Maoism

8 Conservative Glossary Items #3

We will continue to delve into the topic of communism. Maoism is, at its simplest, the form of communism developed in China by Mao Zedong based on his studies of Marx and Lenin. He adapted communism to fit the needs of the Chinese people, most importantly in his focus on the agrarian rather than the industrial. Unlike other forms of communism, Mao believed that class struggle would continue after the initial revolution. This would essentially provide each generation a chance for revolution. Additionally, Mao favored local control as opposed to the Soviet model of centralization.

Perhaps Mao's largest contribution to the world has been the development of guerrilla warfare to carry out the "People's War". Maoists parties across the world have taken up guerrilla war, most notable for most Americans in Vietnam. Mao wrote a primer called On Guerrilla Warfare that many consider a primer for understanding the tactic, no matter which side of the warfare you are on.

So, conservative radio nutcase Michael Savage has claimed that the left, including our President, wants a Maoist revolution, complete with death camps. Is this the case? Can anyone make this claim with a straight face?

Previous Entries in this Series (An Introduction, Communism, Bolsheviks)

Bolsheviks

8 Conservative Glossary Items #2

The Bolsheviks were a group of Russians who belonged to a hard-line faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Their leader was an individual you may have heard of named Vladimir Lenin. The Bolsheviks would eventually rename themselves the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). The Bolsheviks believed in a party structure that rejected compromise or cooperation with any other political party. They believed that a core group of professional revolutionaries should control the party centrally. After taking over the government, some of their opposition was executed without trial. The Bolsheviks were, essentially, the beginning of the Soviet Union that would terrorize Eastern Europe for decades.

So, is President Obama, as CNBC's Jim Cramer has referred to him, a Bolshevik and is he "taking cues from Lenin"? Rush Limbaugh has made the same claim.  To make this claim as anything other than a cheap political slur is simply dumb and dishonest.

Let's not forget that capitalism has already been rescued by the Democratic party once in our national history. (That would be F.D.R. during a time when much of the nation would have been primed for social revolution. Instead, he made capitalism work for people at every level of our society.) This is what Obama and the Democrats in Congress are attempting to do now. 

Frankly, Bolshevism is much too rigid for the Democratic Party. We are pragmatists. We do not follow doctrine whether communist or market oriented. We take the economic system that includes the most freedom, capitalism, and we get it to work for the most people possible. We couldn't possibly be Bolsheviks.

Previous Entries in this Series (An Introduction, Communism)

Communism

8 Conservative Glossary Items #1

Communism is a system of government in which all property belongs to the state or the community. All activity, whether economic or social, is controlled by the government using totalitarian means. The government is in control of all natural resources and controls all means of production. Communist states are also anti-democratic since most are single party meaning that the Communist Party is the only party permitted to organize.

So, this raises the questions, are Obama's economic policies communist? Well, not even close. Are the economic policies of the Democratic party communist? No, no, no. One item conservatives are pointing to with glee right now is the dismissal of Rick Waggoner as CEO of GM. "This is communism", they scream. Except that it is not. It most certainly is government interference with industry. It is an attempt by the government to allow GM to survive as a private entity. This is not the government taking permanent control of an industry. I suppose that a reasonable person can question the wisdom of this type of interference, but you cannot call it communism.

Any prominent American politician who accuses the President or his party of being "closet communists" is either ignorant of the meaning of communism, or is a liar.

Previous Entries in this Series (An Introduction)