Soviet Union

Like all political systems formed on an ideological rather than a pragmatic basis, communism is flawed. Liberalism for example, is flawed for many of the same reasons that communism is, in spite of the fact that it sets itself against communism. Both share an unhealthy fanaticism that is difficult to successfully oppose.
But on this International Workers Day, I would like to celebrate the most important achievement of socialism and communism. This achievement happened as much by accident as by design.

One hundred years ago this month, Vladimir Lenin arrived by train in St. Petersburg after a decade in exile. Today, only 33 percent of millennials are familiar with Lenin. Of those who are familiar, 25 percent view him favorably. We need a history lesson.

In recent years, Russian cities and increasingly, cities around the globe have held a march of The Immortal Regiment on the 9th of May.
The Immortal Regiment consists of people of all ages carrying photos of loved ones and comrades who fought in, died in and in some cases lived through the Great Patriotic War, as the Second World War is called in Russia.
It is a sombre and deeply moving event as no one in Russia and for that matter hardly any Russians anywhere in the world were not related to someone or knew someone who was in the war.

African poverty was not caused by colonialism, capitalism or free trade. African poverty is an outcome of unfortunate policy choices, most of which were freely chosen by Africa’s leaders after independence.

In groups of people there are always bullies who feel entitled, for no particular reason, to want more than the rest and to dominate the others in complete disregard of the common good. Fortunately for convivial people, bullies tend to have the psychological subtlety of dominant male gorillas who beat loudly on their chests and fight over food and females. Therefore bullies often annihilate each other. The more serious social problems occur when they collaborate to gang up on others.

I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of the Communist party. In neo-McCarthyite times such as these, it is always helpful to restate this fact. Many Russians are also not now, nor have they ever been members of the Communist Party.

Cities throughout Russia and the wider former Soviet Union are preparing for the 9th of May celebrations of Victory Day.
Many Russians are astonished that individuals in the United States and much of Europe know so little about the most important non-religious holiday in Russia and several other countries.
On the 9th of May, Russia received news of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, thus ending The Great Patriotic War/World War II in Europe.
A recent piece in The Duran discussed why Russians are averse to war due to the experience of the 1940s,

Yesterday, the North Korean Ambassador to the UN gave a tense press conference in which he issued a statement promising that his nation would exercise the full right to self-defence in the event of an attack from the US.
He also affirmed that in his view, the threats from the US justify North Korea’s weapons programmes as it has shown that such things are necessary in order to both deter and defend against an attack.

Pragmatism is the most assured guiding force for good government. It is possible to run a government based on ideology or its close cousin, fanaticism, but rarely do such things end up being successful.
More often than not, the antithesis of pragmatism ends in failure.
The controversial 20th century British politician Enoch Powell once remarked,

“All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs”.

When rock and roll music first came to prominence, it was considered rebellious, anti-establishment and even subversive. The product of mostly black American musicians, it quickly and sadly became a linchpin for white American racism.
When young white men started playing rock and roll, rock’s anti-establishment credentials remained much the same. A centrist or even centre-left public figure could barely embrace Chuck Berry any more than Buddy Holly without being accused of poor taste or trying to pander to ‘delinquent youth’.