Dear millennials, communism isn’t cool
With this month marking the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has released its second-annual survey of American attitudes toward socialism and communism.
Considering that upward of 100 million people lost their lives under communist regimes in the 20th century, and many more were subjected to the tyranny and oppression of communist dictatorships, communism ought to be remembered for the legacy of suffering and misery its adherents imposed all over the world.
And yet, unlike Nazism and fascism, the appeal of communism and socialism, systems also predicated on the notion that government should control and manipulate people and the economy for the sake of abstract collectivist ideals, endures in America.
Among the disturbing takeaways from the survey, done in partnership with You Gov, is the finding that more millennials would rather live in a socialist (44 percent) or communist (7 percent) country than a capitalist one (42 percent).
It’s worth noting that while half of millennials were able to correctly define capitalism, most didn’t know the proper definitions for the other systems.
For the second year in a row, the survey also found that millennials perceive several notorious communist leaders in a positive light. This year, 31 percent of millennials view Cuban revolutionary and ruthless executioner Ernesto “Che” Guevara favorably.
The persistence of Che as either a symbol of righteous causes or just a stylized image on clothing has evidently softened the image of a man who said of the thousands of executions he oversaw: “We executed many people by firing squad without knowing if they were fully guilty. At times, the Revolution cannot stop to conduct much investigation.”
With millions still subjugated under the tyranny of communismin countries suchasC uba and North Korea, billions if one includes China, which has abandoned some of themore dubious economic policies, communisms hould be remembered for the tragic legacy its proponents have wreaked around theworld. Whatever the failures of our current system, more millennials, and more Americans generally, should understand this.
—Los Angeles Daily News,
Digital First Media
Considering that upward of 100million people lost their lives under communist regimes in the 20th century, and many mor ewere subjected to the tyranny and oppression of communist dictatorships, communism ought tobe remembered for the legacy of suffering and misery its adherents imposed all over the world.