David Harvey: The Crisis Today: Marxism 2009

Debate with Chris Harman at Marxism 2009
http://www.counterfire.org
If you have problems watching this video you can download it here:
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Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• crisis
• marxism
• revolution
• economy
• capital
• base
• superstructure
• socialism
• communism
• SWP
• counterfire

[comradeyoung]

Also communist should not compare communism to Russia, China, North Korea, since none of these nations were communist. After the death of Lenin anything resembling real communism in Russia was dismantled by Stalin, whom based the nation more around the guidelines of a totalitarian system. Mao , and the others minus Cuba followed more so the examples of Stalin then they ever did Marx, Lenin, etc. Stalin, and the fools that followed his example, or insulting to real communism.

[Ichtiostega]

@Silicondoc Well if the US media says so, it must be true.

[Cuzzaification]

Shouldn't combine marxism theory and evolution both Marx and Darwin agreed these two theorie didn't combine



[yfirkaldan]

@goodmemories215 Please give me your long list of states (or whatever you want to call them) where Marxism/Communism was implemented and the result wasn't poverty, misery and opression.

And do you really think that the Economist's report on "State Capitalism" was flattering? Or did you just read the cover?

But most of all: don't you, personally, have a sliver of an urge to be a free, strong, independent individual? To leave others alone and to be left alone yourself to "do your own thing"?

[goodmemories215]

@yfirkaldan "How can people still defend Marxism or Communism?"

Look at the front page of latest edition of The Economist. That would be enough to shut your mouth up.

"I can't recall a single example of a Marxist/Communist country . . . "

Marxist/Communist Country? You very choice of terminologies shows what kind of "arguments you have come across :P

[yfirkaldan]

@goodmemories215 The video "what really works" on the EvergreenFF YouTube channel explains this better. Look it up.

[yfirkaldan]

@goodmemories215 How can people still defend Marxism or Communism?

Not only do we have overwhelmingly convincing arguments and repeated historical evidence on how Marxism/Communism poorly allocates resources, was dead-wrong on the value of labor, and generally makes people poor and less free.

I can't recall a single example of a Marxist/Communist country being better off than a comparable country with a free market economy. Not to mention the millions killed in the name of Marxist equality.

[goodmemories215]

@yfirkaldan Marxist method of analyzing history is totally opposite to what you are saying. History is determined by objective conditions and subjective factors. Stalinism was a phenomena generated due to the isolation of revolution in a backward country like Russia (1917). Stalin's philosophy of "Socialism in one country" added more fuel to the fire. China, Cuba. North Korea adopted the same model later on. So Stalinism is something more than the personality cult of Stalin.

[Propagandhi900]

@yfirkaldan Wrong, Marxists would disagree with both of these premises; that the leader caused the revolution to fail and that human nature exists.

[Propagandhi900]

RSAnimate should do this.

[yfirkaldan]

@comradeyoung @comradeyoung Isn't it strange how the problem with communism always seems to be the sheer misfortune of having bad leaders? In every single case the answer to the repeated failures of communism seems to be: "Oh, if only so-and-so wouldn't have been in control, we would have had real communism and everything would have been hunky-dory"

Isn't it more likely that communism simply doesn't work? That it goes against human nature and common sense?

[LasagnaIsGood]

@comradeyoung So you are saying the problem with russia, china etc. were because the wrong person was in power!??! LOL. How about we decentralize power so things like the soviet union and nazi germany never happen again!?