The Evil of Communism
Left Wing "Intellectuals" Still Don't Get It
There have been a couple of opinion pieces in the "Sydney Morning Herald" in recent days on the topic of communism. The first (here) talks about the various horrors inflicted by various communist regimes over the course of the twentieth century and laments the fact that various communist icons have been turned into "chic items of popular culture" (think Che Guevara T-shirts!).
The second article (here) is an attempted rebuttal of the first article. The author, David McKnight, claims that "Hope and optimism were associated with Marxism in a way that was impossible with fascism" and goes on to say:
"The claim that Stalin and Hitler were equals is part of an argument which tries to prove that Marxism, as an intellectual framework, was akin to fascism."
McKnight then goes on to describe the differences between fascism and Marxism and while he admits there may have been some unfortunate episodes, basically communists and Marxists were idealists and on the side of the angels.
Couple of problems with this. To start with, the first article (by Louis Nowra) does not make the claim that "Stalin and Hitler were equals". McKnight doesn't address the central point of the article at all (the mass murder of citizens by communist regimes). He uses the intellectually dishonest trick of reframing the issue. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at this!
More to the point, there is no recognition of the fundamental evil that underlies any collectivist ideology. That is, the elevation of the group over the individual and condoning the use of coercion and violence against the individual in the name of the "common good".
The flaw in any collectivist ideology, of course, is who decides on the "common good"? Invariably it's those who seize the reins of power and we end up with an elite lording it over everyone else. In essence, communism is no different from a monarchy! Substitute the "party" for the "upper classes" and what's the difference?
Unfortunately, the cancer of collectivism is still with us and apologists such as McKnight help keep it alive.
There have been a couple of opinion pieces in the "Sydney Morning Herald" in recent days on the topic of communism. The first (here) talks about the various horrors inflicted by various communist regimes over the course of the twentieth century and laments the fact that various communist icons have been turned into "chic items of popular culture" (think Che Guevara T-shirts!).
The second article (here) is an attempted rebuttal of the first article. The author, David McKnight, claims that "Hope and optimism were associated with Marxism in a way that was impossible with fascism" and goes on to say:
"The claim that Stalin and Hitler were equals is part of an argument which tries to prove that Marxism, as an intellectual framework, was akin to fascism."
McKnight then goes on to describe the differences between fascism and Marxism and while he admits there may have been some unfortunate episodes, basically communists and Marxists were idealists and on the side of the angels.
Couple of problems with this. To start with, the first article (by Louis Nowra) does not make the claim that "Stalin and Hitler were equals". McKnight doesn't address the central point of the article at all (the mass murder of citizens by communist regimes). He uses the intellectually dishonest trick of reframing the issue. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at this!
More to the point, there is no recognition of the fundamental evil that underlies any collectivist ideology. That is, the elevation of the group over the individual and condoning the use of coercion and violence against the individual in the name of the "common good".
The flaw in any collectivist ideology, of course, is who decides on the "common good"? Invariably it's those who seize the reins of power and we end up with an elite lording it over everyone else. In essence, communism is no different from a monarchy! Substitute the "party" for the "upper classes" and what's the difference?
Unfortunately, the cancer of collectivism is still with us and apologists such as McKnight help keep it alive.
posted by Kevin Francis at
8:39 pm
