aladin

yeah, not like those community minded caring and sharing corporate neo-cons - they’re the real heroes and protectors of us ‘common folk’. well, them and the fascists.

if one bothers to actually read Marx, you’ll find there are really no communist nations as Marx defines them - certainly not USSR or China at any time of their development. the closest they ever got were early industrial transitional socialist states - which were supposed to progress from there to genuinely communist states. obviously that didn’t happen for multiple complex reasons, and instead they became military dictatorships, despite calling themselves ‘communist’. a bit like how the USA is a plutocracy despite having an intertest in describing itself as a democracy.

the fates of USSR and China have little bearing on arguments concerning the success of Marx’s conception of communism, although McCarthyist types clearly have a strong need to interpret political history elsewise.

The trend is a worry though: in my day the standard response to poison-pen letters (from any direction) was immediate consignment to the bin. Thanks to this new-fangled interweb thing however, such tripe and filth now lays flagrant to literally all for indefinite periods - lazy journalists and burnt-out “celebrities” now have easy free access to transitory hysteria-inducing material.

Relax though, history shows us it’s a self-righting situation: their inherent insecurities and petty jealousies are always the downfall of hatemongers. I note even some of the bog commentators condemning Ralston for sloppily parrotting Farrar’s nonsense in his latest “column” (he really is abysmal, even purloins phrases verbatim at times!). The Herald, his fellow hacks, the bog, Shadbolt et al will similarly dissolve with a whimper over the longer term.

too late the hollow base-bile baiter
learns that hate
hurts mostly the hater

So why do the RWNJ feel so threatened by these people?

Some people, regardless of their political persuasion, are only happy if they have someone/thing to hate.

Midwife
Artist
Small business owner x 4
Business adviser
Agricultural Worker
Students x 5
Doctor
Retiree x 2
Shop Worker x 2
Property Developer

Take my word not a communist in sight
Not one dope smoking Hippie ………..(well Ok one)
A couple of the Students smoke dope ( strangely enough!)
Not one “dole bludger’
Only two have ever been on a protest march
And only two have compost bins

So in short basically a pretty average cross section of ordinary Kiwis.
Who happen to care about the environment and social justice.

So why do the RWNJ feel so threatened by these people?
Is it because these Greens HAVE a conscience , and the shallowness and selfishness of their (RWNJ) thinking is exposed ?

LF - I wasn’t endorsing China, simply pointing out that its communism has not “failed” yet.

kiwikiwi66 - “environmentalism is the new communism”? What a pointless and simplistic statement. Way to try and stoke the fires of emotional aversion. What’s the biggest environmental control mechanism in NZ at the moment? The resource management act is not exactly redolent of communism, simply due process. And emissions trading - quantifying private ownership and responsibility for the biggest environmental concern at present and aiming to foster both public and private innovation rather than stipulating actions - hardly a “we know what’s best attitude”.

Are you 13? Joseph McCarthys angry grandson out for revenge?

Robinsod - I think it’s really reaching to argue that china is a shining example of the success of communism. And exponential growth? Hardly the hallmark of a sustainable economy wouldn’t you say? Empires rise and fall, and chinas record in a large number of areas remains atrocious. Though in many others it’s very good. Anyway, my point was that saying “China is presently successful because it’s a quasi communist regime” is pretty narrowminded.
Also, they’re not new. There’s a reason they got a UN veto back in the day

For what it’s worth - I think the chances of this current incarnation of the Greens stitching a deal with National is pretty much unthinkable. I can see the Greens dealing with anyone else but not National. Too much water has gone under that bridge. Maybe in the future when the personalities have all changed - but not in the near future. By the way, I don’t think that necessarily means Labour has the vote stitched up this time, either.

Um, China - new superpower anyone? Get your facts right kids, China is growing exponentially (it’s communist by the way, just in case you haven’t noticed) while the US is tanking under probably the most capitalism-focused administration it’s ever had. Hmm, doesn’t look like a failure to me boys.

Oh and nick? Farrar’s responsible for the culture of his blog.