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>It was no coincidence that Marxism, which had smoldered ineffectively for half a century in Western Europe, caught hold and blazed for first time in Russia. Only in this land which had never known a friendly neighbor or indeed any tolerant equilibrium of separate powers, either internal or international, could a doctrine thrive which viewed economic conflicts of society as insoluble by peaceful means. After establishment of Bolshevist regime, Marxist dogma, rendered even more truculent and intolerant by Lenin's interpretation, became a perfect vehicle for sense of insecurity with which Bolsheviks, even more than previous Russian rulers, were afflicted. In this dogma, with its basic altruism of purpose, they found justification for their instinctive fear of outside world, for the dictatorship without which they did not know how to rule, for cruelties they did not dare not to inflict, for sacrifice they felt bound to demand. In the name of Marxism they sacrificed every single ethical value in their methods and tactics. Today they cannot dispense with it. It is fig leaf of their moral and intellectual respectability. Without it they would stand before history, at best, as only the last of that long succession of cruel and wasteful Russian rulers who have relentlessly forced country on to ever new heights of military power in order to guarantee external security of their internally weak regimes. This is why Soviet purposes must always be solemnly clothed in trappings of Marxism, and why no one should underrate importance of dogma in Soviet affairs.
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>(B) On unofficial plane particularly violent efforts will be made to weaken power and influence of Western Powers of [on] colonial backward, or dependent peoples. On this level, no holds will be barred. Mistakes and weaknesses of western colonial administration will be mercilessly exposed and exploited. Liberal opinion in Western countries will be mobilized to weaken colonial policies. Resentment among dependent peoples will be stimulated. And while latter are being encouraged to seek independence of Western Powers, Soviet dominated puppet political machines will be undergoing preparation to take over domestic power in respective colonial areas when independence is achieved.
I always blame US for decolonization efforts, but overlook that it was Soviet policy too.
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>(Three) Much depends on health and vigor of our own society. World communism is like malignant parasite which feeds only on diseased tissue. This is point at which domestic and foreign policies meet. Every courageous and incisive measure to solve internal problems of our own society, to improve self-confidence, discipline, morale and community spirit of our own people, is a diplomatic victory over Moscow worth a thousand diplomatic notes and joint communiqués. If we cannot abandon fatalism and indifference in face of deficiencies of our own society, Moscow will profit--Moscow cannot help profiting by them in its foreign policies.
Soviet laughter echoing from Hell
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Ronald Reagan in fishnet stockings, lipstick and feather boa announces Western ethical victory over communism. We finally did it boys. We defeated Moscow. Now if you'll excuse me I have to attend the latest race riot sponsored by Lockheed
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>(Five) Finally we must have courage and self-confidence to cling to our own methods and conceptions of human society. After all, the greatest danger that can befall us in coping with this problem of Soviet communism, is that we shall allow ourselves to become like those with whom we are coping.
God damn. Did this guy call it or what? George Kennan in early 1946 basically laying out the next 50 years perfectly
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@augustus @CSB @CSB hey, that's another of those AI catastrophies waiting to happen...
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@mar77i @augustus than how do you recommend the people become free?
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@gnu2 @augustus What is freedom? Read Exodus, the part of the bible confronting freedom for the details on that, it makes a few very compelling point. The 10 commandments can be categorized into 3 main domains:
- Your property is yours, and other people's property is theirs
- Try to do no harm to others, if you want no harm to be done to you
- Protect the family unit, only that ensures a safe and sound development of the children
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@mar77i @augustus that's some pretty good mental gymnastics to get to that from "have no other gods before me" "don't covet your neighbors wife" "honor your father & mother" "remember the sabbath and keep it holy"
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@gnu2 @mar77i @augustus I think Jesus did a lot better "love your God with all your heart" "love your neighbor as yourself"
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@gnu2 @augustus If I haven't made sense, I've either been too brief or something got lost in translation. But I have a truly fantastic source for the argument I'm making, so let me elaborate. For the categorization my source ordered them by topic.
To get them out of the way, these first couple of commandments are ritual commandments. They're not freedom related, as they simply guide life with God.
- I am the lord thy God: well, obviously you're expected to follow the ideas presented in these writings.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image: Yours can't be better than mine and we're not to dispute over Him and which of His images or names are superior
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: He is serious business, unachievable, out of this world.
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy: Think of God once in a while, as if you don't you're not living life /with/ God.
Now come the three freedom-related ones:
- Thou shalt not kill: Protect human life. This includes character, by the way. Don't even think about ending another.
- Thou shalt not steal: Protect property.
- Thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbour's: Don't even think about the previous one.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery: Protect family.
- Honour thy father and thy mother: As they (hopefully, in this age) provided you with an intact household, don't jeopardize yours by even thinking about the previous one. This includes that young generations carry on tradition and the ways of being, culture, which are defined in a pretty detailed manner in any civilized age.
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@mar77i I don't understand how anyone could aquaite "don't do the thing" with freedom. #libertarian
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@gnu2 Well that is a very fair observation and connects back to how the story frames the reception of the commandments from God. So there is this group, that fled into the desert and through the divided sea, and they are now wondering if, where and how they could now build a society that is as anarchic as possible, but which also remains. If you have God - which is non-negotiable for the sake of the narrative - plus anything less than the commandments, you might perceive it as more anarchic, "free", the problem is just that it will destroy itself and not last. I think the recipe is valid to build or rebuild society that functions and lasts with God and as few rules as in any way possible.
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@mar77i OK boomer
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@gnu2 Well do you know how to do it with fewer rules? I'm interested.
augustus pugin 🌖
Martti
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