[MD] The End of Faith - Spirituality

[Christoffer Ivarsson]

> Please give us your reasoned and critical analysis of why we should 
> embrace and
> not fear communism.
>
> Platt


Dealing in black an white again I see. There is no use in discussing with 
someone who deals in absolutes,  but I hope that you will not turn out to be 
such a person.  I am not really a Marxist myself, but I will try to line out 
some of the main principles for you.


Communism is a philosophy, moreover, it is a product of the SOM and as such 
it is a materialist philosophy. The general principle is that there is 
always a conflict between those who onw the means of production and those 
who don't. Marxists see history as a linear development with more and more 
effective economical systems. A slave based economy is succeed by a feudal 
one, and this is succeed by a capitalist one. This is then to be followed by 
a socialistic economy and then a communist economy. It is very much based on 
egoism, and contrary to many light headed hippy type younglings running 
around with Che Guevara T-shirts it has nothing to do with altruism. Marxism 
states that sooner or later the working class, the proletariat will realise 
that they can take controll of the productive means so that the produced 
surplus will not go to the capitalist but to them, the workers who makes 
that profit possible.

>From wiki: The means of production are a combination of the means of labor 
and the subject of labor used by workers to make products. The means of 
labor include machines, tools, equipment, infrastructure, and "all those 
things with the aid of which man acts upon the subject of labor, and 
transforms it". The subject of labor includes raw materials and materials 
directly taken from nature. Means of production by themselves produce 
nothing -- labor power is needed for production to take place.

Marx and Engels use the "base-structure" metaphor to explain the idea that 
the totality of relations among people with regard to "the social production 
of their existence" forms the economic basis, on which arises a 
superstructure of political and legal institutions. To the base corresponds 
the social consciousness which includes religious, philosophical, and other 
main ideas. The base conditions both, the superstructure and the social 
consciousness. A conflict between the development of material productive 
forces and the relations of production causes social revolutions, and the 
resulting change in the economic basis will sooner or later lead to the 
transformation of the superstructure. For Marx, though, this relationship is 
not a one way process - it is reflexive; the base determines the 
superstructure in the first instance and remains the foundation of a form of 
social organization which then can act again upon both parts of the 
base-structure metaphor. The relationship between superstructure and base is 
considered to be a dialectical one, not a distinction between actual 
entities "in the world"

You could read up on this more if you wish  - and if you can find a somewhat 
objective source.

Regards


Chris