Communism? Really? Well, Here We Go...

You voted for it - so here’s an excerpt on Communism, the ideology that hasn’t quite gone to plan. Plus, the big news: Bear Necessities drops 31 October 2024!

🐻 Mark your calendars! 🐻

The countdown has officially begun - "Bear Necessities of Politics and Power" will officially be released on 31 October 2024, and we’re just 30 days away from launch! I’ve spent countless nights (and far too many cups of coffee) bringing this book to life, so I’m thrilled to finally share it with you all.

Now, onto the real surprise. When I asked you to vote for the ideology you wanted an excerpt from, I expected maybe Liberalism or even Conservatism to take the lead (and I was kind of hoping Technocracy would, because that's by far my favourite chapter). But nope, Communism came out on top - because clearly, we’ve all forgotten how well that turned out. But hey, that’s democracy for you, and I did promise to deliver.

So, here’s a sneak peek at the chapter on Communism - where we’ll tackle the modern-day misconceptions and acknowledge that, despite its grand ideas, things didn’t quite go to plan. (Understatement of the century, I know.)

Enjoy the read, and get ready - pre order details are coming soon!

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The Great American Confusion

Before we dive into the history, let’s clear up a little something. If you’ve tuned into US politics in 2024—or had the misfortune of spending more than five minutes scrolling through Twitter—you’ll know that any suggestion of left-leaning policy is enough to get you branded a “dirty Commie.” It’s as if Joe McCarthy himself has risen from the dead, poltergeist-style, to haunt the American political landscape. And here’s the most amusing bit of it all: Kamala Harris, currently standing as the Democratic nominee, has been repeatedly accused of harbouring radical communist ideas. Now, let’s be clear—Kamala Harris is as much a communist as I am a bright blue reclining armchair. Yet, somehow, in the fevered imagination of certain political circles, anyone who even hints at wanting a healthcare system that won’t bankrupt you is halfway to leading a revolution, red flag in hand.

It’s a bizarre spectacle, really. On one hand, you’ve got Trump, whose MAGA movement loves to throw around the word “communist” like it’s the ultimate insult. And on the other, large sections of Twitter gleefully parrot the same lines. Elon Musk, ever the master of chaos, has been known to dabble in these “commie-bashing” waters as well, adding his voice to a chorus that increasingly feels like a never-ending reenactment of 1950s McCarthyism. Honestly, we’re going to need a helluva exorcism to purge the ghost of McCarthy from the political discourse at this rate. It’s like they’ve collectively forgotten what communism actually is, preferring to wield it as a catch-all term for any policy that dares to challenge the almighty free market.

And here’s where it gets even more ridiculous: in the US, “communist” has become shorthand for anything remotely progressive, from universal healthcare to affordable education. Suggest that maybe, just maybe, people shouldn’t have to choose between feeding their families and paying their medical bills, and boom—suddenly you’re Stalin. It’s a neat trick, really. Take a complex and heavily flawed ideology and use it as a fear-mongering tool to shut down even the mildest of reforms. Never mind that actual communism is about state ownership of the means of production and the abolition of private property. No, no—if you so much as whisper the words “wealth tax” or “income equality,” you might as well start packing for the gulag.

It’s astonishing how a term with such a specific historical and political meaning has been stretched beyond recognition. Communism in practice—whether in the Soviet Union, Cuba, or North Korea—was, and is, a system of total state control, where personal freedoms are traded for collective ownership, and the government dictates nearly every aspect of life. But in the American political imagination, communism has morphed into a sort of bogeyman that can be summoned at will to scare the bejesus out of the electorate. Want to raise taxes on the wealthy? Commie. Support stronger labour unions? Red alert. Advocate for climate action? Well, now you’re practically Lenin.

So, let’s set the record straight. Calling Kamala Harris a communist is like comparing apples to hand grenades, and most of the policies that get labelled as “communist” in the US are, frankly, just common sense in other parts of the world (waves from the UK). But the spectre of McCarthyism still looms large, with political labels being thrown around like confetti at a particularly unhinged wedding. The result? A political discourse that’s more about scaremongering than actual substance. And as the US gears up for another election, you can bet that we’ll see more of these wild accusations. After all, when you don’t have real policy ideas, calling someone a communist is always an easy fallback.

The question is, when will the world finally see through the nonsense and realise that not every whisper of economic reform is a slippery slope to communism? Until then, the ghost of McCarthy lingers on, finding new hosts in Musk, Trump, and the Twitterati.

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