NYCPHP Meetup

[Kenneth Downs]

Ajai Khattri wrote:
> On Tue, 26 May 2009, David Krings wrote:
>
>   
>> But communism isn't bad, only the 
>> first 500 years are tough.
>>     
>
> I would argue that its never been truly implemented anywhere.
>   

Here we go, way off topic :)

As an amateur historian, I'd say socialism cannot be attempted yet 
because Marx's historical antecedents are not yet in place.  Marx said 
capitalism would have to make over the entire world, and that process 
was stunted severely in the 20th century by Leninist regimes, which 
really did nothing more than invent industrial feudalism.  As a reaction 
against those regimes, capitalist regimes were more lenient towards 
things like trade unions than they might have been, allowing substantial 
industrial middle classes to grow up (which now of course are disappearing).

Now that the regimes are largely gone, and even China is going 
capitalist, the process of having capitalism dominate the globe is now 
in full swing.  For us amateur historians, the thing to watch is 
separation between rich and poor.  A dramatic separation is required in 
order for the proletariat to become class conscious. 

But like many, I don't really believe the proles would suddenly become 
class conscious if capitalism somehow "won" and we all became slaves to 
the owners of the means of production.  That type of thing borders on 
science fiction a la Clark's "Childhood's End" or Vinge's "singularity" 
concept.

End of totally off-topic comments.

Oh yeah, PHP is great.

-- 
Kenneth Downs
Secure Data Software, Inc.
www.secdat.com    www.andromeda-project.org
631-689-7200   Fax: 631-689-0527
cell: 631-379-0010

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