Weasel Zippers reports “only” 11% think Communism is better…
(Rasmussen)- Communism as an ideological force largely died with the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, but even with many of its horrors increasingly forgotten, U.S. voters overwhelmingly reject the ideology that contended for world dominance for much of the 20th Century.
Still, 11% of Likely U.S. Voters think communism is morally superior to the U.S. system of politics and economics, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. But 77% disagree and say the U.S. system is morally superior. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure.
I think the fact that more than one in ten of us are stone cold Commies is frightening. It explains the massive numbers that show up at leftist rallies with their Communist banners. It helps explain the undercurrent of violence we see at so many left-wing rallies. It helps explain how Obama was elected and continues to have support as high as he does.
How can any sane person consider Communism “morally superior” to anything? It’s not even morally superior to Nazism, as Jeff Jacoby noted in this Boston Globe piece from 1995:
For pure murderous evil, there has never been a force to compare with Communism. The Nazis didn’t come close. The Holocaust was uniquely malignant – never before or since did one people construct a vast industry of death for the sole purpose of rounding up and destroying every single member of another people. But the Nazis exterminated 11 million innocents; the Communist death toll surpasses 100 million. Nazi power lasted from 1933 to 1945. The Communist nightmare began in November 1917, and continues to this day.
Savagery has always been a hallmark of Communism. It is an ideology that requires the destruction of human beings. “We have never rejected terror in principle,” wrote Lenin in 1901, “nor can we do so.”
Half a century later, even as he denounced the extremes to which his predecessors went, Nikita Khrushchev vowed that the terror so esteemed by Lenin would go on. “The questioning of Stalin’s terror,” he cautioned the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, “may lead to the questioning of terror in general. But Bolshevism believes in the use of terror.” Not long afterward, Khrushchev sent 3,000 Soviet tanks to crush the Hungarian freedom fighters.
Communism equals murder. Everywhere. Always.
One in ten Americans say, “So what? You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.”
March, 15, 2011 at 10:52 am
They succeeded here in making conservatives ashamed of their own morals. Game.Set.Match.
Morality hates a vacuum.
March, 15, 2011 at 11:26 am
[...] 11% Of Americans Say Communism is Morally Superior to U.S. System of Politics and Economics, [...]
March, 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm
I have been grieved beyond words at people I have talked with who tell me there are ‘good things’ about Communism. When I repeat the fact as you did above, about the number of people who have been MURDERED under this evil system, it is new information to some of them. I grew up KNOWING these facts, the Left has done a slam bang job of revising history and creating people who don’t know good from evil.
March, 15, 2011 at 2:04 pm
@Lily
I think you’re absolutely right. The failure here is in our educational system. They have no problem portraying the Nazi’s as evil (because in part they’ve succeeded in classifying Nazi’s as “right wing”).
Communism is a different animal altogether. It’s all about equality. The ends justify the means.
March, 15, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Then again, I think some people are just idiots who want to be seen as provocative.
March, 15, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Banish them to Cuber an’ see how they like good ole kommunism. Kills 2 birds with one stone – gets rid of 11% of the dims an’ have’em beggin’ to come back to a capitalist society.
March, 15, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Include that 13% undecided group and were’re home free.
March, 15, 2011 at 5:58 pm
So nearly 1 in 4 Americans doesn’t know that U.S. system is morally superior to communism. What is the purpose of public education, again?
March, 16, 2011 at 7:53 am
Purpose of public education is to indoctranate the other 3 Americans that are holding out.
March, 16, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Totally our fault. We’ve allowed our universities and colleges to be infiltrated and packed floor to rafter with educators who are sold on communism and socialism, and hate America0. Once that deed was done, they could control the content of what is being shoved down our young people’s throats daily. It’s no wonder, really.
March, 16, 2011 at 7:26 pm
“I think the fact that more than one in ten of us are stone cold Commies is frightening.”
On the bright side, they tend to congregate in highly insular ghettos, often on university campuses. The few that take on mortgages in the real world are usually cured.
d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
“Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”
March, 27, 2011 at 12:37 am
[...] 11% Of Americans Say Communism is Morally Superior to U.S. System of Politics and Economics, [...]
March, 31, 2011 at 12:43 pm
[...] working on it. That 11% could grow to 20% or 25% in no time. But will that matter after the nation’s been [...]
April, 5, 2011 at 10:18 am
After reading this I have one thing to say:
YOU’RE ALL DISGUSTING PITIFUL FASCIST MONGRELS!
Capitalism has killed people too, you know, and could somone define “MORALLY SUPERIOR” for me? I wish someone could explain how a system for the common person about equality is “Evil” compared to a system where poor people get poorer and DIE while the rich people sneer at them in their fancy houses beleiving everything there fascist media says.
I hope I’ve made my point.
April, 5, 2011 at 10:36 am
You don’t have a point. You only have your own sad, grubby, grudges.
Knocking people down who’ve worked hard their whole lives, just to make malcontents like you happy is not “equality”. It’s evil.
How about trying to raise yourself up? Life isn’t a zero sum game. You don’t have to suffer because other people are rich. Anyone can do well in a free country if they’re willing to learn a skill, set some goals, and work hard.
April, 5, 2011 at 10:47 am
[...] 11% Of Americans Say Communism is Morally Superior to U.S. System of Politics and Economics [...]
April, 11, 2011 at 12:10 pm
I’m goignto be perfectly honest with you. When I wrote that, I was having a terribly bad day. (Forgive me for being so extreme) And you do have a point. But I could never call Communism evil. And I dont wish for people to be “knocked down.” I simply think the world would be a better place if governments and the rich tried to help the poor a bit more. And lots of them are. But more of them should. And, althoung I’m probably going to have people get annoyed at me again with this, but I will always think of Communism as a better system than Capitalism, or whatever you wish to call it. But I dont think that Communists are better than Capitallists as people. After all, Marxism is about equality.
And (My goodness this is getting long) the use of the word evil is to strong. I would describe what I would justify as evil, but it may offend people, annoy you, and I simply have things to do. Oh, and I’m with you on the scrabble playing.
April, 11, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Communism is evil because it substitutes the Government for God. It removes personal responsibility, morals, and competition from peoples’ lives. Communism doesn’t work because people don’t have the same motivation to achieve excellence that they do in a capitalistic society.
There are always going to be winners and losers in any form of government. With communism, the winners are the elite political class. The losers are everyone else.
Charity begins at home. Not with the government. From the ground up, not top down. Why do you want the government to have more control over your life?
April, 11, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Fine. Ive tried to reason with you. I’ve been wasting my time I see. Shame. Then again, there was no point trying . Your christian. How is charity supposed to be from the groung up? Your suggesting the poor give more money to the government?
Also, to sign off, how would you feel if I revealed I’m twelve?
You’ve been arguing about polotics on the internet with a twelve year old. A child. Quite funny, isnt it? It just shows you what the world is coming to. What a ridiculous place the world is. Makes me want to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Oooooooooooooh boy.
April, 11, 2011 at 1:11 pm
But your silly, childish, selfish mentality typifies the left-wing mindset. There’s not a whole lot that separates your ridiculous ranting from any of the left wing troll droppings I’ve seen.
Hopefully, you’ll wise up when you get a little older. At the moment, I have to tell you your arguments are worse than nonsensical. Someone has been leading you badly astray.
Btw, shouldn’t you be in school –learning basic grammar and spelling?
April, 11, 2011 at 2:45 pm
But I could never call Communism evil.
Aleksandyr Solzenitzin is outside. He just got back from the gulag and would like to have a word with you.
After all, Marxism is about equality.
No, it is about imposing mediocrity, except for those priviledged few who are more equal than others.
Your christian. How is charity supposed to be from the groung up? Your suggesting the poor give more money to the government?
No. I’m a Christian who can read and in countless times reading the Bible, I never once saw where Christ said “Give generously to the government so that it can give (after a not insignificant handling charge) to those it wants to keep dependent. The charge, like everything else of import in Christianity, starts with the individual.
Welfare is not charity, because welfare is funded with taxes, which you are compelled to pay. Have a quick look at 2 Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 7 to understand why that invalidates it as a charitable act.
April, 11, 2011 at 7:32 pm
The main problem with Communism, like Christianity, is that people aren’t able to abide by the precepts of the idea (sorry to all you out there who think you’re Christians: you probably aren’t).
It would be great if everybody could work happily and harmoniously toward a common good, each giving their best and taking in return only what they need.
But if people were going to be like that, we wouldn’t have needed – and still need – the Ten Commandments.
Now to all you so-called Christians. Who among you can tell me you live daily by the Ten Commandments – or even know what all ten of them are? You see, aspiring to the noble state of Christianity is one thing, but being it is another altogether. And no, one does not need to live in a monastery to be a Christian.
OK, now here is where politics and religion meet: The main problem with Capitalism is that it encourages all of these base instincts that the Ten Commandments seeks to temper. This is why, when Clinton deregulated the banks, and Bush gleefully followed in his footsteps, the whole country soon took it in the backside while the banksters got clean away with all our money. You could also say the same thing happens in a Communist system, and based on what we’ve seen I wouldn’t argue.
Free markets self regulate to an extent, but usually not until horrific loss and damage has been done. In the aftermath of Enron, Halliburton, BP, Exxon, Madoff, Global Crossing, Arthur Anderson, Qwest, Wall St, Harken, WorldCom, Tyco… you get the point (long list).
What’s happening in the capitalist US today is that the vast majority of wealth is being pushed into the hands of a tiny percentage of the population. That’s what happened in France before they had their revolution.
On the other side, most of the Communist countries we have seen have been led by paranoid maniacs who deny any of the freedoms needed by a healthy society. Spain might have proved an interesting experiment, but our governments decided it was preferable to back the fascist Franco rather than watch a socialist state form.
Cuba. It is hard to say how that country would have turned out had the US not imposed economic sanctions, and tried for decades to assassinate Castro. For the sake of experimentation and learning about alternative political systems, it would have been worth an economic partnership to see how it played out. But once again we did not permit this.
This has to make you wonder: why are we so afraid of socialism? Maybe if given a fair chance with decent leaders it could work out if exercised in a democratic system.
Am I full of it? Well, let’s look at the evidence. Scandinavia. Here we have a mixture of socialism and capitalism. In surveys by the (right wing) magazine the Economist, these nations score highest in the world in creating a healthy, happy, educated, prosperous society. Pretty impressive when you think of how long, cold and dark their winters are. Socialist policies have not stopped them from giving the world great automobiles, cellphones, and a range of other outstanding products.
Socialism in its pure form seems to lack an essential ingredient in the motivation of people, and thus is not likely something to strive for in its pure form, but on the other hand, we need only to look at the economic catastrophes created by the USA by Clinton with his deregulation and Bush with his tax cuts to realize that unregulated capitalism and fiscal irresponsibility are also disastrous.
As for the moral argument, that’s hard to judge since there is no universal truth. Whose morals are we talking about? Let’s say we’re talking about Christian morality. From that perspective, based on what I learned in Sunday School and Religious Education throughout high school, I’d have to believe the egalitarian principles of a socialist state are more in line with what Jesus of Nazareth was working towards. But I had an Episcopalian upbringing, so I wasn’t exposed to the Capitalist Christian doctrine of the likes of Ted Haggard. And I’m sure he would strongly disagree with me, as the Bible can be interpreted in as many ways as their are readers of it. So let’s just forget the moral question, because it’s really not worth the snot in your nose. Let’s talk instead about what’s most likely to create a happy, healthy, educated, productive, harmonious society. See above.
April, 11, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Brilliant, Spotswood, – o – arbiter of all things Christian.
Communism has failed everywhere it’s been tried because it hasn’t been done right. Never heard that one before. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the lack of incentive that causes long term stagnation and mediocrity.
As for Scandinavia, you’re simply regurgitating a common leftist fallacy.
http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/5616.aspx
But it’s good to know that Godless economic systems are more Christian than capitalism. Makes total sense. Thanks for the sermon.
April, 11, 2011 at 8:28 pm
I wish I had enough time to give Spotswood’s nonsense the shredding it deserves, but I’m too busy today. Hopefully somebody else can start hacking away at it.
Starting from his definition of a Christian as someone who adheres to the Ten Commandments, continuing through his mischaracterizations of capitalism and socialism, and ending with his labeling of The Economist as “conservative” (hah!), he has strung together a muddle-headed compilation of blither.
At least there’s lots of it.!
April, 11, 2011 at 9:12 pm
I have too much of sinus headache to give it the shredding it deserves. I will say that he nearly matches the 12 year old in childish inanity.
April, 11, 2011 at 10:09 pm
From that perspective, based on what I learned in Sunday School and Religious Education throughout high school, I’d have to believe the egalitarian principles of a socialist state are more in line with what Jesus of Nazareth was working towards.
How silly of me to have missed the part where he commanded the people to give the loaves and fishes to the government to mulitiply and distribute to the masses…or that part where he compelled all to give freely of what they had to the government, or else, or the part where he announced how everyone should be limited, and some would be forced give up part of what they achieved through their labor and ambition so that someone else possessing none of these attributes could be “made equal”. Oh yeah, it is because it isn’t there.
Equality of opportunity is NOT the same as equality of potential, and this is a fundamental failing of the comusociamarxism crowd’s understanding. But then, when you are limited to a childish belief that the world should should always be “fair”, based whatever subjective feelings you define such concepts.
The commandment to give cheerfully was made to the individual; it could be no other way, as the opposite is to compell it, which is not something freely given, it is something extorted.
April, 12, 2011 at 1:53 am
Yes Black and White: you are very silly. For once I agree with you about something.
Saying the world is a nasty, cruel, unfair place and therefore the rich can do just as they like is extremely silly, and in the long run it won’t benefit you unless you are the one person who ends up with all the money.
In your plan, we let corporations run the country without restriction or constraint. The corporations behave as individuals and compete for supremacy. Since, as you say, there is no equality in potential, one of them will emerge as the winner. Gradually the number of competitors is reduced by a process of bankruptcies, and unrestricted mergers and acquisitions. The head of this corporation will own the entire GNP (because as you rightly say there is no equality in potential).
The government will by now have ceased to exist, because the corporation owns the means to all production and services and provides no money for the government to have its own army. The elected government just got in the way. The corporation is the government.
There are no elections, no democracy, it will be an Orwellian world. You did read 1984, did you not?
Yes, you are very silly indeed, wanting to strip the government of resources and power and hand it instead to a tiny minority. What’s in that for you? Are you delusional enough to think you’d be at the helm? I have news for you: If you’re not up there already, you’ll never get close.
April, 12, 2011 at 2:00 am
As for the rest, I’m sorry that my arguments leave all you extreme right-wingers feeling so enfeebled. But do keep up with the insults, I take great heart from these as it shows you are unable to muster a rational argument against me. Another victory! I’ll be back….
April, 12, 2011 at 10:31 am
Let’s see…
Leaping to wild-assed conclusions…check.
Assuming facts not in evidence…check
Congratulating self for a “victory” that wasn’t…check
Yep, a hat trick. Very clever, Brian. You may run along now.
April, 12, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Hey, Brian. If I remember right, you tried to pass yourself off as an open minded independent (concerned about right-wing extremists) when you first started commenting here.
Now you’ve outed yourself as a full fledged Commie.
Gee….I’m so shocked.
April, 12, 2011 at 4:28 pm
I take great heart from these as it shows you are unable to muster a rational argument against me.
We’re still waiting for you to define “Christian” in a way that has some relation to reality. Since you didn’t do that properly at the start, there is nothing to muster a rational argument against.
April, 12, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Hey, Brian. If I remember right, you tried to pass yourself off as an open minded independent (concerned about right-wing extremists) when you first started commenting here.
He had to quit being open minded. He kept spilling the formaldahyde.
April, 25, 2011 at 4:08 pm
[...] As I’ve previously reported, 11% of Americans polled believe that Communism is morally superior to Capitalism. [...]
May, 6, 2011 at 3:40 pm
[...] Remember, 11% of Americans (aka Obama’s base) now think that Communism is morally superior to capitalis… [...]
May, 6, 2011 at 3:44 pm
[...] Remember, 11% of Americans (aka Obama’s base) now think that Communism is morally superior to capitalis… Posted in Anarchists, Commies, Union Thugs. RSS feed for comments on this post.. TrackBack URL. [...]
June, 8, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Here is a joke:
The Commie nations did have equal rights. Why? Because when they oppressed one, they needed to appear equal, so they oppressed all.
In a Communist society, everybody has the same rights by having no rights.
And that is why Capitalism is awesome, and Commies are idiots.
June, 27, 2011 at 7:51 am
What absolute and utter bullshit.
July, 14, 2011 at 12:49 pm
[...] can understand why 11% would think things are going swimmingly….but who are these remaining [...]
November, 26, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Ha,ha,ho,ho……
December, 9, 2011 at 11:44 am
[...] an unsuccessful attempt by the “99%” (I call them the 11%, myself) to meet with Speaker [...]
December, 15, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Take notice that USSR was not communist, but Stalinist and Authoritarian Socialist. True communism is liberal, and holds civil and political rights very dear.
December, 15, 2011 at 12:33 pm
True communism is liberal, and holds civil and political rights very dear.
…and it still won’t work.
March, 12, 2012 at 7:09 pm
[...] According to Rasmussen, 59% of the American people believe Obama has more liberal views than they do, but 37% think that they are closer in their views with Obama than with Republicans. That number should be no higher than 11%. [...]
March, 13, 2012 at 2:23 am
[...] According to Rasmussen, 59% of the American people believe Obama has more liberal views than they do, but 37% think that they are closer in their views with Obama than with Republicans. That number should be no higher than 11%. [...]
April, 12, 2012 at 5:26 pm
[...] how many disgruntled staffers the ugly 2012 Obama campaign will vomit out? Or are only the hardcore “true believers” left. Share this:TwitterLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Posted in Obamessiah. Leave [...]
August, 14, 2012 at 8:52 am
[...] Only 11% of Americans believe that Communism is morally superior to the American system of politics and economics. So every time Obama allows his mask to slip, he turns off more voters. [...]
November, 14, 2012 at 4:34 pm
[...] Communist atrocity deniers are even worse than Holocaust deniers because as Jeff Jacoby once famously wrote: [...]