America has its own version of a Tankie. I think a TANKIE is a Brit thing. The culture of Britain is quite different than that of France. Brits have suffered, though they are inured to the fact,under a rigid class system since the Norman Conquest. As a consequence there arose a Dicksonian ,England. resulting in a Labour Party, and labo…
America has its own version of a Tankie. I think a TANKIE is a Brit thing. The culture of Britain is quite different than that of France. Brits have suffered, though they are inured to the fact,under a rigid class system since the Norman Conquest. As a consequence there arose a Dicksonian ,England. resulting in a Labour Party, and labor strikes, the excesses of capitalism, which resulted in two phenomenon, right wing populism in the form of fascism and left wing populism int he form of Marxism. And there is a form of Marxism that is religious in their opposition to capitalism, which they blame for colonialism. (Colonialism arose millennia before capitalism, Cologne, Germany means Colony, and gets its name from it's Roman founding.
Here in America the Tankies are old line Marxists, they have a nostalgic view of Russia, a religious like belief in Marx. Not realizing that Marx was actually a proto libertarian. The Bolsheviks co opted Marx, made him their own, and were extremists.
I've known and socialized with quite a few in Santa Cruz, CA back in the 80's and 90's.
There still around advocating for Russia, stuck in their nostalgia and religious belief that the only evil in the world is capitalism and the class struggle. They willfully ignore the power of the oligarchs, the institutional corruption, the bribery, the official theft, the persecution and murder of journalists and opposition, the patriarchalism and misogyny of Putin and Russia.
As regards the Greens. Not sure what to think, but surface opinion is that they are re-branded Marxists.
When I was attending a community college in 1970, I attended a rally in the auditorium put on by the campus communist. His guest speaker proclaimed that they will defeat capitalism by strategic use of environmentalism. (True story) Then I read the book The Greening of America, and we know what has resulted from moving our production facilities off shore, worse world wide pollution, and creation of the Rust Belt which is in large part why Trump became President,as the rust belt/swing states are the electoral votes that put him in office.
France has a completely different culture. The revolution of 1789 is embedded deep in their psyche. And is the reason why the government wets its pants whenever there is a mass protest or strike. Also France has memory of the "white" Russians that fled the "red" Russians of the Bolshevik Revolution. And France, though it too has class differences, has not suffered under class exploitation like England., not since 1789.
I don't know if you can find The Great Soviet Encyclopedia in a library anymore, I had access to it, via Pacific Lutheran University. Most revealing. I discovered that Karl Marx was an advocate of Free Trade. I discovered that Adam Smith was a minion of internationalists and was rewarded for his excellent propaganda in the form of Wealth of Nations. I discovered that the Great Soviet Encylopaedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx
Marx labor theory of value is straight out of Adam Smith, a stick in the forest is only a stick, until someone picks it up and fashions it into a cane, thus adding value. And that is true, But value is subjective. I watch American Pickers for amusement and snickers. I watch Frank and Mike pay thousands for junk that I would pay to haul off. I see no value in a rusty old sign with bullet holes.
But others do.
The Bolsheviks went to the extreme of Marxism, in which Marx declared that gold was the standard of value,of declaring a 100% gold standard, where a ruble was defined as .987421 grams of fine gold, thus limiting the amount of rubles in circulation, thus creating a perpetual depression and inhibiting the rise of a middle class of shop keepers, innovators and producers.
If caught smuggling a ruble out of Russia that was a capital offense, because rubles could be presented to their NordBank in Paris and redeemed for gold, which retracted the money supply.
America has its own version of a Tankie. I think a TANKIE is a Brit thing. The culture of Britain is quite different than that of France. Brits have suffered, though they are inured to the fact,under a rigid class system since the Norman Conquest. As a consequence there arose a Dicksonian ,England. resulting in a Labour Party, and labor strikes, the excesses of capitalism, which resulted in two phenomenon, right wing populism in the form of fascism and left wing populism int he form of Marxism. And there is a form of Marxism that is religious in their opposition to capitalism, which they blame for colonialism. (Colonialism arose millennia before capitalism, Cologne, Germany means Colony, and gets its name from it's Roman founding.
Here in America the Tankies are old line Marxists, they have a nostalgic view of Russia, a religious like belief in Marx. Not realizing that Marx was actually a proto libertarian. The Bolsheviks co opted Marx, made him their own, and were extremists.
I've known and socialized with quite a few in Santa Cruz, CA back in the 80's and 90's.
There still around advocating for Russia, stuck in their nostalgia and religious belief that the only evil in the world is capitalism and the class struggle. They willfully ignore the power of the oligarchs, the institutional corruption, the bribery, the official theft, the persecution and murder of journalists and opposition, the patriarchalism and misogyny of Putin and Russia.
Check this out: Chomsky basically advocating surrender and abandonment, of course they don't come out and say they are Pro Russian, too smart for that, but they come at the issue from the oblique. https://www.google.com/search?q=noam+chmsky+on+ukraine&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&oq=noam+chmsky+on+ukraine&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13i512.6784j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:fa44da8f,vid:EGZyj-_T6hQ
As regards the Greens. Not sure what to think, but surface opinion is that they are re-branded Marxists.
When I was attending a community college in 1970, I attended a rally in the auditorium put on by the campus communist. His guest speaker proclaimed that they will defeat capitalism by strategic use of environmentalism. (True story) Then I read the book The Greening of America, and we know what has resulted from moving our production facilities off shore, worse world wide pollution, and creation of the Rust Belt which is in large part why Trump became President,as the rust belt/swing states are the electoral votes that put him in office.
France has a completely different culture. The revolution of 1789 is embedded deep in their psyche. And is the reason why the government wets its pants whenever there is a mass protest or strike. Also France has memory of the "white" Russians that fled the "red" Russians of the Bolshevik Revolution. And France, though it too has class differences, has not suffered under class exploitation like England., not since 1789.
I don't know if you can find The Great Soviet Encyclopedia in a library anymore, I had access to it, via Pacific Lutheran University. Most revealing. I discovered that Karl Marx was an advocate of Free Trade. I discovered that Adam Smith was a minion of internationalists and was rewarded for his excellent propaganda in the form of Wealth of Nations. I discovered that the Great Soviet Encylopaedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx
Marx labor theory of value is straight out of Adam Smith, a stick in the forest is only a stick, until someone picks it up and fashions it into a cane, thus adding value. And that is true, But value is subjective. I watch American Pickers for amusement and snickers. I watch Frank and Mike pay thousands for junk that I would pay to haul off. I see no value in a rusty old sign with bullet holes.
But others do.
The Bolsheviks went to the extreme of Marxism, in which Marx declared that gold was the standard of value,of declaring a 100% gold standard, where a ruble was defined as .987421 grams of fine gold, thus limiting the amount of rubles in circulation, thus creating a perpetual depression and inhibiting the rise of a middle class of shop keepers, innovators and producers.
If caught smuggling a ruble out of Russia that was a capital offense, because rubles could be presented to their NordBank in Paris and redeemed for gold, which retracted the money supply.