Maoist Review of Civ IV

[Gam]

Here is a Maoist Review from the Maoist International movement as opposed to extreme right the extreme left LOVE Civ IV. They LOVE the game:
http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/bookstore/vgames/civ4.html
Enjoy

This man seems a bit on the odd side; he seems to think that Stalin and Mao deserve a lot more praise for their being 'communists', despite the fact that they were indeed the two greatest mass murderers in history, almost exclusively of their own people, and that to portray either of them as 'first amongst equals' is hideously inaccurate. They were both autocrats, not communists; communism was simply an easier system for them to rule.

The reviewer neglects to make light of the fact that while Stalin's direction did get Russia into shape to win WWII, his policies were what caused Russia to almost lose it in the first place. His wide-sweeping purge and execution of the majority of Russia's capable military officers, his refusal to engage in more advanced theories of warfare, and his utterly incomptent strategies of defense against Germany in the first year of the war resulted in unbelievable defeats, from which his country only recovered and reversed because of the equal military ineptitude of Hitler.

Also, the reviewer seems to think that this 'accomplishment' somehow should utterly overshadow the millions dead from Stalin's programmes, for example the five million starved to death in the Ukraine by his enforced food embargo on the area (this being due to resistance to his rule in some areas of the Ukraine).

The reviewer, on the issue of Mao, seems to believe that Mao's programmes, which also resulted in the deaths of millions-- perhaps tens of millions-- of Chinese were insignificant when taken next to the fact that he was a supposed communist, despite the fact that he lacked any such significant 'accomplishment' that the reviewer chooses to distinguish Stalin by.

Odd. I'd imagine the reviewer's amount of regard for human life when taken next to the ideals of socialism would be rather scary.

 

[Willowmound]

Watch out Willowmound. You may well be on several 'watch' lists as we speak
.

Lol! So true. Quotes can be a dangerous thing.

 

[Goblin Fanatic]

Theocratists reviewed civ 4. Maoistis did too. So who's next to speak his mind about our beloved game? Who is to judge if his particular political views are represented *well* in this game about whole the world?

Civilization 4 trough the eyes of a modern Jaguar, pretty please?

 

[Shigga]

While the game's position with regards to religion is fairly correct, and it's nice to see how all religions from Buddhi$m to KKKhristianity are treated the same, it's unfortunate that liberalism hasn't really put an end to religious interference with science. Amerikkka is drowning in liberalism yet Amerikkkans still believe in Demons and Angels while denying the reality of, say, Global Warming.

rotfl-Mao ist the only thing that comes to my mind ^^

 

[King Flevance]

Maybe we need the tech "Poloticianism"?

 

[dutchfire]

"State Property" becomes available after researching communism (which is unlocked by discovering the scientific method, showing that the game realizes that Marxism is a science rather than a faith or a fluke of nature).

I've got to love this one.

 

[Older than Dirt]

Civ 4 must be rather alluring to the control freak mind of the communist, but very disappointing because there is no way to erradicate the religions unless one destroys every city with any religion in it. What a dilemma for them! We need a mod to make all totalitarians happy so they'll waste their time playing Civ 4 and stop murdering real people. Sid will get the Nobel Peace Price for sure if he makes Civ 5 with this in mind.

 

[Wyz_sub10]

His take on religion was particularly interesting to me. I had not previously viewed it from that angle.

Very interesting piece.

 

[Wyz_sub10]

I browsed through some other reviews and they were pretty funny, if not outright ridiculous.

Take KOTR:

Unlike in our own world, however, the "great" people in Star Wars have their own caste of warrior slaves with special powers who, under the guise of "maintaining stability" move against any insurrection and crush any move to advance the society.

Which is funny because the author on another page says of military games:

Under capitalism, game-makers produce what is profitable. Under the joint dictatorship of the proletariat of the oppressed nations over imperialism, games glorifying Uncle Sam will be history and game-makers will flourish without having to cater to mindless sex and violence.

I suppose oppression is only okay when you're the oppressor.

Also from KOTOR:

It is far easier to use your powers to steal, than to do charity. The game is far easier if you "go capitalistic," which clearly points to early indoctrination conspiracy by the fascists.

Well, I did try playing "Knight of the Charitable Not-For-Profit Foundation", but the dialogue was crap.

As is well known for the fascist bastards, they take enjoyment in killing others, and the game rewards the player for killing common people. In fact, it is not possible to progress in the game without killing commoners, and the manufacturer plainly tells the player: those who have the courage to kill, are strong. Those who don't are weak.

Except that this isn't true...at all. But like many idealists, why let facts ruin a good brainwashing?

in all, the Cossacks/Knights of the Old Republic...

Ho....ho...ho....

...is one of the most manipulative pieces of software ever devised. It leeches morality of young minds and prepares them to kill their peers to prevent a revolution.

Ummm...I think you must have been playing "Knights of Tiananmen Square" 'cause I sure as hell didn't get that message from KOTOR.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go exploit my admin assistant into making a facisocentric appointment for me with Human Resources. (and by "Resources" I mean "fodder", of course)

 

[The Lardossen]

I liked the review, the only thing he should really change is the childish misspelling of religions. It is very biased ofcourse, but still it has taken the game very serious. I couldn't suppressed the thought he was somewhat immersed by the gameplay offered

There is quite a bit of bourgeois bias in Civ4. There is no sort of power struggle within the government represented in the game. In the game, it is a good strategy to oppress one's people with religion or bribe them with luxury goods. Politics play a relatively minor role in the game compared with "Alpha Centauri." Creating experts is presented as an end in itself rather than a means to an end. Still it does come off better than most of what is on the market these days as it promotes planning and cunning over the mindless terrorism so often encountered in other pc games.

I thought about this too, there is no political unrest apart from war weariness and lack of luxury goods. And still then there are no parts of the country that want to rule themselves, or other problems that plague empires that span multiple territories, etnicities, religions, political bloodgroups and cultures.

 

[NP300]

I think Communism began as an interesting ideology then ambitious military leaders came along and adopted it as way to rule their countries. The idealistic leader eventually dies and the country is taken over by those who are less idealistic and much more selfish in nature. The whole system becomes bankrupted by corruption and eventually falls apart. I don't know that the problem is the ideology itself. It seems like as soon as you add in human nature to the equation, systems like Communism rarely work for very long.

Communism wasn't idealist at all. It was based on hatred, revenge and jealousy of the rich and successful. In accordance with this, Communist regimes biologically exterminated the most productive classes in society. In the USSR the kulaks and the royalty were biologically exterminated. They often exterminated ethnic groups as well. The USSR exterminated Germans, cossacks, and chechens, among others.

See Lenin's quote:

"We must hate - hatred is the basis of communism. Children must be taught to hate their parents if they are not communists." - Vladimir Ilich Lenin

Source: 1923 Speech to the Commissars of Education

http://www.zaadz.com/quotes/Vladimir_Ilich_Lenin

Is that idealism?

 

[NP300]

The reviewer neglects to make light of the fact that while Stalin's direction did get Russia into shape to win WWII, his policies were what caused Russia to almost lose it in the first place. His wide-sweeping purge and execution of the majority of Russia's capable military officers, his refusal to engage in more advanced theories of warfare, and his utterly incomptent strategies of defense against Germany in the first year of the war resulted in unbelievable defeats, from which his country only recovered and reversed because of the equal military ineptitude of Hitler.

You are mistaken. Stalin's purge probably won the war for the USSR. There was a Soviet general, Vlassov, who defected to the Germans and recruited millions of Russian volunteers to fight with the Germans to overthrow communism in the USSR. Had Stalin not purged his military there would have been dozens of Vlassovs.

Hitler might have been better served by carrying out a few purges himself. Hitler's leniency led to the coup attempt in 1944. Stalin didn't have this problem.

Also neither Hitler nor Stalin, were militarily inept. There were many cases where Hitler intervened for the better in the war effort. Hitler's military ineptitude is to a large extent a myth promoted by the surviving German generals after the war to try to blame Hitler, instead of blaming themselves, for losing the war. After all, Hitler wasn't there to defend himself.

 

[NP300]

There is quite a bit of bourgeois bias in Civ4.

There is an awefull lot of Marxist bias in this aricle.


Still, it was an interesting insight into a world which I am not a member of.

I've always thought Civ had a bit of a Marxist bias. Religion, as the Maoist article mentioned, has always been portrayed as the opiate of the masses. The quote for the communism tech in Civ4 is something about feeding the hungry. In contrast, the quote for fascism is the out-of-context Hitler quote of the big lie, which is never quoted in its entirety. They could have used the "hatred is the basis of communism" Lenin quote for the communism tech or Hitler's quote that ""If freedom is short of weapons, we must compensate with willpower" for the fascism tech. The choice of quotes betrays the game designer's biases.

 

[Murky]

Communism wasn't idealist at all. It was based on hatred, revenge and jealousy of the rich and successful. In accordance with this, Communist regimes biologically exterminated the most productive classes in society. In the USSR the kulaks and the royalty were biologically exterminated. They often exterminated ethnic groups as well. The USSR exterminated Germans, cossacks, and chechens, among others.

See Lenin's quote:

"We must hate - hatred is the basis of communism. Children must be taught to hate their parents if they are not communists." - Vladimir Ilich Lenin

Source: 1923 Speech to the Commissars of Education

http://www.zaadz.com/quotes/Vladimir_Ilich_Lenin

Is that idealism?

I'm certainly not pro-communist but you are only looking at the negative aspects it. It is based on an ideology just like every other form of government.

Lenin, Stalin and even Mao all had bitter enemies that would just have likely killed them if they had not be purged or had not been "re-educated."

The primary supposed gain of those purges is the benefit of the masses outweighing the benefits of a few.

In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.
-Barbara Tuchman

I think the complete elimination of specialist is too big a price a pay even if you could get rid of things like famine, starvation, disease, etc. The problem is it's often the specialists who discover the solutions to these problems because they have the wealth, education, intellect and ambition to do so.

 

[Pentium]

You wouldn't think that a Moaist links to Amazon.com.

Maybe he just loves the game so much that he'd buy it even from an AmeriKKKan site.

 

[Dionysius]

well... the comunist guy gives a reasonable review of the game itself,
but god is he nuts. critisises firaxis saying ["nationalist" china] but goes on to
say [Peter "the Great." ] and whats with "ameriKKKa"? thats plain childish.

"We must hate - hatred is the basis of communism. Children must be taught to hate their parents if they are not communists." - Vladimir Ilich Lenin

and lastly, what was Lenin thinking with that quote?!

 

[bkwrm79]

A crazy review, but interesting.

I do find Spock's quote on Communism quite irritating. How about "When I ask why the poor have no food, they tell me about Stalin's artificially created famine."

 

[El Koeno]

Good to know the game is approved by Maoists, despite its "bourgeois" bias.

 

[Vael]

I suppse that they're happy to hear that Stalin made it into Warlords...

Actually Maoists hate Stalin. So I doubt they'd be jumping for joy over that.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

and lastly, what was Lenin thinking with that quote?!

He was being an idealist.