The Offtopicgrad Soviet: A Place to Discuss All Things Red

[madviking]

Do you think the USSR was a par, subpar or above par manifestation of communism?

Wondering this too

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Sorry, could not resist:

thats one hell of a communist...

Do you think the USSR was a par, subpar or above par manifestation of communism?

My guess the communism in USSR was perhaps closest to manifestation in Gorbachev era. I think he wanted to continue democratize the country but with a strong and progressive state...

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Do you think the USSR was a par, subpar or above par manifestation of communism?

No communism ever existed in the USSR - or anywhere else, for that matter. After a certain point they did profess to have attained socialism, but I do not even agree with that. I think they had the potential at one point to reach socialism, had they continued on a certain trajectory, but as I said above, socialism constitutes a reorganization of the way people relate to one another within a society, and since the basics of that system of organization never existed in the USSR, I cannot call it socialist.

That does not mean that I think it was useless venture, or that they did not do great things there. But I also think Sweden and Iceland do great and progressive things for their societies, but that does not make them socialist, either.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

..., but as I said above, socialism constitutes a reorganization of the way people relate to one another within a society, ....

And what exactly that would be?

 

[Ajidica]

Should the anniversary of the October Revolution be celebrated on October 25th or November 7th?

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Should the anniversary of the October Revolution be celebrated on October 25th or November 7th?

November 7th. Because that was the date the rest of the world went by.

BTW: My Comrade the Librarian has a CSM paper in her apartment from Nov. 8, 1917 with a headline that reads "Maximalists seize power in Russia."

Besides, it happened on my Grandma's 16th birthday! God rest her soul.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

And what exactly that would be?

A way in which people have control over the forces that govern their lives, and the resources of society are distributed according to necessity.

The first is immediately possible. The second requires an intermediate step, whereby social resources are distributed according to need, and productive resources are distributed according to contribution.

 

[classical_hero]

Better question: Do any Australians or New Zealanders or Brits actually think of their systems as socialized medicine? No, not really.

Yes it is a form of socialised medicine. How dare you use a 'z' in that word.

So this is a Red Diamond Thread, for things Red. Clearly their is a communism conspiracy happening with these Red Diamond threads.

 

[Ajidica]

November 7th. Because that was the date the rest of the world went by.

Any recommended ways for celebrating the 96th anniversary of the October Revolution?
I'm already planning on wearing red.

 

[red_elk]

Any recommended ways for celebrating the 96th anniversary of the October Revolution?

Visit Moscow and participate in this:

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Any recommended ways for celebrating the 96th anniversary of the October Revolution?
I'm already planning on wearing red.

Host an insurrection in your home town!

Fun fact: when the Bolshevik Revolution lasted one more day than the Paris Commune, Lenin danced a jig!

As Emma Goldman said: "It's not a revolution if there's no dancing!"

 

[Antilogic]

Yes it is a form of socialised medicine. How dare you use a 'z' in that word.

So this is a Red Diamond Thread, for things Red. Clearly their is a communism conspiracy happening with these Red Diamond threads.

I thought it was a blood diamond conspiracy. And GGS was involved too somehow.

But, from someone who is not a commentator in AAR, do you perceive any difference in the "socialnezz" of insurance v. direct control of the hospitals?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Should the anniversary of the October Revolution be celebrated on October 25th or November 7th?

Both days! The more Russian Revolutions the better!

BTW: My Comrade the Librarian has a CSM paper in her apartment from Nov. 8, 1917 with a headline that reads "Maximalists seize power in Russia."

That is excellent.

As my good friend says, who sadly rarely haunts these parts any longer: "be reasonable: demand the impossible."

Great idea Cheezy! There is often the desire to discuss things more in depth than simply asking questions and receiving answers. This will give novices like me the opportunity to explore and better grasp what reds believe and more importantly offer a chance to explore the plausibility and veracity of the ideas involved.

I hope this will prove to be an extremely useful thread for everyone. I know that people love to debate these concepts, some of which can be both esoteric and cerebral, and require the sort of fleshing out through debate which the Q&A style of AAR cannot yield.

[EDIT] This gives us all the chance to participate in the formulation of what it means to be a red, as opposed to a simply one directional exchange.

Well it won't define what a Red is, as only we can do that. But it is a place for debate, and not merely interrogation. By all means, challenge us on things, debate amongst yourselves, etc. This is not our thread. It's simply a thread with a purpose, which we maintain on behalf of that purpose.

Since the US is embarking on a brave new undertaking, to [albeit timidly] introduce socialized medicine to our country, this also seems an appropriate thread for many Americans to visit and discuss things about socializing societal functions.

Do any Reds (or Pinkos!) actually think of the new American system as socialized medicine? My guess is not.

In no way, shape, or form is the American system of medicine socialized, or being socialist. There is one component of it which operates as socialized medicine should: Medicare. Medicare is a single-payer system. But the ACA did not create Medicare, Johnson's Great Society did, 40 years ago.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is the regulation of a private industry. Establishing emissions controls and regulation on industries doesn't make them socialized and government-run, so neither does regulation of the health insurance industry. ACA is not something any communist or socialist supports.

 

[classical_hero]

I thought it was a blood diamond conspiracy. And GGS was involved too somehow.

But, from someone who is not a commentator in AAR, do you perceive any difference in the "socialnezz" of insurance v. direct control of the hospitals?

Do you see me complaining about our healthcare system?

 

[Gary Childress]

In no way, shape, or form is the American system of medicine socialized, or being socialist. There is one component of it which operates as socialized medicine should: Medicare. Medicare is a single-payer system. But the ACA did not create Medicare, Johnson's Great Society did, 40 years ago.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is the regulation of a private industry. Establishing emissions controls and regulation on industries doesn't make them socialized and government-run, so neither does regulation of the health insurance industry. ACA is not something any communist or socialist supports.

Sorry Cheezy, I guess I'm so accustomed to Republicans screaming that ACA is communism that I've started to internalize the idea myself.

 

[PhroX]

ACA is not something any communist or socialist supports.

To clarify a bit, while I completely understand that it's not socialist and therefore not what you would want from healthcare, would you consider it better (in the sense of "not quite as bad" rather than in any way good) or worse than the pre-ACA setup in America?

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

A way in which people have control over the forces that govern their lives, and the resources of society are distributed according to necessity.

The first is immediately possible. The second requires an intermediate step, whereby social resources are distributed according to need, and productive resources are distributed according to contribution.

How are you going make people to "have control over the forces that govern their lives"? How is it something "immediately possible"?

What are "social resource" and "productive resource"?

Edit: One problem seems to me quite apparent at this point. For society to progress you need some healthy degree of competition. How is that present in the system which distributes?

 

[Masada]

For society to progress you need some healthy degree of competition.

That's a pretty, ahhhh, big assumption and requires at least some further elucidation.

 

[Gary Childress]

Edit: One problem seems to me quite apparent at this point. For society to progress you need some healthy degree of competition. How is that present in the system which distributes?

So we don't progress unless we are in conflict with each other? That's a pretty pessimistic view of human nature. Maybe it's true, I don't know. But competition isn't always pretty like it is in the Olympics.

EDIT: Also I guess it depends upon what you mean by "progress"? Is "progress" only to be understood in terms of proverbially building a better mousetrap? I think the overcoming of differences and conflict can be seen as social progress. So for instance if war could be abolished, that would be social "progress".

 

[Crezth]

Edit: One problem seems to me quite apparent at this point. For society to progress you need some healthy degree of competition. How is that present in the system which distributes?

Since you seem so keen on definitions and all that: what is society? What is progress? What is competition? Can you have an unhealthy degree of competition?