Communism
What’s the difference between communal ownership among the Haudenosaunee and communism? One worked and one didn’t.
Why does NK communism glorify suffering and trials (see, for example, the quote below*), and villify the enemy in an extreme us vs them set-up? Nobody seems to question the fairness of this as in Christianity (that is, in Christianity, we wonder why we (as Christians) have to suffer trials and be tested. N Koreans [as shown in the quote below], as communists, relish the opportunity to become blood-spurting martyrs. They don’t question their suffering or sacrifices. In Christianity, we wonder why the “enemy” [or more precisely, lost sheep] do not receive the grace we’ve received and wonder how God is fair. N Koreans never stop to think of things from their enemies’ point of view, why they might think that way and why they have the misfortune of being non-communists. Instead, they rail against them for being incorrigible evil-doers [I suppose some Christians do this as well.]) Of course, this could be because of a Christian influence (that is, the N Koreans learned to suffer patiently from Christian teaching, that suffering had its place; and as for villifying the enemy, may have adopted the Christian paradigm of the “great cosmic battle of good and evil” and twisted it) (see Kim Il-sung’s having been influenced by Christianity due to a Christian upbringing and environment in chp 2 of the same book I quote from below), but NK communism has no theodicy or explanation for why the rest of the world is in a state of dystopia while they’re the only ones in a utopia.
*A quote from Martin’s Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (note 88 to chp 5) – One (propaganda) film, according to an official description, told of Jo Ok-hi, a woman party member who joined a partisan force opposing the occupying UN troops in her county. American troops supposedly captured her and “subjected her to every kind of torture in an attempt to wring out of her secrets about the partisan detachment. They pulled out all her fingernails. But the enemy always got the same answers: ‘You fools! No one gets secrets from a Workers’ Party member!’ The bloodthirsty U.S. cannibals ... gouged out her eyeballs, burned her with a red hot iron and cut off her breasts” (information in parentheses mine)
What’s the point of this question? That if even communists can see the purpose and place of suffering, maybe it really does have some purpose and place.
Why do communists believe that their political/economic philosophy will lead to a utopia? No other political/economic philosophy claims this. Why would they even believe that there can be a utopia in this world? What of everyone who could not be in this utopia? Why are they not included in the system? How can the system be complete without everyone?
Is communism inherently atheistic? Or is it just that it cannot tolerate any other kind of philosophy, it being itself a kind of religion?
If we should avoid extrinsic motivators (see Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn) what about being paid for work? (The author addresses this issue in his book, but definitely not to my satisfaction.)
How can their love of their enemy (their dictator), who is such a distant figure that they’ve never even met in person, be so strong that they turn in even their family members and friends for minor violations?
Is there no true love in NK? There, everyone puts the dictator first.
How can they be put in concentration camps when they don’t even know why they’re there? Wouldn’t this for sure turn them against the dictator?
Why does NK communism glorify suffering and trials (see, for example, the quote below*), and villify the enemy in an extreme us vs them set-up? Nobody seems to question the fairness of this as in Christianity (that is, in Christianity, we wonder why we (as Christians) have to suffer trials and be tested. N Koreans [as shown in the quote below], as communists, relish the opportunity to become blood-spurting martyrs. They don’t question their suffering or sacrifices. In Christianity, we wonder why the “enemy” [or more precisely, lost sheep] do not receive the grace we’ve received and wonder how God is fair. N Koreans never stop to think of things from their enemies’ point of view, why they might think that way and why they have the misfortune of being non-communists. Instead, they rail against them for being incorrigible evil-doers [I suppose some Christians do this as well.]) Of course, this could be because of a Christian influence (that is, the N Koreans learned to suffer patiently from Christian teaching, that suffering had its place; and as for villifying the enemy, may have adopted the Christian paradigm of the “great cosmic battle of good and evil” and twisted it) (see Kim Il-sung’s having been influenced by Christianity due to a Christian upbringing and environment in chp 2 of the same book I quote from below), but NK communism has no theodicy or explanation for why the rest of the world is in a state of dystopia while they’re the only ones in a utopia.
*A quote from Martin’s Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (note 88 to chp 5) – One (propaganda) film, according to an official description, told of Jo Ok-hi, a woman party member who joined a partisan force opposing the occupying UN troops in her county. American troops supposedly captured her and “subjected her to every kind of torture in an attempt to wring out of her secrets about the partisan detachment. They pulled out all her fingernails. But the enemy always got the same answers: ‘You fools! No one gets secrets from a Workers’ Party member!’ The bloodthirsty U.S. cannibals ... gouged out her eyeballs, burned her with a red hot iron and cut off her breasts” (information in parentheses mine)
Why doesn't communism work? Is unfairness good?
Paradox of communist belief in possibility of utopia and yet kulaks must be killed because they're incorrigible.
Why does NK communism glorify suffering and trials (see, for example, the quote below*), and villify the enemy in an extreme us vs them set-up? Nobody seems to question the fairness of this as in Christianity (that is, in Christianity, we wonder why we (as Christians) have to suffer trials and be tested. N Koreans [as shown in the quote below], as communists, relish the opportunity to become blood-spurting martyrs. They don’t question their suffering or sacrifices. In Christianity, we wonder why the “enemy” [or more precisely, lost sheep] do not receive the grace we’ve received and wonder how God is fair. N Koreans never stop to think of things from their enemies’ point of view, why they might think that way and why they have the misfortune of being non-communists. Instead, they rail against them for being incorrigible evil-doers [I suppose some Christians do this as well.]) Of course, this could be because of a Christian influence (that is, the N Koreans learned to suffer patiently from Christian teaching, that suffering had its place; and as for villifying the enemy, may have adopted the Christian paradigm of the “great cosmic battle of good and evil” and twisted it) (see Kim Il-sung’s having been influenced by Christianity due to a Christian upbringing and environment in chp 2 of the same book I quote from below), but NK communism has no theodicy or explanation for why the rest of the world is in a state of dystopia while they’re the only ones in a utopia.
*A quote from Martin’s Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (note 88 to chp 5) – One (propaganda) film, according to an official description, told of Jo Ok-hi, a woman party member who joined a partisan force opposing the occupying UN troops in her county. American troops supposedly captured her and “subjected her to every kind of torture in an attempt to wring out of her secrets about the partisan detachment. They pulled out all her fingernails. But the enemy always got the same answers: ‘You fools! No one gets secrets from a Workers’ Party member!’ The bloodthirsty U.S. cannibals ... gouged out her eyeballs, burned her with a red hot iron and cut off her breasts” (information in parentheses mine)
What’s the point of this question? That if even communists can see the purpose and place of suffering, maybe it really does have some purpose and place.
Why do communists believe that their political/economic philosophy will lead to a utopia? No other political/economic philosophy claims this. Why would they even believe that there can be a utopia in this world? What of everyone who could not be in this utopia? Why are they not included in the system? How can the system be complete without everyone?
Is communism inherently atheistic? Or is it just that it cannot tolerate any other kind of philosophy, it being itself a kind of religion?
If we should avoid extrinsic motivators (see Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn) what about being paid for work? (The author addresses this issue in his book, but definitely not to my satisfaction.)
How can their love of their enemy (their dictator), who is such a distant figure that they’ve never even met in person, be so strong that they turn in even their family members and friends for minor violations?
Is there no true love in NK? There, everyone puts the dictator first.
How can they be put in concentration camps when they don’t even know why they’re there? Wouldn’t this for sure turn them against the dictator?
Why does NK communism glorify suffering and trials (see, for example, the quote below*), and villify the enemy in an extreme us vs them set-up? Nobody seems to question the fairness of this as in Christianity (that is, in Christianity, we wonder why we (as Christians) have to suffer trials and be tested. N Koreans [as shown in the quote below], as communists, relish the opportunity to become blood-spurting martyrs. They don’t question their suffering or sacrifices. In Christianity, we wonder why the “enemy” [or more precisely, lost sheep] do not receive the grace we’ve received and wonder how God is fair. N Koreans never stop to think of things from their enemies’ point of view, why they might think that way and why they have the misfortune of being non-communists. Instead, they rail against them for being incorrigible evil-doers [I suppose some Christians do this as well.]) Of course, this could be because of a Christian influence (that is, the N Koreans learned to suffer patiently from Christian teaching, that suffering had its place; and as for villifying the enemy, may have adopted the Christian paradigm of the “great cosmic battle of good and evil” and twisted it) (see Kim Il-sung’s having been influenced by Christianity due to a Christian upbringing and environment in chp 2 of the same book I quote from below), but NK communism has no theodicy or explanation for why the rest of the world is in a state of dystopia while they’re the only ones in a utopia.
*A quote from Martin’s Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (note 88 to chp 5) – One (propaganda) film, according to an official description, told of Jo Ok-hi, a woman party member who joined a partisan force opposing the occupying UN troops in her county. American troops supposedly captured her and “subjected her to every kind of torture in an attempt to wring out of her secrets about the partisan detachment. They pulled out all her fingernails. But the enemy always got the same answers: ‘You fools! No one gets secrets from a Workers’ Party member!’ The bloodthirsty U.S. cannibals ... gouged out her eyeballs, burned her with a red hot iron and cut off her breasts” (information in parentheses mine)
Why doesn't communism work? Is unfairness good?
Paradox of communist belief in possibility of utopia and yet kulaks must be killed because they're incorrigible.