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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
By: Raymond Mulholland
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socialism, as we know it today, is a virus of the mind
-it is the spreading of toxic ideas
-we have been exposed to it our entire life
-many who hate socialism nonetheless promote it unwittingly
-we need to cure ourselves before we can cure others
It often infects others before we can see signs of it
-we need to recognize symptoms as early as possible
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Heroes
Socrates
Aristotle
Immanuel Kant
Villains
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Karl Marx
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socialism Through the Ages
Most Basic Definition: a community where everyone shares all they have with each other
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socialism Through the Ages
Most Basic Definition: a community where everyone shares all they have with each other
More Modern Definition: a system of government where production is centrally controlled
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socialism Through the Ages
Most Basic Definition: a community where everyone shares all they have with each other
More Modern Definition: a system of government where production is centrally controlled
My Definition: any idea grounded in Hegelian logic and formed by Marxist doctrine
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socialism Through the Ages
Most Basic Definition: a community where everyone shares all they have with each other
More Modern Definition: a system of government where production is centrally controlled
My Definition: any idea grounded in Hegelian logic and formed by Marxist doctrine
We have "good" socialism and "bad" socialism
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Now for Something Completely Different!
How do you describe an object or concept?
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Now for Something Completely Different!
How do you describe an object or concept?
Characteristics Table Chair
Flat surface Yes Yes
Legs for support Yes Yes
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Now for Something Completely Different!
How do you describe an object or concept?
Characteristics Table Chair
Flat surface Yes Yes
Legs for support Yes Yes
Back NO Yes
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Now for Something Completely Different!
How do you describe an object or concept?
Characteristics Table Stool Chair
Flat surface Yes Yes Yes
Legs for support Yes Yes Yes
Back NO NO Yes
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Now for Something Completely Different!
How do you describe an object or concept?
Characteristics Table Stool Chair
Flat surface Yes Yes Yes
Legs for support Yes Yes Yes
Back NO NO Yes
Used for Sitting NO Yes Yes
Dilemma: Is a stool a
a) table for sitting on
b) chair without a back
c) altogether different piece of furniture
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Where Does Western Culture Come From
Western Culture is the result of Christians joining the Jewish God Yahweh to Greek philosophy
Pagan gods are fickle and temperamental They are prone to whimsy, favoritism and vindictiveness
Only in Yahweh is there an all powerful God who is unchanging, without bias, and fully loving
Only the Jews and Christians sought to educate the population at large
Only in Greek philosophy can man consistently answer the call of Wisdom:
"Happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts; for he who finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 8:34-35)
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Where Does Western Culture Come From
If we deny either Yahweh/Jehovah or Greek Philosophy, Western Culture will die.
Destruction of Western Culture is taking place by both Atheists and Christians
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Socrates (4th Century BC)
Presented a method of intellectual debate called the Dialectic
Three parts to the Dialectic
-the conservative, or status quo side (thesis)
-the opposing side (antithesis)
-the solution after much discussion (synthesis)
The synthesis was often never arrived at
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Aristotle (4th Century BC)
Father of Science
Noted zoologist, loved to classify things
-Created the “narrative” to explain the difficulties in classifying things
Principle of Non-Contradiction Maxim
-"The same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong
to the same subject in the same respect" (Metaphysics, Book IV)
-also seen worded “two contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same time and in the same way”
-all modern science depends upon this
-perhaps single most influential secular concept for Western Culture
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Swiss Political Philosopher
Incorrectly believed to coin the phrase “noble savage,” but he did create the
mythology behind it
-he believed Native Americans were without sin
-he pitied them for not having the luxuries of European cities
-he felt Utopia could be realized if savages replaced the populations of
cities
His contributions to what I call socialism:
-man can create a Utopia on Earth
-inspired Hegel's “aufhaben” philosophy
-Marx believed it was not enough to wish savages lived in cities, it was mankind's destiny to make it happen
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
German Philosopher
Although he personally believed in God, he proved that the assistance of
God could not be proved or disproved
-Christians were upset that he considered God only a possibility
-Atheists were furious that God's non-existance couldn't be proved
-Christians try to ignore Kant, atheists try to prove Kant wrong
Lived in a time when other philosophers believed in determinism
-Determinism means free will does not exist:
“We are all just cogs in the machine, doing what we were meant to do, with no actual volition” (Barron d'Holbach)
-Determinism denies the transcendental, all reality can be studied and measured
-Kant rebelled against this determinism, and most of his opponent's efforts try to prove determinism is true, including Hegel
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
German Philosopher, major opponent of Kant
Socialism is completely dependent upon Hegelian teaching
-there will be six teachings to cover
Therefore, like general socialism, we have “good” Hegel and “bad” Hegel,
depending on who uses this logic and for what purpose
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Alchemy
Hegel was an alchemist
First of three top take-aways tonight!
-easiest characteristic to identify
-can be discovered very early
Alchemy is NOT turning lead into gold, it is turning a lead object into a gold object
-the object itself does not change, only a characteristic of it
-the undesirable characteristic is destroyed, the desired characteristic “mystically” replaces it
This is why socialism is so dangerous, it is based on the idea of destruction and denies the need to create
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Alchemy
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Determinism
Hegel was a determinist
-he denied the transcendental
-Hegel did believe that some people, such as himself, were “enlightened” with special knowledge
Note the contradiction between denying the transcendental, yet believing in enlightenment. We'll get to that soon.
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Perverting Yahweh/Jehovah
Appears to have been greatly influenced by Spinoza
Hegel took Yahweh/Jehovah and corrupted the
understanding of Him
-Father all spirit, but alone and unable to explain
Himself
-Created matter (i.e., the universe)
--now has something to compare Himself to, and
therefore explain Himself
--as matter is separate from Him, He is now incomplete
-Created the Son, both of Himself and the universe
--so began the assimilation of matter into God
-The Holy Spirit is the process of God becoming complete by becoming all matter
--to resist this process is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the Unforgivable Sin
Marx said the Father was mankind, and the Son is culture, but Marx still looked at the Holy Spirit as a maker of change, and that resisting it is blasphemy
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hegelian Dialectic: the Unholy Trinity in Action
It is not really Hegel's views on who Yahweh/Jehovah was is critical our discussion, but rather how God caused Hegel to have an extreme fascination in the trinity
Everything Hegelian, and therefore socialist,
is in trinity
Second of three top take-aways tonight!
-very easy to identify
-can be discovered very early
Most expression of Hegel's trinity is the Hegelian
Dialectic
-modified Socrates Dialectic
--only one statement for the thesis
--only one statement for the antithesis
--synthesis must be decided (remember,
Socrates often was unable to find a synthesis)
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hegelian Dialectic: the Unholy Trinity in Action
Thesis: a table is a piece of furniture with a flat surface and legs
Antithesis: a stool is a piece of furniture with a flat surface and legs
Synthesis: a table and a stool are the same thing
Note: as Hegel was a determinist, it would have been improper for him to assign the transcendental property of utility to the discussion
Remember this example when we get to Aufhaben
=
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hegelian Dialectic: the Unholy Trinity in Action
Socialists have taken this process to name themselves!
-Thesis: Black Lives Matter is about respecting blacks
-Antithesis: You are opposed to Black Lives Matter
-Synthesis: You hate blacks
This also explains the name “Antifa”
The impact the Hegelian Dialectic has on socialist thought simply cannot be overestimated
= Racism
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Aufhaben
Aufhaben is a word that indicates possesson, and can be used in all tenses of time
-because of its flexibility, specific examples can seem to be completely unrelated to each other
-Hegel's signature study of contradictions bears this name
-many other words appear to contradict themselves (oxymorons)
Apparent contradictions abound in our lives
-children with different features than their parents
-Bible is loaded with them
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Aufhaben
Aufhaben has done much to inspire scientists and theologians in their work (good Aufhaben)
-the study of genetics was in response questioning why children may or may not look like their parents
-Typology, which was practiced by Jesus, Peter and Paul, has benefited tremendously by Aufhaben
Hegel refused to accept that there were true contradictions (bad Aufhaben)
-Hegel used transcendental arguments to prove determinism
-Ultimate result of bad Aufhaben is insanity
--If no true contradiction, then truth and untruth are the same
--If truth and untruth are the same, then reality is not what is,
reality is what you want it to be
The line between good and bad Aufhaben is if it leads you to honest
inquiry, or if you use it to justify your cognitive dissonance
Hegel explicitly denied Aristotle's Principal of Non-Contradiction, and it is destroying Western Culture
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Non-Sequitur
Non-Sequitur is a phrase that means “does not follow”
In philosophy, “to follow” means “there is only one possible conclusion
using the presented facts.” Therefore, non-sequitur means that there
are multiple possible conclusions with the presented facts.
The Hegelian Dialectic, due to its lack of discussion, is virtually guaranteed to have the non-sequitur fallacy. As socialists can only think in the Hegelian Dialectic, every idea they have is faulty.
This is why it is so important to see if an idea was created by the Hegelian Dialectic
As all Hegelian and socialist thoughts are based on truth being what one wants, coupled with the non-sequitur fallacy, All socialist programs are inherently flawed with inconsistency. It is their greatest weakness and should be exploited
But beware, the best socialists are amazingly consistent within their core inconsistency
-they are very apt at making their flawed argument seem logical
-this will be addressed in March's presentation
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
German Philosopher, studied under Hegel's disciples, Bruno Bauer and Ludwig Feuerbach
He married Hegelism with politics, economics and social justice
Unlike socialism, Aufhaben and other Hegelian ideas, there is no “good Marxism,” it is all “bad”
Marx was the quintessential disgruntled college graduate
-he leached off friends and family rather than work
-he never directly got involved with any of the revolts he inspired
Bauer
Feuerbach
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Desire for Power
Marx wanted respect and prestige because he felt he deserved it
He was unwilling to work for it, he wanted those in power to be removed so he could walk in and take it
His ambitions can be described with the Hegelian Dialectic
Thesis: The establishment has what I want
Antithesis: I cannot have what I want as long as they are around
Synthesis: They must be removed
He was also unwilling to actually remove those he hated, he wanted others to do it for him
Socialists want things they are unwilling to work for, preferring others to provide for them
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
The Future
Unlike Hegel, who only looked to the past, Marx looked to the future
-Hegel's theories only looked at what already was real
--he believed even God did not know the future
--his conclusions still had to exist in reality as others could check behind him
-Marx wanted to make the future suit his wants
--believed if one knew the past, then one could predict the future (a valid assumption if determinism is real)
--because reality is an expression of one's will, he concluded that he did not have what he wanted because he was being oppressed by the will of those in power (not a valid assumption if determinism is real, but Aufhaben eliminates that problem for the Hegelist)
Socialism is a war of liberation of the oppressed against the oppressors
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Praxis
Praxis can be translated as “practice,” and it means to take an idea and make it reality
Unlike Hegel, who remained in the theoretical world, Marx demanded action on his theories.
Although Marx's “Father” and “Son” were different than Hegel, the “Holy Spirit” remained the force of change and the Unforgiveable Sin is to reject the changes the socialist wants
Socialists are much more afraid of Marx's Holy Spirit than most Christians are of Hell
-you can't change the mind of a fully indoctrinated socialist
Compromise with a socialist is NEVER a win-win situation. The socialist looks at it as a necessary delay in the praxis he wishes to take place
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Infinite Progress
Although socialists look to the future, they refuse to believe that man can know what utopia looks like until it arrives
As long as a contradiction remains (specifically, if there is a single person in the world with a problem), then the Hegelian Dialectic must be used to Aufhaben the contradiction away
As the alchemy of socialism can only destroy, there will always be a contradiction remaining
Therefore, the synthesis of the most recent Hegelian Dialectic becomes the thesis for the next one
The socialist use of the Hegelian Dialectic NEVER ENDS
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Infinite Progress
Thesis: There are homeless people Antithesis: There is an un-used plot of land
Synthesis/New Thesis: Build apartments on the land for the homeless people
Antithesis: The septic system is not sufficient
Synthesis/New Thesis: Raise taxes to build brand new septic system
Antithesis: People are leaving town because of taxes
Synthesis/New Thesis: Control the movement of people into and out of town
etc. ad infinitum
Any effort to explain to a socialist that his idea will cause problems only helps him out - you have just created the new antithesis for him so he can start planning his next synthesis
Flaws in a socialist plan are greatly desired by the socialist.
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Infinite Progress
The infinite progress of socialism, paired with a fanatical desire to work with the Holy Spirit, means socialists are never satisfied with the status quo, even the status quo they created
Also, the alchemy of destroying and never creating means things get worse with each iteration
Socialists are in a perpetual state of war against any culture they are in, including their own
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Marx's Theory and Property
Marxian Theory can be easily explained in two short sentences
-1) There exists a property that is in limited supply
-2) Those who control this property use it to oppress those who don't
Marxist theory is erroneously assumed to only be about economics.
“only at this stage [communism] does self-activity coincide with material life, which corresponds to the transformation development individuals into complete individuals and the casting-off of all natural limitations.” (The German Ideology, italics mine)
Marxian Theory, therefore, is not limited to economics
-anything that can be used to oppress someone is a property
-Marx came up with properties other than capital
Marx explicitly called the laws of nature oppressive!
Some common properties:
fascism (Antifa), whiteness (BLM), maleness (feminists), hetrosexuality (gays and lesbians), age (queers), education (Friere, more on him next month), anything society calls “normal” (wokism)
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Karl Marx
Oppressors and Oppressed
Last of three top take-aways tonight!
-easy to identify
-can be discovered yearly
As socialism is founded on determinism, oppressors are irredeemable
As Aufhaben allows socialists to become enlightened, they can help the oppressed
As the Holy Spirit must be obeyed at all costs, nothing is too extreme in overthrowing the oppressors
Everything Marxian focuses on how oppressors are victimizing the oppressed
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
oppression
=
=
liberation
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
=
black man running from
white oppression
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
Tolerance
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
Tolerance
Emotional Outbursts
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
Tolerance
Emotional Outbursts
Narcissism
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
Tolerance
Emotional Outbursts
Narcissism
Obsession with Children
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Secondary Characteristics
The following characteristics did not come from a major work of socialist theology, but rather develop on their own freely in the environment socialism creates.
Selective History and Partisanship
Monomania
Myopticism
Equivocalness of Words
Democracy
Justice
Freedom of Speech
Literacy
Inclusion
Tolerance
Emotional Outbursts
Narcissism
Obsession with Children
Chutzpah
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Final Thoughts
C.S. Lewis pointed out that, if one makes an error in a math problem, going further will not fix the problem. One must backtrack to the error and correct it before any true progress can be made.
We can't fix a socialist problem unless we go back to the point where the error started
Furthermore, we must learn to recognize when an error is taking place if we want to avoid future problems
I will talk a lot more on how to deal with socialists in the early stages of making problems in March, but you can use the three big take-aways mentioned by asking these simple questions:
1) How do you plan to make this happen (check for alchemy)
2) How did you arrive at this conclusion (check for Hegelian Dialectic)
3) Why do you want to do this (check for oppressor/oppressed worldview, and possibly determinism as well)
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Socialism: What It Is and How to Recognize It
Questions?