come to $8123$ (source IMF official website) We are almost five times more than Ukraine.
So there are many countries in the world that can cry themselves miserable, such as some small countries in Africa, with poor natural conditions, little land resources, more than 90% of their land are deserts, they are not close to the shoreline and transportation is not convenient, so the gods can't help. But Ukraine is not. Ukraine had a fantastic start, which other countries, including us, could not even think about at that time.
- The Textbook of Color revolution
So how did Ukraine end up where it is today? Ukraine is a textbook of color revolutions on all fronts, because it is really hard to imagine a country that has bought into the evil of the other side like this
First, there was shock therapy.
After Ukraine's independence in 1991, Kravchuk became president, and in order to bring Ukraine's economy out of stagnation and quickly transform from a planned economy to a market economy, he believed in "shock therapy" as did Yeltsin in Russia at the time. As you may have guessed, like Russia, the Ukrainian economy went from stagnation to chaos, with prices soaring and the currency devalued, while some senior officials took the opportunity to use their power to acquire state property and become oligarchs.
But there is still something to say, after all, no one had the experience back then, the problem is the rest of the operations.
When Ukraine wanted to join the European NATO after USSR's dissolution, in order to convince the west as soon as possible that he was not a threat, he believed in the promises of Europe and the United States and destroyed his nuclear weapons. On the surface, for Ukraine at the time, this step was profitable both in terms of reducing the funds for maintaining nuclear weapons and in exchange for Western assistance.
But realistically speaking, only a company can discuss whether it makes money or not, a country cannot just consider whether it makes money or not, nuclear and non-nuclear countries are completely different things in terms of discourse.
Why did they attack Iraq? Because it was suspected of having weapons of mass destruction
So why not go after North Korea? Because it really does have weapons of mass destruction.
Ukraine could negotiate terms with Europe and the United States back then, not because Europe and the United States were kind-hearted, but because you really had thousands of nuclear warheads in your nuclear arsenal. After Ukraine destroyed its own nuclear weapons, Europe and the United States not only did not fulfill their promises, but even the previously promised loans started to come with conditions.
In addition to nuclear weapons, Europe and the United States also coerced and lured Ukraine into giving up a whole bunch of military equipment.
For example, when Ukraine had already built the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk, a Norwegian company offered Ukraine's help to build six ships, but to build them on Platform 0, where the Ulyanovsk carrier was located, and another American steel company took the opportunity to offer a high price for the steel used in the carrier's construction.
Ukraine had an idea: wouldn't it be a good move to kill two birds with one stone? So Ukraine dismantled the Ulyanovsk carrier and prepared to sell it, freeing up the shipyard for the orders of new ships.
But when the carrier was dismantled, the US company refused to buy it on the pretext that the contract was invalid, and then the Norwegian shipbuilding contract was canceled for some reason.
After your economic and military, the next is your whole industrial chain.
The famous "aviation power tsar" Madasic company president Boguslaev once told reporters that when he took his products to France to exhibit and tender, Western aviation manufacturers unceremoniously told him, "'Your engine is very good, but we don't want it '. Why? Because "your product does not meet the standards."
And what are the standards? The standard is that 24 ways of cutting environment-friendly humanitarian diamond and if you don't buy it then you don't love it. The standard is that the only champagne is the wine produced in the Champagne region of France.
If you can produce diamonds in West Africa, then I will emphasize the cut, diamonds are important, but a good cut is equally important, only diamonds that produced in the City of London by a century-old master, with hyperbolic 4C technique are worth the money, you don’t know that thing which is called an artisan spirit!
If you have the cut, I will then emphasize the brightness, only bright diamonds are worth the money, your dim ones are inferior!
As a result, when China's man-made diamond technology exploded, and they have all the brightness and cut, but…
Guess what the opposite side said?
Only those with flaws are natural! Only natural ones are worth the money!
Your Xinjiang cotton is cheap and good, I will just say that you used slave labor, the standards are in my hands and can change at any time, how do you play with it?
Therefore, repeatedly teased by the west, Ukraine came to its own realization. Ukraine wasn't stupid, of course, they also reacted to the good old "freedom and democracy." Everything will become better they said, turns out that's not true at all, is it?
In 2004, the Ukrainian public felt that we had to change our mindset, not what the west said, so they elected a pro-Russian Yanukovych and tried to move closer to Russia.
Then the final form of the color revolution emerged when the pro-Western Yushchenko, after losing the presidential election, called on his supporters to hold peaceful demonstrations in major cities across the country on the basis of "massive election fraud by Yanukovych", which became known as the "Orange Revolution" because Yushchenko and his supporters wore orange clothes and waved orange flags.
Under strong pressure, the Constitutional Court ruled that the election results were invalid and a new election was held early the following year, which Yushchenko won by a narrow margin.
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine, along with the Rose Revolution in Georgia and the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, are considered to be color revolutions, with the common denominator that they took place in the former Soviet Union and that the initial winners were all pro-Russian or socialist parties.
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Note: This is not mine and unfortunately, I didn't keep credit of the original poster. The original post was on r/MTC and, of course, now it's gone.
The British and French were trying to goad Germany and Russia into war.
The Soviets were the last country in europe to sign a pact with the Nazis and here's a handy infographic of the countries that did sign.
The Soviets spent over a year trying to sign an anti Nazi alliance with the British and the French.
The British confirmed all of this in 2009 when the 70 year limit ran out and their archive was opened and the full scale of what Stalin offered the Brits and French was basically enough to ensure WW2 never happened
The British and French however sent delegates with no authority to sign an alliance. The polish hated the Soviets because they were fascists under Pilzudski and were hoping for an alliance with Hitler.
Poland also realised that if they allowed the Soviets onto Polish territory the Soviets would unilaterally annexe the land the Polish had stolen from the Soviet Union in the 1918-1920 invasion of the USSR where Poland annexed land from Belarus, Lithuania (they stole Villinus the capital of Lithuania) and Ukraine.
The Polish then enacted a forced "Polandisation" of the citizens living there. Suppressing native languages and treating Belarussians/Lits and Ukrainians as 2nd class peoples.
Bear in mind this is one year after they signed the Munich agreement which gave Hitler Czechoslovakia.
"Papers which were kept secret for almost 70 years show that the Soviet Union proposed sending a powerful military force in an effort to entice Britain and France into an anti-Nazi alliance.
The new documents, copies of which have been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, show the vast numbers of infantry, artillery and airborne forces which Stalin's generals said could be dispatched, if Polish objections to the Red Army crossing its territory could first be overcome.
But the British and French side - briefed by their governments to talk, but not authorised to commit to binding deals - did not respond to the Soviet offer, made on August 15, 1939. Instead, Stalin turned to Germany, signing the notorious non-aggression treaty with Hitler barely a week later.
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, named after the foreign secretaries of the two countries, came on August 23 - just a week before Nazi Germany attacked Poland, thereby sparking the outbreak of the war. But it would never have happened if Stalin's offer of a western alliance had been accepted, according to retired Russian foreign intelligence service Major General Lev Sotskov, who sorted the 700 pages of declassified documents.
"This was the final chance to slay the wolf, even after [British Conservative prime minister Neville] Chamberlain and the French had given up Czechoslovakia to German aggression the previous year in the Munich Agreement," said Gen Sotskov, 75.
The Soviet offer - made by war minister Marshall Klementi Voroshilov and Red Army chief of general staff Boris Shaposhnikov - would have put up to 120 infantry divisions (each with some 19,000 troops), 16 cavalry divisions, 5,000 heavy artillery pieces, 9,500 tanks and up to 5,500 fighter aircraft and bombers on Germany's borders in the event of war in the west, declassified minutes of the meeting show.
But Admiral Sir Reginald Drax, who lead the British delegation, told his Soviet counterparts that he authorised only to talk, not to make deals.
*"Had the British, French and their European ally Poland, taken this offer seriously then together we could have put some 300 or more divisions into the field on two fronts against Germany - double the number Hitler had at the time," said Gen Sotskov, who joined the Soviet intelligence service in 1956. "This was a chance to save the world or at least stop the wolf in its tracks." *"
And yes, there were talks to join the axis! Germany at this point was in war with Britain and France and the Soviets needed another year and would still suffer horrendous losses (27 million dead)
So what was the result of those axis talks? (Besides the end point which was Germany invading the Soviet Union but let's continue down the fantasy path that the Soviets trusted fucking Hitler and they were going seriously joining any German axis) .
"Hitler, however, saw the Soviet territorial ambitions in the Balkans as a challenge to German interests and saw its plan as effectively making Bulgaria into an adjunct of the Axis pact. On several occasions, Molotov asked German officials for their response to Moscow's counterproposals, but Germany never answered them. Germany's refusal to respond to the counterproposal worsened relations between the countries. Regarding the counterproposal, Hitler remarked to his top military chiefs that Stalin "demands more and more", "he's a cold-blooded blackmailer" and that "a German victory has become unbearable for Russia" so that "she must be brought to her knees as soon as possible.""**
-Ericson, Edward E. (1999), Feeding the German Eagle: Soviet Economic Aid to Nazi Germany, 1933–1941,
Right so the axis talks ended with Hitler so pissed off at the Soviet Union Hitler assessed
- Stalin was a "cold blooded blackmailer" and that he "demands more and more"
- "A German victory is unbearable for russia"
- that the Soviets were trying to have Germany "brought to her knees as soon as possible"
And Hitler killing the talks.
We've established thus far that the Soviets prioritised a British-French and polish anti nazi alliance. That the British, Poles and French were rat bastards that saw communism as a greater evil than fascism and were hoping for the Germans and Russians to kill each other.
At this point though I've only quoted bourgeois sources so let's see what the Soviets said about all this .
"After the first imperialist war the victor states, primarily Britain, France and the United States, had set up a new regime in the relations between countries, the post-war regime of peace. The main props of this regime were the Nine-Power Pact in the Far East, and the Versailles Treaty and a number of other treaties in Europe. The League of Nations was set up to regulate relations between countries within the framework of this regime, on the basis of a united front of states, of collective defence of the security of states. However, three aggressive states, and the new imperialist war launched by them, have upset the entire system of this post-war peace regime. Japan tore up the Nine-Power Pact, and Germany and Italy the Versailles Treaty. In order to have their hands free, these three states withdrew from the League of Nations.**
The new imperialist war became a fact.
It is not so easy in our day to suddenly break loose and plunge straight into war without regard for treaties of any kind or for public opinion. Bourgeois politicians know this very well. So do the fascist rulers. That is why the fascist rulers decided, before plunging into war, to frame public opinion to suit their ends, that is, to mislead it, to deceive it.
A military bloc of Germany and Italy against the interests of England and France in Europe? Bless us, do you call that a bloc? "We" have no military bloc. All "we" have is an innocuous "Berlin-Rome axis"; that is, just a geometrical equation for an axis. (Laughter.)
A military bloc of Germany, Italy and Japan against the interests of the United States, Great Britain and France in the Far East? Nothing of the kind. "We" have no military bloc. All "we" have is an innocuous "Berlin-Rome-Tokyo triangle"; that is, a slight penchant for geometry. (General laughter.)
A war against the interests of England, France, the United States? Nonsense! "We" are waging war on the Comintern, not on these states. If you don't believe it, read the "anti-Comintern pact" concluded between Italy, Germany and Japan.
That is how Messieurs the aggressors thought of framing public opinion, although it was not hard to see how preposterous this whole clumsy game of camouflage was; for it is ridiculous to look for Comintern "hotbeds" in the deserts of Mongolia, in the mountains of Abyssinia, or in the wilds of Spanish Morocco. (Laughter.)
But war is inexorable. It cannot be hidden under any guise. For no "axes," "triangles" or "anti-Comintern pacts" can hide the fact that in this period Japan has seized a vast stretch of territory in China, that Italy has seized Abyssinia, that Germany has seized Austria and the Sudeten region, that Germany and Italy together have seized Spain – and all this in defiance of the interests of the non-aggressive states. The war remains a war; the military bloc of aggressors remains a military bloc; and the aggressors remain aggressors.
**It is a distinguishing feature of the new imperialist war that it has not yet become universal, a world war. The war is being waged by aggressor states, who in every way infringe upon the interests of the non-aggressive states, primarily England, France and the U.S.A., while the latter draw back and retreat, making concession after concession to the aggressors.
Thus we are witnessing an open redivision of the world and spheres of influence at the expense of the non-aggressive states, without the least attempt at resistance, and even with a certain amount of connivance, on the part of the latter.**
Incredible, but true.
To what are we to attribute this one-sided and strange character of the new imperialist war?
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Over the Time our Subreddit has accumulated quite a lot of Megathreads regarding different Nations. As it has been pointed out by u/Zaroden in his comment it would be useful to organise them in a helpful manner. So here is my take on that. I got together all the Megathreads that i know about but I certainly would be happy to make addition if I am missing out on one or a new one gets made.During the making of my Mega-Megathread I found a helpful post made by u/flesh_eating_turtle which already gathered most of the Megathreads. Thanks for your work comrade!
Current
General
Anti-Communist myths debunked (giant google docs document)
Useful Studies and Sources for Debating Reactionaries
Sources and Studies to Debunk Racism and "Race Realism"
Masterpost for Defending Socialism Against Anarchist Attacks, With Sources
Online Library regarding communist Literature
Nations (+ Hong Kong)
Albania
Masterpost on the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, With Sources
Bolivia
Masterpost on the Achievements of Socialism in Bolivia
[EFFORT POST] Counter CIA Propaganda - A guide to the situation in Bolivia
Cuba
Cuba and Fidel Castro MegathreadAnother Masterpost on Cuban Socialism, With Sources
Chile
On the accusations against President Salvador Allende of anti-semitism and other hateful behaviors.
China
China Megathread: Everything a Leftist Must KnowChina Megathread 2: Debunking Western Propaganda
Fake News & Myths about China DebunkedA Response to "Organ Harvesting" Claims Against China
Detailed Analysis of Living Standards Under Mao Zedong, Based on Academic Sources
Class composition of the Communist Party of ChinaChina as a Socialist & Marxist-Leninist State: A defense
Beijing, Suzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai : what the future holds for China.
Reading List on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
DPRK
DPRK Megathread: Part 1DPRK Megathread: Part 2
German Democratic Republic
Masterpost on the German Democratic Republic
Hungary
Masterpost on the Hungarian People's Republic
Hong Kong (Yeah. Its China but this needs a sub-chapter)
We Need a Serious Discussion on the Overwhelming Misinformation on China and HK
Hong Kong's Problem isn't China or Communism; Its Capitalism
India
Analysis of the Naxalite Movement and Its Achievements, With Sources
Nicaragua
Celebrating the Sandinistas: Sources on their Achivements
Poland
Masterpost on the Polish People's Republic
Ukraine
Historians Proving that the Ukrainian Famine Was Not Caused by Stalin and/or Socialism
USSR
Response to Anti-Soviet Claims
On the Crimes of the USSRSources on War Crimes and Atrocities Committed by the Red Army
[Polemic] The Anarcho-Kulak Bandits Of Russia And Ukraine
A brief overview of Trotsky's liberal counter-revolution"Yezhov's Opposition" an excerpt.
Rojava
Toward a continued demystification of Rojava — it's a long one
Syria
Venezuela
Venezuela Megathread: How Socialists Should Respond to Upcoming EventsVenezuela Resources and Megathread PART 2
Vietnam
How has Vietnam developed since the war?
Yugoslavia
Masterpost on the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Organisations
ICE
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by /u/flesh_eating_turtle
I went into an intense analysis as to how the USSR allowed revisionists after Stalin to seep into its party here. They were the first communist party to successfully overthrow a capitalist government. How could they structure a political party that gave prominence to revisionist policies and move away from Stalinism?
But how can a political structure allow such revisionism to take hold? The focus of this question is not aimed at the correct problem of ideological compromise. A breakdown of ideology is not halted or obstructed by political bodies, but rather through ideological party discipline.
Mao Tse-Tung brilliantly illustrated this danger:
After the October Revolution, Lenin pointed out a number of times that:
a) The overthrown exploiters always try in a thousand and one ways to recover the "paradise" they have been deprived of.
b) New elements of capitalism are constantly and spontaneously generated in the petty-bourgeois atmosphere.
c) Political degenerates and new bourgeois elements may emerge in the ranks of the working class and among government functionaries as a result of bourgeois influence and the pervasive, corrupting influence of the petty bourgeoisie.
d) The external conditions for the continuance of class struggle within a socialist society are encirclement by international capitalism, the imperialists’ threat of armed intervention and their subversive activities to accomplish peaceful disintegration.
The constant threat of bourgeois elements does not end at a victorious revolution. It is ongoing, evolving, and malleable. Despite the critiques against Deng, his economic reforms not only led to the prosperous China we know today, but SAVED the CPC from corruption. The Four Cardinal Principles were created by Deng and are the four issues for which debate was not allowed within China:
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The principle of upholding the socialist path
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The principle of upholding the people's democratic dictatorship
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The principle of upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
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The principle of upholding Mao Zedong Thought and Marxism–Leninism
To my knowledge, the USSR never had such ideological commitment. Although this is Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, I can never imagine evolving capitalism to socialism to communism without a party even having these already imbedded in their political structures and party ideology.
But we can see what happens when a party lacks ideological discipline:
In announcing the abolition of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the Soviet Union, the revisionist Khrushchov clique base themselves mainly on the argument that antagonistic classes have been eliminated and that class struggle no longer exists...
Ever since Khrushchov seized the leadership of the Soviet Party and state, he has pushed through a whole series of revisionist policies which have greatly hastened the growth of the forces of capitalism and again sharpened the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and the struggle between the roads of socialism and capitalism in the Soviet Union.
The USSR was the target of some of the most horrendous espionage and guerrilla tactics from the West. At the time Yeltsin got elected, it was basically a CIA-ran election.
In short, we must remember that socialism is a transition. Proper focus and discipline cannot falter while bourgeois elements fester in new forms. The beauty of Marxism and what SWCC has shown is that our ideology is just as adaptable to survive and thrive so long as we remain committed to that road.
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Detailed Analysis of the Living Standards Under Mao Zedong, Based on Academic Sources
(lemmygrad.ml)
by /u/flesh_eating_turtle
Introduction
Most people (including many who call themselves socialists) have a very deceptive impression of Mao Zedong. They tend to rely on bourgeois myths and fictions as their only sources of information about him, and they thus lack a proper understanding of his immense achievements (which are ignored), as well as his flaws (which are exaggerated and mischaracterized).
Because Mao's ideology continues to be the driving force behind the most active and revolutionary sector of the international communist movement (as demonstrated by the Naxalites in India, the NPA in the Philippines, and many others), it is important that we have a correct understanding of Maoist policies, and the immense gains they made for the Chinese people.
General Overview of Living Standards
Our primary source in this section will be an in-depth study conducted by Amartya Sen, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, and fellow of Trinity College at Cambridge University. Sen was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work comparing living standards in the People's Republic of China (particularly during the Maoist period) to those in India:
The results of the study can be summarized by the following remark, in which Sen discusses China's decidedly superior achievements, and attributes them directly to the socialist ideology of the Maoist period:
Because of its radical commitment to the elimination of poverty and to improving living conditions - a commitment in which Maoist as well as Marxist ideas and ideals played an important part - China did achieve many things that the Indian leadership failed to press for and pursue with any vigor. The elimination of widespread hunger, illiteracy, and ill health falls solidly in this category. When state action operates in the right direction, the results can be quite remarkable, as is illustrated by the social achievements of the pre-reform [Maoist] period.
Another important comment summarizing the findings of the study is as follows:
We argue, in particular, that the accomplishments relating to education, healthcare, land reforms, and social change in the pre-reform [Maoist] period made significantly positive contributions to the achievements of the post-reform period. This is so not only in terms of their role in sustained high life expectancy and related achievements, but also in providing firm support for economic expansion based on market reforms.
Sen states here that the Maoist period saw enormous increases in quality of life for the Chinese people, as well as important economic developments, without which the economic expansion following the 1979 market reforms most likely could not have taken place.
Sen notes that during the Maoist period, a "remarkable reduction in chronic undernourishment took place," attributing this to the socialist policies implemented by Mao's government:
The casual processes through which the reduction of undernourishment was achieved involved extensive state action including redistributive policies, nutritional support, and of course health care (since undernourishment is frequently caused by parasitic diseases and other illnesses).
Sen focuses more attention on the remarkable advances in healthcare during the Maoist period:
China's achievements in the field of health during the pre-reform period include a dramatic reduction of infant and child mortality and a remarkable expansion of longevity.
It is also noted that China's life expectancy approximately doubled during the Maoist period, from approx. 35 years in 1949, to 68 years in 1981 (when Dengist reforms began to take effect). This is further elaborated on in the next source.
On the issue of education, Sen notes that the huge improvements (including dramatic increases in literacy) can be attributed primary to the pre-reform Maoist period:
China's breakthrough in the field of elementary education had already taken place before the process of economic reform was initiated at the end of the seventies. Census data indicate, for instance, that literacy rates in 1982 for the 15-19 age group were already as high as 96 percent for males and 85 percent for females.
Let us examine the issue of public health in more detail.
Further Research on Public Health and Life Expectancy
Another excellent source on public health in Maoist China comes from the journal Population Studies, in a study conducted by researchers from Stanford University and the National Bureau for Economic Research:
One important comment is as follows
China's growth in life expectancy at birth from 35–40 years in 1949 to 65.5 years in 1980 is among the most rapid sustained increases in documented global history.
This alone goes to show the massive benefits attained by the socialist policies under Mao Zedong. More important information is provided in the study, dealing with hospital and medical resources:
Physician and hospital supply grew dramatically under Mao due to a variety of factors (including increases in government financing, the introduction of social insurance for urban public employees, and the launch of China's Rural Cooperative Medical System in the mid-1950's). Rural Cooperative Medical Schemes (CMS) were vigorously promoted and became widespread in the late 1960's as part of the Cultural Revolution.
The study confirms Sen's analysis of education:
China made large strides in primary and secondary education under Mao.
It also quotes other research which found that the rapid gains in Chinese healthcare can be attributed to the specific socialist policies implemented:
China's mortality decline between 1953 and 1957, which resembles that of the US between 1900 and 1930, was “primarily due to the unique social organisation of Chinese public health practices.”
Note that China achieved in four years what the United States took thirty years to accomplish, due to their differing systems (i.e. socialism vs. capitalism). The study also confirms the immense success of Maoist vaccination programs:
Systematic efforts to vaccinate the population against polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, scarlet fever, and cholera were rapid and reputedly successful (China nearly eradicated smallpox within the span of only three years, with the last documented cases occurring in Tibet and Yunnan in 1960).
Additional citations for the claims in the above quotes are provided in the original study.
Analysis of the Great Chinese Famine - Comparison to Capitalist India
In analyzing this topic, we may look to another work by Amartya Sen, his book Hunger and Public Action, written with John Dreze:
Sen and Dreze point out that, while the Chinese famine was devastating, it pales in comparison to the ordinary mortality rates which occur under capitalism in an otherwise comparable nation like India:
...it is important to note that despite the gigantic size of excess mortality in the Chinese famine, the extra mortality in India from regular deprivation in normal times vastly overshadows the former. Comparing India’s death rate of 12 per thousand with China’s of 7 per thousand, and applying that difference to the Indian population of 781 million in 1986, we get an estimate of excess normal mortality in India of 3.9 million per year. This implies that every eight years or so more people die in India because of its higher regular death rate than died in China in the gigantic famine of 1958 – 61. India seems to manage to fill its cupboard with more skeletons every eight years than China put there in its years of shame.
This comes out to more than 100 million excess deaths in India alone from 1947 (when India become independent) to 1980. As Paul Heideman put it, writing in Jacobin:
In other words, though India experienced no concentrated period of starvation which can be easily identified and hung around the neck of a particular ideology, its ordinary conditions for the latter half of the twentieth century, in which an extraordinarily unequal distribution of land obtained, created an excess mortality that, over the long term, dwarfed that of the worst famine of the century.
This demonstrates the effects that capitalism has on a developing nation. This is all the more shocking when compared to the immense gains made in the People's Republic of China, described in the earlier sections of this discussion.
Conclusion
The People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong made enormous strides in living standards, dramatically bettering the lives of hundreds of millions of people. While the bourgeois establishment continues to misrepresent and distort the legacy of Mao Zedong, he remains an inspirational figure to the billions of people around the world who have benefited, either directly (via the improvements mentioned above) or indirectly (via his influence on global revolutionary movements), from his work.
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(1/2) by /u/flesh_eating_turtle
- Introduction -
Hello comrades. I recently added a section on the Ukrainian famine to the Soviet masterpost, and I decided to post in separately here so that people can see it.
- The Ukrainian Famine -
Let us address perhaps the most infamous of anti-Stalin myths, the allegation that Stalin deliberately caused the 1931-1933 famine to starve Ukrainians. This idea has been consistently rejected by the most esteemed scholars on the topic. The following quotes are compiled in an article from the Village Voice, cited below.
Alexander Dallin of Stanford University writes:
There is no evidence it was intentionally directed against Ukrainians... that would be totally out of keeping with what we know -- it makes no sense.
Moshe Lewin (perhaps the most esteemed 20th century scholar of Soviet history) stated:
This is crap, rubbish... I am an anti-Stalinist, but I don't see how this [genocide] campaign adds to our knowledge. It's adding horrors, adding horrors, until it becomes a pathology.
Lynne Viola of the University of Toronto writes:
I absolutely reject it... Why in god's name would this paranoid government consciously produce a famine when they were terrified of war [with Germany]?
Mark Tauger, Professor of History at West Virginia University (reviewing work by Stephen Wheatcroft and R.W. Davies) has this to say:
Popular media and most historians for decades have described the great famine that struck most of the USSR in the early 1930s as “man-made,” very often even a “genocide” that Stalin perpetrated intentionally against Ukrainians and sometimes other national groups to destroy them as nations... This perspective, however, is wrong. The famine that took place was not limited to Ukraine or even to rural areas of the USSR, it was not fundamentally or exclusively man-made, and it was far from the intention of Stalin and others in the Soviet leadership to create such as disaster. A small but growing literature relying on new archival documents and a critical approach to other sources has shown the flaws in the “genocide” or “intentionalist” interpretation of the famine and has developed an alternative interpretation.
More recent research has discovered natural causes for the Ukrainian famine. Tauger notes:
...the USSR experienced an unusual environmental disaster in 1932: extremely wet and humid weather that gave rise to severe plant disease infestations, especially rust. Ukraine had double or triple the normal rainfall in 1932. Both the weather conditions and the rust spread from Eastern Europe, as plant pathologists at the time documented. Soviet plant pathologists in particular estimated that rust and other fungal diseases reduced the potential harvest in 1932 by almost nine million tons, which is the largest documented harvest loss from any single cause in Soviet history.
Thus, we can see that the Ukrainian famine was not intentional, and should not be attributed to Stalin or the socialist policies he implemented.
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(1/3) by /u/Entire_Cover
The inevitable question is whether or not there really existed, during Yezhov’s tenure, a subversive underground in the Soviet Union with "an undiscovered Trotskyist center...which had to be found and liquidated," in the words of a former Assistant People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs Ya. S. Agronov, who received direct instructions from Yezhov. One of the first difficulties in answering this is that the "center," as Agronov put it, that Yezhov was seeking is alternately described by other NKVD officials who were involved in these manhunts. For example, G. E. Prokofiev, a Deputy Peoples’ Commissar of Internal Affairs (like Agronov, another NKVD official), said the investigation Yezhov was conducting was directed "towards the discovery of underground revolutionary formations" and perhaps "of all the organizational links of the Trotskyists and the Zinovievists and to the discovery of terrorist groups." Prokofiev’s description of the targets of the Yezhovshchina is clearly more general and nebulous: it includes a search for saboteurs or provocateurs only peripherally connected to Trotsky and his close agents. The diversity of the descriptions of the objects of Yezhov’s dragnet has only served to confuse and to play into the hands of those who seek to prove Yezhov was a villain, demented, pathological, or vice-ridden from the beginning. His own statement, quoted earlier, on Civil War confederates posing as loyal Communists after their defeat ca. 1921, who thereafter entered the state, Party, and security apparatuses - especially in rural areas far from Moscow’s scrutinizing eyes - as being his target is the clearest, most accurate, and most productive avenue of approach, especially in view of the statistical confirmation this has received. Having been a member of the "class of 1921" is the common thread that links all the varied descriptions of Yezhov’s targets, from "wrecker" to Old Bolshevik, from "Zinovievist" to "Menshevizing idealist," from Japanese to German spy, descriptions that differed to conform to the context of the instructions containing them - many times ad hoc - that Yezhov and other police authorities issued. In the Great Terror, Yezhov was veritably continuing the Civil War because the Whites had only appeared to surrender: they had never really conceded, nor had they really given up the assistance they had received during the actual Civil War hostilities from the new-born Bolshevik regime’s foreign enemies, especially Germany, Japan, and Great Britain. (Recall, again, the above analogy with the American Civil War and what may be called the mock-surrender of the war-weary Confederates.)
In June of 1936, Stalin interrupted Yezhov at a Central Committee Plenum with what has come to be known as "Stalin’s inaudible remark." Stalin complained to Yezhov about his having expelled too many Party members:
Yezhov: "Comrades, as a result of the verification of party documents, we expelled more than 200,000 members of the party."
Stalin: [Interrupting:] Very many." [Stalin was criticizing Yezhov.]
Yezhov: "Yes, very many. I will speak about this..."
Stalin: "[Interrupting again:] If we expelled 30,000 [inaudible remark], and 600 former Trotskyists and Zinovievists it would be a bigger victory."
At a time during which he enjoyed the full trust of Stalin, Yezhov debated him for nearly two years on the need for a severe repression or liquidation of his predecessor NKVD head, Genrikh G. Yagoda. In the fall of 1936, at the height of the Yezhovshchina, Stalin observed that the NKVD was about four years behind in uncovering the oppositionist underground. The blame for this was laid at Yagoda’s door, his non-feasance suspected of being due to complicity with counter-revolutionaries. Yagoda was suspected of being not a mere bungler, but an at best passive conspirator who consciously "looked the other way" to protect the old, enduring, resistant former White Guard that had once sought to defeat the Soviet system right out in the open.
That Yagoda was indeed at the critical center of such a network is borne out by detailed studies that pertain to the NKVD’s predecessor and successor organizations, such as The Soviet Secret Police, the Uses of Terror by Borys Lewytzkyj (Boris Levitsky), Soviet Secret Police by Simon Wolin and Robert Slusser, and Beria, Stalin’s First Lieutenant by Amy Knight. From these and other sources, the most reasonable extra-paradigmatic construction of events is as follows:
There existed a domestic underground counter-revolutionary network with strong foreign connections seeking the overthrow of the USSR. Yagoda was its (possibly passive) internal functional center. This network had a lineage that can be traced back to early counter-revolutionary factions (some even socialist) that had been assisted by foreign spy-rings, as documented by the CheKa for the earliest years of the Soviet State. Trotsky and other notable exiles were involved. The patience of this underground was uncommon (for the West). Yezhov was keener than Stalin in perceiving the threat this underground posed, and wanted to put his foot in a "revolving door" of tolerance for saboteurs that, in many cases, Stalin just kept allowing to turn. This was due to Yezhov’s unique background, and to brain-aging on Stalin’s part (to be described in what follows). Yezhov’s rock-ribbed efforts failed to reach the key personages in this underground. This underground finally prevailed at the time of the curtailment and reduction of the NKVD when the new NKGB ("KGB") was formed, which backed Khrushchev. Khrushchev did not believe in Communism and began the dismantling of the Soviet system. Khrushchev’s efforts culminated with Gorbachev and finally Yeltsen: Bolshevism was destroyed. It is known that Yagoda and the OGPU (the Soviet Union’s State Political Administration, which had been reorganized from the Bolshevik’s original, multi-party secret police or CheKa) were opposed to peasant collectivization. Stalin was aware of this, resulting in personal friction between him and Yagoda right up to Yagoda’s very end when Stalin once threatened to "punch him in the kisser." In July of 1934, the OGPU was abolished and its functions transferred to the all new NKVD or Peoples’ Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which, unknown to most, existed from the start. (Dzerzhinsky was, at one time, head of both the multi-party CheKa and the exclusively Bolshevik NKVD. At one point the NKVD was suspicious of - and opposed to - the CheKa.) In May of 1934, Yagoda was appointed the new organization’s head. It is frequently and glibly stated that the NKVD was the successor organization of the OGPU, and that the better known KGB was the successor of the NKVD. Neither is correct. When the NKVD was formed, a central core of former agents of OGPU reappeared as functionaries in the NKVD’s Main Administration of State Security: the GUGB. In February of 1941, a separate agency called the NKGB (later KGB) was formed from this same core of people from the GUGB. The KGB, or Committee of State Security (as it existed after Khrushchev empowered it), resembled the American CIA, FBI, and Secret Intelligence Service all rolled into one, involving itself in intelligence, counter-intelligence, and internal security. In this, it was unusual for its time and unlike its incorrectly nominated "parent" organizations: the CheKa, OGPU, and NKVD. The NKVD became the MVD, an "authority" not even a faint shadow of the old NKVD.
In September of 1953, six months after Stalin’s death, two months after the arrest of the staunch Stalinist Beria (Yezhov’s successor as NKVD chief), Khrushchev began to consolidate his power. He replaced the Old Bolshevik Malenkov, who had been First Party Secretary, and stripped the NKVD of most of the economic sections that had been under its control - ending the system established by Lenin and Dzerzhinsky. Khrushchev turned these economic functions over to other agencies. Suffering the same fate as Beria, but with less publicity involving less well known personalities, many old NKVD agents were executed - or forced to flee abroad. The NKVD was reduced to the MVD, a mere "traffic cop" operation by comparison. When the dust settled, the KGB had extraordinary powers, both internally and in foreign affairs, consisting of the same old GUGB core from the former OGPU. (Consult Bibliography for NKVD-INFO. See Felix Dzerzhinsky by A. Tishkov for information about the NKVD and other NK’s ["Narkomats" or People’s Commissariats], which were organizations regulating the Soviet economy.)
25
(1/3) by /u/bayarea415
It’s been a pretty overwhelming week on Reddit. Despite Chinese investment on the site, we can see the censorship Redditors were decrying hit full force on here. But all sarcasm aside, I think it’s time to approach the allegations and sensationalism surrounding China again to at least cast some doubt against these ridiculous claims. After doing some more research on the topics that have been popping up on Reddit, I would like to, once again address the major misinformation Western propaganda is promoting.
With that said, I want to first address the basic logical aspect and fallacies I notice a majority of these pieces and arguments hit on. Before even diving into the specific allegations Western media is portraying, we must recognize the following:
1.) Testimonies from "witnesses" are usually an unreliable source for their truth.
I first started to notice this claim when studying North Korean defectors, and how many not only end up embellish the truth, but outright lie. It is no surprise that many North Korean defectors inaccurately describe prison conditions, living standards, and absurd laws that they must abide by.. Additionally, many have become more skeptical because of the inconsistent nature these defectors do tell their story, when reiterating their tales about North Korea. It’s been later discovered that most of these stories are pressued by the South Korean government, really doing some shady shit to keep these narratives alive, threatening family members and others. That last link is a great documentary not only debunking the lies surrounding from the DPRK, but also showing the immense pressure they are under to push these faulty narratives. Along with the fame and fortune some of these defectors obtain, these “witnesses” are truly unreliable sources for the truth. As a side note, some of these North Defactor stories end in tragedy thanks to capitalism..
In US court, witnesses are only one aspect of evidence, not the only aspect. Opposing parties can even attack their credibility using their background, work, funding, etc. Whenever one sees a report that soley relies on the testimony of witnesses, whether they be doctors, or people of a certain religion, always be skeptical. Widespread horrendous behavior definitely needs more proof than mere superstition and witnesses that may be bias.
2.) Western media and NGOs should not be a credible source for information because of their use of unreliable sources, leaps in logic, and sensationalism if it is not coupled with legitimate unbias sources.
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; North Korea's belief in unicorns, strict haircuts, and unbelievable ability to bring back people from the dead; Venezuela bullshit; and many many tidbits about Muslim groups in the Middle East (stunning how all of the sudden they care about the Muslims in China now). Idk how many times Western media and NGOs have shot themselves in the foot making these ridiculous claims concerning other non-Western countries. There are some that report with primary sources, but some articles are far and few in-between.
This CNN article is probably the epitome of Western sensationalism, leaps of logic, and Western pandering. It’s about the China prison transfer. Despite stating:
CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of this video or the date it was shot. Chinese Foreign Ministry officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the video. In a statement to CNN on October 4, authorities in Xinjiang said that "cracking down on crimes in accordance with law is the common practice of all countries. Xinjiang's crackdown on crimes has never been linked to ethnicities or religions," the statement added. "Transporting inmates by judicial authorities (is related) to normal judicial activities."
They go on to say:
The YouTube account which uploaded the video described it as demonstrating the "long-term suppression of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Chinese government in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region."
They go on about Western intelligences, reporting from witnesses, and NGOs confirming it was fill of Uygurs (all of which we lopsidedly given their narratives to be true, even with the fallacies described above).
Specifically with Western NGOs, there has been countless documentaries on how most are being funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which obtains its funds from the state department and CIA. Most NGO being funded by NED spout against governments in order to destabilize them, with one former CIA official stating “they do what we use to do in the 1950s. You don’t have to look far when it comes to this either (see Venezuela and NED’s funding of the opposition party). So obvious biases and sensationalism should not be supported through these sources.
3.) Reddit, and other media platforms have an unholy amount of Western bias
Western, white, males between the ages of 18-34 overwhelming make up the visits of the site. 70% male, over 60% from the US, Canada, and UK, and between 55%-90% between the ages of 18-49 (18-29 making 55%). This creates a cultural bias on news with different cultures, countries, and governments. Take reddit’s opinions with a grain of salt, even if it has hundreds of thousands of upvotes.
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