>>1063344I wish that more regular people understood that terms such as "communism", "Marxism", and "socialism" have actual academic definitions that have been debated by experts in various fields for decades upon decades and that involve actual, logical thought in terms of what they really mean.
As somebody with two degrees in economics and who's tried to get a master's in the field, I wonder if maybe I should rip up the diplomas and simply give up on Americans' basic intelligence given that something like half of them seem to believe like...
First, that communism, Marxism, and socialism are the same thing (obviously, they're not). Second, that basically "everything I disagree with is communism/Marxism/socialism" (obviously, this is nonsense). And third, that "everything about communism/Marxism/socialism is evil" (obviously, this is also a huge stretch). It tries the patience.
Gay people getting married? Evil Marxism. Marihuana legalization? Evil socialism. Programs against police brutality? Evil communism.
Raising the minimum wage? Ending the 'war on terror'? Forbidding workplace discrimination against transgender people? Ceasing bans on video games for being too sexy and/or too violent? Allowing positive portrayals of interracial relationships in the media? Working against air pollution? Fighting abortion bans?
All of it makes you a red-painted far left b*stard who's soul will enter a lake of fire when you die because you're the same as Marx and Stalin. Because, of course, we all know that Marx and Stalin were all about that centrist representative democracy under classical liberalism and Enlightenment ideals. Yeah.
