SharpFish wrote:QUOTE (SharpFish @ Oct 9 2011, 07:50 PM) Quite explicitly, the end goal of communism is the absence of the state. How can anyone in good conscience then argue that communism is the extreme version of leftism and that all of them are statist? That is, quite clearly, factually untrue.
So, how did this idea get popular? Well I put it to you that it relied on the fact that none of the people it was trying to convince had any idea what communism was actually about. You've never met a single "libertarian" who is anything close to as dedicated to the demise of the state as I am. And yet, I'm the fearsome red under the bed you've been taught to hate and fear.
Odd, no?
Odd it is not. Communism, in its many flavors throughout the past century, has often involved massive government control of what is often labeled the "Private Sector."
The method by which Communism is supposed to generate an atmosphere of benevolent anarchy is by temporarily replacing an existing government with a different system. The temporary system is, theoretically, designed to make it easy to phase out all government control, leaving power in the hands of the people. Generally, the replacement system is supposed to be more egalitarian in nature, and exclude those who have a vested interest on returning to the previous state of affairs. Often, this theoretically temporary system simply ossifies into another government, but with more committees. A stellar example would likely be the Soviet Union. A Soviet is simply a committee, generally of modest size, that had been selected to speak for, and help make decisions for, a modest group of people. Technically, the Union was a collection of separate Soviets who had banded together towards a common goal. Namely, the removal of the previous government and the redistribution of wealth in the society. Each Soviet was supposed to disband when the time was right, but as your history books may tell you, that never quite happened.
It is this disconnect between steps one and two that leaves Communism slated as another form of absolute Statism. I cannot name offhand any nation-state which has successfully transferred power from an existing government to a redistribution committee and then had the committee dissolve completely. because of this, I can only suppose that any dyed-in-the-wool Communist is either:Happy with complete government control of most, or all, markets.A wide-eyed idealist, who firmly believes that
this time, we will get it right, no matter what may have come before.
A Libertarian is someone who is startlingly close to being, or is, a complete anarchist. Therefore, because of the practical effects of the methods involved, a Libertarian is not a Communist. Except by accident. You, by your own admission, are far more interested in the end-goal of proper Communism, benevolent anarchy, then in the methods by which it is reached. It is this focus which makes you appear to be a Libertarian, according to the quiz you took. If you are a fervent believer in Communism, but the quiz suggests that you identify most closely with Libertarian philosophies, then either you are missing an important point about Communism, or the quiz is flawed in that it cannot take into account what methods one is willing to accept in order to reach anarchy.
Also, no Red is truly fearsome. We Capitalist dogs are simply in envy of Russian vodka. What else could it be?
on that part