Would Adam Smith be a Republican or a Democrat today?

[Into the Night]

it's still a small win for the fascist vaccinators is all.

Dictionaries are not a win for anyone. They simply exist.

 

[Cypress]

It wasn't "liberalism" but rather socialism that they advocated for. They were all for wealth redistribution, government meddling in the marketplace, if not outright owning larger corporations, and the collusion of labor unions and government.

The result was by the 1960's Europe--now mostly ruined by decades of social democrats in power--was economically on the ropes and going down. By the mid-70's most European nations had ditched most of what socialists had put in place. Governments divested state owned corporations, public housing was privatized, and social-welfare benefits pared back.

Marx, Lenin, and other communists wanted to go further and we've seen the disasters they created as a result. Socialism and Communism simply do not work.

Whether or not you like the European social democrats is irrelevant. The point I raised is that they were despised by Marx and Lenin

. Lenin and Marx despised that kind of liberalism because the social democrats had no intention of dismantling religion or democracy, they did not advocate dictatorship of the proletariat, and their agenda was moderate and incremental reforms to the conditions of labor using the existing parliamentary democratic power structure. Marx and Lenin thought that approach would undermine support for a communist revolution.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Whether or not you like the European social democrats is irrelevant. The point I raised is that they were despised by Marx and Lenin

Of course they were. Marx and Lenin saw them as taking half-measures to what Socialism should be like.

. Lenin and Marx despised that kind of liberalism because the social democrats had no intention of dismantling religion or democracy, they did not advocate dictatorship of the proletariat, and their agenda was moderate and incremental reforms to the conditions of labor using the existing parliamentary democratic power structure. Marx and Lenin thought that approach would undermine support for a communist revolution.

Exactly. Lenin and Marx envisioned a Dictatorship of Virtue so-to-speak.

 

[Cypress]

Of course they were. Marx and Lenin saw them as taking half-measures to what Socialism should be like.


Exactly. Lenin and Marx envisioned a Dictatorship of Virtue so-to-speak.

Thanks for agreeing with me that Lenin and Marx saw European liberals and social democrats as dangerous rivals who would undermine support for communism. Most of your MAGA moron brethren howled in protest at my statements.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Thanks for agreeing with me that Lenin and Marx saw European liberals and social democrats as dangerous rivals who would undermine support for communism. Most of your MAGA moron brethren howled in protest at my statements.

Marx and Lenin simply saw European socialism as not having gone far enough. They weren't against that, but rather wanted far more of it.

 

[Cypress]

Marx and Lenin simply saw European socialism as not having gone far enough. They weren't against that, but rather wanted far more of it.

Lenin and Marx did not want more democracy, more incremental improvements to the conditions of labor through parliamentary legislation, more religion.

That's the hallmark of European social democrats and liberals.

Lenin thought the danger was that European liberalism and social democracy would bleed support away from a proletariat revolution.