Hi charles,

>>You don't care about facts do ya? There are still about 1.x Billion communist left in this world. That is about 4 times as the whole north american population. Not that I'm a communist. Not at all, but thinking that communism has been defeated is typpically a statement from an american who does not have a clue what he is talking about.

>Walter, you really should stick to technical areas where you have some expertise and credibility. I am not defending a nationalist or jingoistic position but this is just silly. There are three "communist" regimes extant - North Korea, which is an entity so bizarre at to defy catogorization but is as much a cult of personality as an ideology, Cuba, which is proving the failure of the model and maintains a system that will not survive Castro, and China, the most capitalist culture ever to embrace a collectivist ideology.

>If you count the entire population of China as "communists" you may be able to crank your number up to the 1.x billion, but if you seriously believe China is a communist country you understand little of communism or China.

I indeed was counting by countries as that is the most feasible way to do this. In russia there are still people that easily could be categorized as communist. As for china. How would you categorize it? It certainly is not a democracy and the call it a capatalistic country would be far off either. The fact is that if China would go to war, you'll have to face 1+ Billion communists.

But to handle the same standards only very few countries could call themselves a democracy. There is no such thing possible as a pure democracy as well as there is no such thing as pure communism as it is just not practical.

>The communist model has never survived except at gunpoint.

>Totalitarian states are outside the realm of economic models. The rapid collapse of the Soviet Union was proof positive the 'ideology' was a facade for a corrupt, oligarchic and failed central authority.

Sure.

>In the mid 20th century academics were supposed to take Marxist dialectic seriously. Now it is relegated to the extremely rarified atmosphere of the aging but tenured who can't let go of ideology in the face of reality. It failed and was rejected most strongly by those who saw it up close.

The problem is not Marx's ideas, but how to keep it free from unwanted factors. In a fact it is unstable and against nature. However, if you put a strong man on top, it might work, as history has proven. However times have changed. Communism is out.

Walter,