Via Not-PC, I bring you a fascinating chart of the evolution of socialist strategies from Marx to the postmoderns. This image comes from the book Explaining Postmodernism by Stephen Hicks (note: I have not read the book yet, though it looks quite interesting.)
If this topic was not so deadly serious, and the failures listed above not coincident with (or responsible for) the deaths of millions of people and the enslavement of many more, it would almost be humorous. I'm reminded of Bart Simpson standing in front of a hot stove, repeatedly touching it and saying "Ouch!" Just when you think it can't go on any longer and that the nature of reality will finally dawn on him, he does it again. And again.
Although there are question marks after environmentalism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism, as we're right in the middle of the world-wide application of these strategies by the politicians and academics, both the historical progression of the socialist ideology and the anti-life nature of the philosophy itself make it obvious that it's only a matter of time before we'll be able to stamp "FAILURE" on each one. The crucial question of our time, however, is whether we can get to that point without the millions of deaths that have come with all the other "noble experiments," and whether we can keep the future offshoots of these deadly ideas from putting down roots.
4 comments:
It is a very interesting book. I'm pushing to make it the next one we tackle in Greg Perkins' "Objectivism Seminar" after we wrap up Peikoff's The Ominous Parallels.
Glad to hear it. The skimming I did certainly piqued my interest, and getting your endorsement reinforced my impression. Hicks has a full PDF download on his site, but it has no-print restrictions. The only copies available on Amazon are absurdly expensive used copies (some over $100 for a paperback!) so I think I'll be reading it on the old computer, as much as I dislike doing that.
I checked the book on amazon. Some interesting comments by one of the people especially regarding kant.
I'd add Stalin to the chart (following Lenin's failure: "Try enslaving the proletarion"). This option was the "most successful" and lasted until 1991.
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