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[Keiseth]

Damn, that's unlucky. I haven't studied extensively on the matter, but from what I understand Communism's greatest flaw is as you said. It works as a theory but basically never in a practical situation due to selfishness. Then again, if everyone was naturally "good", we could get by on any government successfully. Hell, it doesn't make sense, but I think even a Despotism* would succeed if the leader was an exceptionally kind, benevolent person. Before we ascend to a better form of government, we need to mentally evolve as a race.

(*In theory. Technically, if everyone was "inherently good", a Despotism would be unheard of.)

[Cthulhu]

Yeah, what I was thinking is that inherently good people need no leader, and none of them desire leadership.  With no greed, they share what they get, and each person works for everyone.  Pow, Communism.

[Wooty]

The books ranted on about how it was evil because, as the idea fails due to selfishness, greed, and laziness of humans, the people in the communist country suffer and sometimes starve.

My books went to great lengths to describe why the otherwise good idea never turns out like its supposed to - no work incentive and the loss of the middle class and all that.

[Cthulhu]

I wish my textbooks were like that.  I see no problem in that because it's true.  Communism will never succeed because people won't let it.

[Wooty]

It might have been because it was a private school...

It also had this hilarious paragraph on how Marx was a filthy near-hobo that lived one money from a friend and whose children died at a young age and the ones that grew up committed suicide. Some kid had absolutely hoboized the picture of marx and drew a dingy alley with dumspters and broken beer bottles all around him.

[PTTG??]

  The idea that communism doesn't work because "people are greedy" is actually a misinterpretation. Communism as a theory doesn't work because there is no motivation for anybody to do work- and there is a difference. Even in theory, communism has no driving force to trigger the economy, and thus even the most benign and generous people CANT work because there's no jobs.
  In practice, you need to have people tell other people what to do, and there you go, you're right back where you started- with classes and competition for resources. Of course, fascism and democracy and monarchy all have their flaws. And just from a functional standpoint, communism is better than fascism (though in reality they tend to combine).
  The best possible cultural system is the tribe and village system, as part of a larger socialist-democratic-feudalism. That's because that's how we evolved to live; at levels of 200-400 people tribes, any government works fine, partially because you know about everybody in town, and if somebody is prejudiced against, they can move to a better town.
  If any culture can make communism (or at least socialism) work, it's the Chinese. Or India.

[Heavy Flak]

I'm more worried about people who support Obama.  He's been in the senate for what, three years?  He was basically a wallflower in the senate, voted "present" on like half of the issues he could've voted.  He's just a hype machine.

Voting "present" on a vote isn't just saying, "I'm here my vote doesn't count."  It says, "I'm here and I'm against whatever is on the table, but there are powerful people with opposing views who could construe a 'no' vote as something vile.  In voting present, I'm voting no without voting no."

Secondly, his tenure in the senate means nothing - I'm not really sure what your argument is.  Is it that his lack of experience will get the United States in trouble?  Is it that we have no clue what his stances really are because there's "no real voting history", and that everything he's saying is just hype and is either too grand to be fulfilled at best or a blatant lie at worst?   Either way, it's completely absurd.  I'm pretty sure the Lifetime Politicians that have been in charge of just about everything until recently haven't done so great a job.  I highly doubt he could do much more damage than the Bush Administration, or McCain with his "100 more years of war" stance. 

[umiman]

You understand full well that communism will never work because people are inherently motivated by greed. If there's nothing to motivate people, no one would do anything. You can't do anything about that, and so, since it's a fixed variable, you should be able to work around it. It is the mark of a wise ruler to compensate for the failings of his subjects, not blame the system he utilizes. Even democracy, a theoretically sound system of government, is flawed not because of the system, but because of the people. This is the prime reason why capitalism flourishes regardless of location. Humans are universally greedy, regardless of what they are greedy for (money, love, attention), and capitalism isn't so much an enforced system but just the will of greed made manifest. The internet, on the other hand, is probably the will of society made manifest.

There is no perfect government. But history has shown that once in awhile, great leaders do appear. I think that's enough for most of mankind, to follow the footsteps of one great man, then fall into decadence after he passes on until a new one comes along. It seems like all we ever do anyway.

[Duke 2.0]

 Good: People choosing to help each other, sacrificing their personal property to help their fellow neighbors. They work for a better nation, and a better World.

 Bad: Being forced to do that.

 I'm not really sure what to think of the Great Firewall of China. On one hand, it's a large honkin' wall on the internet. On the other hand, there are apparently tricks you can use to get through it fine.

[Gaulgath]

He's still the best candidate, in my opinion.  Even if he isn't running.

Are you kidding? Do you actually support that talking about the crazy racist coot who wants to put the US back on the gold standard?

[Cthulhu]

China's internet censorship is actually pretty scary.  If you google Tiananmen Square in China, you get tourists and other pedestrian stuff, no tanks, or any sign of the protests.  At least it was like that a year or so ago, they may have changed it. 

[nerdpride]

It's fun talking about Communism and Nazism, people who ordinarily are Atheist and believe that morality is a social construction start having fervor about the evils of the world.  Or they might sympathize.  But very rarely do they maintain reservation.

[a1s]

Yeah, what I was thinking is that inherently good people need no leader, and none of them desire leadership <...> each person works for everyone.  Pow, Communism.

actually that is anarchy. (The word has become a pejorative, but it's actually one of the classic utopias.)

[Nonanonymous]

If all humans are motivated by greed then, alarmingly enough, the best solution is to replace the image of the self with a collective identity entirely.  Thus, the Borg are the ultimatum of human evolution.

[a1s]

hm... wouldn't that be a good idea anyway? (even if people were motivated primarily by hunger or curiosity)