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Posted on 11/15/2012 9:17:34 AM PST by ProgressingAmerica
In an interview that a lot of people missed, BBC interviewer Stephen Sackur has an exchange with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (Video, Jun 21st 2010) Much of the interview is what you would expect, but one thing stands out:
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As is usual, when these people are in front of an audience that they perceive as friendly, they are more honest than they'd otherwise be.
And Hugo Chavez is not alone in this belief. Let's start with Woodrow Wilson.
"it is very clear that in fundamental theory socialism and democracy are almost if not quite one and the same"
("Socialism And Democracy", 1887)
Occupy Wall Street:
"The only way to have a genuinely democratic society would also be to abolish capitalism in this state"
(Occupy Strategy Session, March 2012)
Weather Underground:
"The struggle for self-determination has had two stages : (1 ) a united front against imperialism and for New Democracy (which is a joint dictatorship of anti-colonial classes led by the proletariat, the content of which a compromise between the interests of the proletariat and nationalist peasants , petit bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie) ; and ( 2) developing out of the new democratic stage, socialism."
(You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows, 1969.)
Van Jones/STORM Manifesto
"Like all effective organizations, STORM had to figure out how to support leadership while fostering democracy."
The manifesto "Reclaiming Revolution" is one of those which I recorded as an audiobook. If you want to understand Jones and the left, this manifesto is a great place to start. If you can't make time to read it, then you have the option listen to it. The STORM manifesto uses "Democracy" or "Democratic" 42 times.
And finally, the Fabian Society.
"She (Greece) fell before a united Macedon, even as Macedon fell before the larger unity of the Roman Empire. But did they not try a virtual Socialism in Athens? And while it endured, did it not produce an individuality elsewhere unequaled in the world?"
(William Dwight Porter Bliss, Founder of the American Branch of the Fabian Society. "Where Socialism was Tried" - November 11th, 1905.) In case you don't go read the article, he is indeed pointing to the birthplace proper of Democracy as his proof that Socialism has been tried. Athens, Greece.
The left's active definition of the word "Democracy" is "Socialism", and it has been for a very long time. They'll never announce it openly enough to make it into a dictionary,(or at least, every dictionary I've seen treats democracy and socialism as separate items) but it's pretty set in stone for me. They use a different language than we do and it's important to understand their language, if you truely want to stop them.
Communist East Germany was called the “German Democratic Republic.”
Ditto North Korea.
He’s right. Democracy means the majority can vote to tax and get all the goodies from the minority.
That’s why the US was founded as a republic.
Ditto North Korea.
Hugo, true human happiness and progress is not possible without recognition of the rights of the individual and the sanctity of individuals to self determine - independent of the ‘crowd’. Socialism is the ideology of idiots, including that idiotic fat lazy moron Marx.
By the way Hugo, do all of your ‘equal’ citizens get the same medical care that you did when they get sick? All socialists, with very, very, very rare exception are hypocrites. You, Hugo, are emblematic.
Sort of correct, if you look at it the right way.
"We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
That's the foundation of our democracy and the rationale behind it.
All socialism does, in theory of course, is extend the equality from legal and social spheres into the economic one. The idea is to guarantee equality of economic condition.
This is, IMO, very definitely a step too far, but those who want to defend capitalism have to demonstrate why using the state to impose legal equality by force, as in the abolition of slavery, is a good thing, but using the same methods to impose economic equality is not a good thing.
That’s true, I forgot about that. These places try to cloak their true nature by labeling themselves as you point out.
There’s a lot of them like that.
Idiotic statements such as that could earn Chavez a doctorate from any number of lib arts departments in our major universities. He might try Harvard.
After all, they actually admitted (and graduated) the Obamadork/felon.
I thought Hugo’s cancer was supposed to have killed him by now? Anyone?
Yes, we do not have a democracy. But who would expect a communist like Hugo - or Zero - to comprehend that?
He sounds like a Democrat.
I guess it flew over the heads of the public majority this election that Hugo, the boy with the mysterious cancer, endorsed the unconstitutionally elected admitted foreign national? Or maybe the communist propaganda machine posing as our main stream impartial media chose to ignore it?
Sort of. It was based on the ruthless financial extortion of hundreds of other Greek states by Athens, in the interest of the 30,000 to 60,000 Athenian citizens, enforced by the military.
Not to mention the many thousands of slaves and non-citizens who had no voice in government and were not part of "the people" for whose interest the government worked.
You can make a darn good case that the Athenians did try socialism, but it was more or less of the National Socialist variety, with the Athenian citizens as a master race ruling over the conquered untermenschen.
STFU, pineapple head.
Apparently his God intervened. -tom
"Give me your crown, Jesus. Give me your cross, your thorns so that I may bleed. But give me life, because I have more to do for this country and these people. Do not take me yet," Chávez said, standing below an image of Jesus with the Crucifix.
Freedom and individual fulfillment are impossible in a democracy.
Chavez was supposed to use decency, compassion and integrity as a guide to realize that stealing was wrong.
Only a just and honest people can be entrusted with democracy.
For once I agree with Hugo Chavez. Mass democracy is not compatible with capitalism and private property ownership. The masses will simply vote for themselves more entitlements and free stuff at the expense of others.
Our Founders also understood this. They abhorred the idea of mass democracy. The abhorred mob rule. They did not want the direct election of the president, which is why they set up the Electoral College. They only permitted property owners to cast ballots in federal elections. A wise move in retrospect. They concentrated most power to the states, which is why they included the 10th Amendment. They made it extremely difficult to amend the Constitution. They set up a carefully arranged system of checks and balances to prevent radical laws from getting enacted.
Our Founders set up a limited government constitutional republic....NOT a democracy. Hugo Chavez is right.....democracy and capitalism don’t mix. Democracy is an overrated concept. I have had enough of democracy. Would like to get back to having a republic which protects individual liberty, states rights, private property, and commerce.
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