I've listened, lately, to various sorts of Marxists talk about the reasons the Communists states have all "failed". They seem to feel the primary reason is that superior propaganda of the well-organised entrenched bourgeoise. Noam Chomsky (who I love) is a big pusher of this idea, and it's pretty popular all over. And while it's possible, it's a tricky argument because it's not really falsifiable. And falsifiability is one of the main criteria for any good hypothesis. You can see this by supposing the Cold War ended differently and Communism had won the ideological battle for the minds of the masses. In that situation I've little doubt that the Communist proponents would be on the TV declaring this was proof that capitalism wasn't ethically or practically feasible, and that the debate was over. The other side of the debate would come from a flock of hardened capitalists, saying it wasn't anything to do with the efficacy of the capitalist idea. Capitalism "lost" purely because the Communists won the propaganda war for the minds of the masses.
I wouldn't like this "propaganda war" argument coming from either party. But even less I like the implicit disdain for the masses and their malleable minds. Placing the stupidity of humanity at the core of any argument is arrogant. And since it's virtually impossible to prove human stupidity wasn't the cause, it is not even epistemologically valid.
See: Falsifiability, Karl Popper
You can see this by supposing the Cold War ended differently and Communism had won the ideological battle for the minds of the masses.
well, if is a Big Word, and “If GrandMa had Balls, she’d be GrandPa”
Communisim fails because you invarriably end up with a few working, and the rest eating, infact thats one of the Mantra’s of Communism…”You Work, and I eat”,…how long do you think thats going to last ?,
the nations productivity always falls as a result of more people watching others do the work, look at russia, and other communist nations, they make little, and have little and China is an exception, they are basing their culture on capitalisim but with many restraints, I have been there, and I can tell you, the Chinese can and will limit growth by Taxes or any means necessary.
Chief_Cabioch / 12:46pm / 7 January 2009