Andrew John Craven's Page

Hi Andy,

I remember that discussion well! It ended up being derailed a bit so I decided to opt out rather than add to a flame war. I think perhaps we should keep our political discussions to our comment walls, or in private messages, so that no flame wars start with other members of the Empire! :-)

In answer to your question, there are currently many ways that Marxism and capitalism are combined. Trade unions, European styled social democracies, and user-centred design (used in a great deal of product development) are all based on Marxism.

This may seem like an odd view, but I believe modern Western systems of democracy have more in common with Marxism than with capitalism. 'One person, one vote' gives power to the many with no-one being able to cast more votes than anyone else (in an ideal world!) Compare that to capitalism where each dollar can be considered a vote - the rich have far more input than the poor into what the market will offer.

As to the fears that socialism and communism inspires in people, I think that's largely dependent on culture. They're feared greatly in the USA where the cold war features so prominently in recent cultural history. In Europe and, to a lesser degree, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, socialism appeals to a large segment of the population. I think that as we move further from the cold war and citizens in the US see the benefits of social democracy they will fear the dreaded 's' word less. The increasing support of universal health care is one example of this.

As to wide-scale adoption of communism... I don't see it happening in my lifetime. The only way it will work is if a) the majority of people want it, and b) the majority of countries in the world want it. I think fear and greed prevent this. I hope that one day we evolve beyond self-interest so that communal concerns are put before individual needs. But, like I said, I don't expect this to happen any time soon.

best regards,
Miss Alice