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Now, regarding Communism:
Don't slam communism unless you've read Marx, preferably in an academic setting. Communist Manifesto doesn't count.</p>
<p>If you have read Marx, you are entitled to your opinion. I'm going to venture that you haven't read a lot, because individual rights most certainly exist in communism. Is communism anti-American? Probably, because we take advantage of foreign labor so much that it's plausible that the proletariat around the world that we have working for us could revolt. That's a problem with globalization, though. If we weren't imperialists, communism would not be anti-American.</p>
<p>Anyway, it's just that it's really easy for people to get mad at philosophies that don't actually exist. Rand, for instance, never actually read Kant. So yes, you may be well read on Communism, but it never hurts to make sure.
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</p>
<p>Communism is too idealistic to be practical. Have you seen/read about what happened/happens in "communist" countries? They resemble dictatorships much more than Marx's vision, and this, I believe, is the reason for its un-individualistic reputation. Theoretically, everyone is equal, but that does not mean that everyone is a clone. Of course, this statement is contradictory in itself because those who are different cannot be equal.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about calling modern globalization imperialism. Imperialism makes me think of the old-time "White Man's Burden" state of mind. I'd like to think that, as a nation, we've evolved past that. But, come to think of it, I suppose we are imposing our democratic ideal where it is blatantly unwelcome...but I don't think it is to the degree that it was in the "age of imperialism".</p>
<p>It could be argued that the reason communism has failed is due to its implementation at the wrong stage of a country's development. Communism is supposed to be the next stage in development of a fully industrialized nation. </p>
<p>....or it could be that it's a completely impractical system on a large scale.</p>
<p>Or it could be that it assumes that every person is fully good and not corrupt whereas that is far from the truth. The real world, my friends, gotta love it!</p>
<p>You didn't. What I meant was that communism would seem like the next, mature step in an industrialized, self-sustaining country. Instead of competition powering the economy, it's equality and selflessness (if there is such a thing).</p>
<p>I'm not sure whether Eric is being serious or not. First I'd like to ask - what are we products of? What do you mean be childish?</p>
<p>All humans are born tabula rasa (blank slate) - a person isn't <em>inherently</em> anything (disregarding the notion of "a priori"). A person either chooses good actions and his character forms and supports those principles, or he chooses evil and has his character form and support that.</p>
<p>I think there's a very real chance that Esquared is just throwing a monkey wrench in the discussion.</p>
<p>As in inherently evil as you think I am Myself, I'm not trying to knot the conversation.</p>
<p>I'm somewhat anti-capitalistic. By products, I mean products of our surroundings and our enviroment. Many times, it's your parents. "Childish" in the way that capitalism, in it's purest form and theory...laisezz faire...whatever you want to call it, is built on greed and competition; the "get what you can, before someone else gets it" philosophy.</p>
<p>The only true source of objective truth is reality. You don't need Ayn Rand to explain to you that you are an individual - if you haven't figured that out by now then you need to do a lot more introspecting.</p>
<p>Btw - sarcasm is not a substitute for an argument.</p>
<p>By saying that we are solely the product of our surroundings you deny the fact of human volition and free will. You also have a very flawed and incorrect view of capitalism. Capitalism works on the trader principle - value for value. In laissez faire everything is voluntary - you can choose to buy or deal with someone or you can choose not to. A person has the right to the products of his own mind and the right to recieve value from it by trading with others. That is the basis of industialization, technology, and human freedom.</p>
<p>I was responding to Brooke_u's statement that we needed to read anthem in order to understand that we are all individuals.
Please try not to be so condescending- it makes it impossible to speak to you.</p>
<p>That's the theoretical and text book concept of capitalism, in reality, which is something you apparently defend, capitalism often neglects people of the "inalienable rights" that this country claims to defend. While, in theory, capitalism is based on trade and personal euntrepraunership (man, that's a difficult word to spell), in reality, capitalism thrives because of competition...screwing over one another to get the green.</p>