My point was more the irony that he saw 'marxism' as being the route to freedom, but all the countries that have tried it wound up as oppressive dictatorships
I agree with Bayview but I also think a better question would be does religion play a role in the current story we are writing? Because it really depends entirely on what type of story I am writing and it may or may not play a role. Like in a past story I wrote there is no obvious religion going on I just purely focused on the story. Now in the story I am currently working on religion plays a big part even though it's a made up one. A good vs evil, sin vs virtue kind of things going on that greatly affects the characters. I even dived deeper in it myself than I planned to.
Whereas we all live under oppressive... Democracies? That's what they keep telling me, but I could swear that democracies were supposed to listen to the will of the people rather than chase profit margins, but what do know. It's actually kinda funny if you've lost all hope in humanity and become a complete existential nihilist.
Everything human is bountiful grist for the writing mill. Religion shines a spotlight on a character's motivations, and vice versa. That includes non-theistic belief systems, too. Fiction or non-fiction, all writing centers on the human condition, even if no humans appear in the text.
All these democracies that have more opportunities must be very oppressive compered to... hmm... something impossible non-existing ideal that has tyrannical nature.
No it does not. Has been tried numerous times. Never happened. Often suppressing religion leads to making ruling political doctrine a religion and it's leader a divine, unerring mythological character. I would not call that "removing authority higher than state" because state and everybody in it becomes a slave of that "divine" monster.
A door is only a door if you can put it in motion. Otherwise, it is merely another wall, or a gaping hole.
When do analogies cease to have any relevance to a discussion? When the mice invade the picnic or when the people pack up and go home?
Actually not true. Contemporary Vietnam is doing rather well, and for a period Catalonia in Spain went anarcho-communist and it was working out fine till the facists, backed by the US, UK, and France, came in. It's more that in countries where there was a food shortage after the new regime took over that they were effectively able to centralise power. In the case of Stalin and Mao, both of their own creation. In the case of NK, the terrain there was never able to produce enough food for the population.
Vietnam is still a de facto dictatorship, and rife with corruption. The Anarcho-syndicalist (not communist) enclaves in Catalonia were destroyed by the Spanish Republicans, not the fascist Falangists. The US, UK, and France mostly stayed out of the war; what backing they did give anyone went to the Republicans. Mostly the USSR backed the Republicans, while Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy backed Franco. The food shortages were, in all cases, caused by forced collectivization of farms.
My apologies, I'll have to reread my sources on the war, but syndicism, while not a form of communism, is most certainly backed by large amounts of Marxist thought. As for North Korea, the area does not have much farmable land due to it being high mountainous, as are most areas that connect peninsulas to the mainland, which isn't the best for farming.
Depends on the region, and each country has its view and different Gods. For example, in my steampunk universe, I have a race which is 100% atheist, so for them, religion is a waste of time and the concept if god is a laugh. While my elves have a bunch of gods, which are the reincarnation of the next generation (think about Hinduism). While on the human race, they also have more than just one god and recognise their existence, each country worships one god.
From human rights watch "Vietnam’s human rights record remains dire in all areas. The Communist Party maintains a monopoly on political power and allows no challenge to its leadership. Basic rights, including freedom of speech, opinion, press, association, and religion, are restricted. Rights activists and bloggers face harassment, intimidation, physical assault, and imprisonment. Farmers continue to lose land to development projects without adequate compensation, and workers are not allowed to form independent unions. The police use torture and beatings to extract confessions. The criminal justice system lacks independence. State-run drug rehabilitation centers exploit detainees as laborers making goods for local markets and export. " https://www.hrw.org/asia/vietnam In addition to all of the above they are also brutally suppressing the Hmong/Meo hill people in what was the highlands of south Vietnam who they have never forgiven for siding with the Americans during the war
I have to say the American HRW page doesn't make edifying reading either... I wouldn't say its a case of capitalism good / communism bad or as Marx thought Capitalism bad/communism good, its more Communism mostly bad/ Capitalism mostly bad to indifferent
Does it play a role in my work? Yes, from a historical standpoint of the origin of man, how religion evolved, and was hijacked to be used for control. Religion is part of humanity for some reason. There are many uses for it and in some ways we, as humans, are basically a cargo cult. It we don't understand something, it's a miracle. It we want to rally the troops, it's in a deity's name. Bad shit happens, it's a deity's will. Religion had been used to control. Originally it taught man how to live. That bathing was important. Killing and stealing were not good, unless sanctioned. Removing grain from your dwelling for some period helps cut down rodents. The list goes on and the more you study it, one of two things happen in my mind. Either one is drawn in and becomes devout, or it breaks down under scrutiny and one ignores it. Personally, I respect religious views of any person as this is personal to them.
In my story? Nope. Maybe it should. Religion has been coopted so often for personal gain that I have a hard time focussing on its merits, of which there may be some. Note, religion is not equal to personal ethic and living a good life to the betterment of family and society. Any person, regardless of adherence to a religion, can be an asset to society and a good person. All of the above would make religion a good ingredient for a story, but I don't understand religion, because I can't simply believe. I question everything, apart from that which I really believe, or that I never think to question. But I know that there are lots of people who follow a religion, and maybe these people have something that makes their life easier. If they have and find solace, I am glad for them. Doesn't mean that it works for me, and maybe that's the reason religion doesn't crop up in my story. What I don't understand, I can't/don't want to write.
