Charles,

1. There was no communist state the it was called socialistic. There is a differnce.
2. Don't mix up Marx with socialist countries to much. Do you have ever read the Communist Manifest or the Capital? Marx described capitalismn, and that is not changed at all.
3. Belive it or not, it has worked for a long time without guns.
4. The idea to be a marxist might have nothing to do with socialist countries. It's the same as if you would think all moslem people act like terrorists.

Have a nice day


Agnes
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>>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.
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>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.
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>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.
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>The communist model has never survived except at gunpoint.
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>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.
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>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.
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>The major lesson of the 20th century is that human nature ultimately rejects totalitarianism and given a choice will embrace the uncertainty of freedom.