So, why is communism a dirty word? Many old enough to remember what the world was like prior to the end of the Cold War bristle at the idea of collectivism. Meanwhile, younger generations, many of whom embrace the ideas suggested by the likes of Bernie Sanders, are at odds with such sentiment. They see the ideals of socialism as justice, fairness, equality.
So where's the disconnect? How can one generation despise collectivism while the next romanticizes it? Forgive me for my lack of a better word but I'd say it's simple ignorance... on both sides. And it's not actually new to this generation.
Just as some glorify collectivism today, there have been others before. Think Johnson's "Great Society" or Roosevelt's "New Deal." These were all about "progress" and "helping those who can't help themselves." The catch is, Hitler and Stalin kind of got the same ideas from Marx.
But while there is that connection between Western Progressives and the European tyrants of the eary-1900's, not many conservatives would suggest that the American counterparts were so despotic. Even still, most are quick to denounce any form of collectivism as evil. But why?
Well, the bottom line is that we, as individuals, typically reject the parts of collectivism that cause us to lose. We might accept it when we benefit at the expense of others but when we find ourselves amongst the "others" and someone else is reaping what we sowed, we resist.
That's where communism gets its ugly history. Those who sought to implement it quickly discovered that human nature tends to exhibit a selfish side and the only way to overcome that is to force people against their will to do what needs to be done.
So, if collectivism is beneficial to humanity, why does it have to be forced?
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