American Communism

Playwright, novelist, and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.”

I was reading an article the other day, and it overall tried to argue that the United States of America could have a return to communism and that Reagan was an international hero (a stereotypical fantasy of the stereotypical Republican). Apparently I missed class when we learned about the day the USA became the People’s Republic of America until Captain Reagan defeated the beast with his trusty shield Capitalism and everything was perfect thereafter. It ended with a thinly disguised call to action for the reader to vote Republican or else you are voting for the communists. Sounds a little too much like Bush’s “either you’re with us, or against us” false dichotomy for my tastes, and we already know how America feels on that subject (both economically and politically).

The problem with the article is that the entire argument is reliant on faulty information. During the 1980’s about a third of the world’s population was communist. The biggest players on the block were China, Russia, and Cuba (in terms of popularity, not international influence). North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and pretty much everything to the right of East Germany didn’t mind sitting at Russia’s lunch table either.

Well thirty years later that table has become a little less populated. Laos took its chair and moved to the opposite side of the table from China at the request of Vietnam where Laos began mimicking the capitalism table. Eventually it was allowed to sit at the Southeastern Asian table even though it is no longer friends with China. Vietnam is actually doing well for itself after it abandoned the communist table for a position between the socialist table and the Southeastern Asian table. And then we have China.

That leaves us with a morbidly obese China and an emaciated North Korea still sitting at the table. North Korea’s survival is completely dependent upon eating the crusts of China’s sandwiches, and begging for scraps from everyone else. That is a pretty lonely table, especially considering how China doesn’t really belong at the table, most of the founding principles have changed. Cuba sits at the table, but he too had to give up on some of the communist table’s principles (they caused economic decline), and with the changing of the guard to Raul Castro Cuba strayed even further.

My point is that 30 years ago there was at least an iota of chance of the Communist Party of the United States of America, which at its peak had 200,000 members, could have gained a few offices of political power, but nothing high enough to create a national movement towards Communism. Even the Socialist Party who managed 900,000 had little to no effect overall on modern politics. The point is only strengthened when you consider how Communist party now has 15,000 members compared to the 72 million and 55 million that the Democrats and Republicans have registered (respectfully). It makes the political shills warning of an invasion of Communists seem rather ignorant.

The American people will indeed have a choice to make come 2012. But it won’t be Communism vs. Freedom, it won’t be Freedom vs. Tyranny, no, it will only be a contest of who Americans believe is the candidate that most represents their ideology. It is the duty of each and every American to educate themselves and vote for the politician that reflects their political views, anything less is ignorance.