The Collectivist Mind Game

[Rion]

The Marxist ideal of Communism is an altruistic collectivist society of the future, in which there will be no need for government, family, or private property. Freed from capitalist exploitation, people are expected to unleash their full potential and create unprecedented material abundance. The selfish notion of the pursuit of individual happiness will wither away. There will be no money, no greed, no deprivation, and, therefore, no crime.​

However, since a society can't directly leap from capitalism into communism, Marx reasoned that a dictatorial socialist state would be a necessary transition in order to develop the required material base, help to spread the revolution around the world, and to condition the people's minds by uprooting greed and selfishness (or to eliminate those individuals who can't be conditioned).​

Leaving the debunking of utopian follies for another time, let's just say that the totalitarian socialist state is where they always get bogged down. Despite their ideal of a stateless future, the leftists invariably become ruthless and uncompromising statists. It no longer matters whether it's a doctrinaire Marxist socialism or "corporate" fascism; if the end result is evil, original intentions don't count.​

In Russia, the communists used to demonize their opponents long before the Revolution, which made it easier for them to physically eliminate the opposition later. As soon as they were in full control of the government, they began to demonize entire segments of the society, subcultures, and classes of people whom they deemed incapable of change.​

Articles: The Collectivist Mind Game, Part 1: Demonizing the Non-Compliant​

Most modern-day leftists in Western countries have abandoned the idea of a violent revolution, having replaced it with "the long march through the institutions" as part of the culture war to transform the society through cultural hegemony. Instead of commanding firing squads, they play mind games of manipulative illusions, in which the demonization of dissent plays a crucial role. The basic premise hasn't changed: as much as the statists want you to love them, they want you to hate their opponents even more.​

Until a time when political opposition can be eliminated completely, having opponents can still be useful: you can steal their ideas, take advantage of their desire to help the economy, and blame them for any of your own failures. In the meantime, certain rules must be followed to control the public opinion and, through it, the opposition itself.​

Maintain the perception of being constantly under attack. Don't examine the opponents' beliefs, nor answer their arguments. Discredit any media channels that offer them a platform. Enforce the following media template: the opposition is evil, treasonous, unfathomable, and psychotic. They can't be reasoned with. They are inspired by fascism and financed by a conspiracy of shady oligarchs. Defame their donors. Whatever the mischief you're planning to pull off, accuse them of doing it first; then proceed as planned, describing your actions as a necessary intervention. And ridicule, ridicule, ridicule!​

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Across the ocean, years later, the same rules still apply. The perception of a relentless struggle with the opposition must be permanent and persuasive. Even in the times of calm and prosperity the people must think that the opposition is holding them hostage and only the firm, wise guidance of the People's Leader is saving them from imminent ruin. When the opponents are too few, too weak, and too disoriented to put up a real fight, their power and influence must be exaggerated.

Ever since "crybaby" John Boehner became the GOP House Speaker, the media grotesquely overstated the effectiveness of his fruitless, anemic leadership. Among other things, this patent exaggeration allowed Obama to maintain his saintly image while shifting the responsibility for the staggering economy onto "Republican obstructionism."​

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Articles: The Collectivist Mind Game, Part 2: Demonizing the Opposition​

Admittedly, the Marxist notion of human progress is a spiral that would return humanity to that stateless, moneyless, classless, and selfless collectivism -- except on a higher level. For that purpose they must, so to speak, put the genie of individualism back into the bottle, and the only way they can do it is by demonizing human nature itself.

However, the 74 years of the morbid Soviet experiment failed to breed the New Collectivist Man. The communist "engineers of human souls" isolated millions of people from the rest of humanity by sealing off the nation's borders and creating a pressurized Marxist bubble. They rearranged the society, rewrote history, and reorganized the culture. They subjected several generations of children to intense mind programming. They blocked all undesirable news sources, books, films, and music. They rewarded "correct" thoughts and impulses, and punished the "incorrect" ones. They demonized greed, selfishness, individualism, and self-interest. They taught altruism, collectivism, and self-sacrifice. They ran relentless campaigns that dehumanized non-compliant individuals.

Ultimately, not a single trait of human nature had changed. In the months before the collapse, the indisputable failure of collective farming forced the Soviet communists to resurrect the idea of individual farms -- and, in order to survive, Chinese communists reverted to private entrepreneurship, while maintaining the pretense of Marxist orthodoxy.

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[FONT=times new roman, times]In the meantime, a domestic influence operation known as OFA (Obama for America), is reorganizing, renaming itself Organizing for Action, and assuming a tax-exempt legal structure. It would be a mistake to think that since Obama is no longer running for office, his campaign outfit has outlived its purpose. Without its thundering acoustics, Obama would be as helpless as a lip-synching artist whose soundtrack went silent in the middle of an act. The introduction and perpetuation of a collectivist, statist frame of reference among American voters was not only a prerequisite for Obama's victory; it remains a vital ingredient of his governing style as the nation's most powerful community organizer.[/FONT]
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[FONT=times new roman, times]As such, even though OFA is not directly bankrolled by the U.S. Treasury, it has become an indispensable part of today's big-government operation -- the American version of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda, if you will -- and, as every bureaucracy, it has no intention of downsizing. Having taken the Game to an unprecedented level and reaching its peak performance during the "fiscal cliff's" [/FONT][FONT=times new roman, times]hate week[/FONT][FONT=times new roman, times] -- rivaling in effectiveness the erstwhile Propaganda Department of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee -- OFA is planning to solidify its structure and influence with a so-called [/FONT][FONT=times new roman, times]Obama Campaign Legacy Conference[/FONT][FONT=times new roman, times].[/FONT]​

Articles: The Collectivist Mind Game, Part 3: Demonizing Human Nature
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[EdwinWillers]

No matter into what society they are born and what mind conditioning they receive, people will never stop being competitive individuals.

They will always long for individual freedom, rationality, objectivity, personal achievement, and the pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.

Read more: Articles: The Collectivist Mind Game, Part 3: Demonizing Human Nature

Frankly, I think this snippet says it all w/r to what people really value and why the collectivists hate people - yet grudgingly need them, and why they spend so much time propagandizing against individualism.

But this is truly choice:

Without these traits humanity would never have risen from the ignorant tribal collectivism of hunters and gatherers, with its brutal mores, dark superstitions, and average life expectancy of 30 years, when few lived long enough to develop complete self-awareness, formulate a coherent individual thought, and pass it onto others.

And it doesn't take but the merest moment to ponder what the collectivists truly value - their "brutal mores" (which we see being advanced with such persistence today), their "dark superstitions" (oy, where to begin...), and their never-ending downward push on human life expectancy (Obamacare anyone?), and finally, their void-of-good efforts at dumbing down the populace so they are thoroughly incapable of formulating coherent, individual thought.

 

[cow451]

 

[IzzyPop]

This article would have had a bit more impact if it didn't spend the entire time drawing comparisons between Obama and other 'leftists' to Commies. In other words, demonizing them.

 

[Rion]

This article would have had a bit more impact if it didn't spend the entire time drawing comparisons between Obama and other 'leftists' to Commies. In other words, demonizing them.

The author used to make agitprop for the U.S.S.R. He's not mindlessly comparing two things, he's comparing and contrasting what the leftists here are doing in comparison to what he saw in the Ukraine.

 

[Rion]

Troll Harder.

 

[jayem]

Are SS and Medicare considered "collectivist?" Let's face it, they're as much a part of American life as the Superbowl, and they ain't going away.

 

[IzzyPop]

The author used to make agitprop for the U.S.S.R. He's not mindlessly comparing two things, he's comparing and contrasting what the leftists here are doing in comparison to what he saw in the Ukraine.

Then why did he deliberately choose descriptors that have extremely negative emotional connotations as opposed to using clinical language to get his point across? To then point out that he is a professional at this means that he cannot even use the excuse of ignorance, he is purposefully using the same tactics he is decrying in others.

 

[keith99]

The Marxist ideal of Communism is an altruistic collectivist society of the future, in which there will be no need for government, family, or private property. Freed from capitalist exploitation, people are expected to unleash their full potential and create unprecedented material abundance. The selfish notion of the pursuit of individual happiness will wither away. There will be no money, no greed, no deprivation, and, therefore, no crime.​

This will work pretty well as long as you have perfect people.

I'd argue capitalism works just as well with perfect people.

In hindsight the implications for communism are obvious, the imperfect ones need to be re-educated or eliminated.​

 

[keith99]

Are SS and Medicare considered "collectivist?" Let's face it, they're as much a part of American life as the Superbowl, and they ain't going away.

Uh no.

I'm supposed to get out of Social Security based on what I put in. It is forced retirement planning, nothing more.

 

[Rion]

Are SS and Medicare considered "collectivist?" Let's face it, they're as much a part of American life as the Superbowl, and they ain't going away.

I cannot speak for the author, but I would say that S.S. needs a major overhaul and allowance for privitation, as it's currently a ponzi-scheme in all but name.

 

[cow451]

Troll Harder.

I didn't have a pic of the Baloney Meter, so the price of Aluminum was the next best option. There is no Commie plot.

 

[Rion]

I didn't have a pic of the Baloney Meter, so the price of Aluminum was the next best option. There is no Commie plot.

It's not about "a commie plot." He's comparing how leftists in the U.S.S.R. played mind games with how the leftists in the U.S. do it.

 

[EdwinWillers]

Are SS and Medicare considered "collectivist?" Let's face it, they're as much a part of American life as the Superbowl, and they ain't going away.

Well the latter might be true, but that doesn't mean they're either right or good for us in the long run - and that irrespective of any individual or short term benefits they provide.

 

[jayem]

I cannot speak for the author, but I would say that S.S. needs a major overhaul and allowance for privitation, as it's currently a ponzi-scheme in all but name.

But as I understand the term, it would certainly be collective. Everyone who employs workers must contribute to it (shared with everyone who works.) And everyone who has contributed a certain amount is eligible for benefits. Isn't that a collectivist enterprise?

 

[Rion]

But as I understand the term, it would certainly be collective. Everyone who employs workers must contribute to it (shared with everyone who works.) And everyone who has contributed a certain amount is eligible for benefits. Isn't that a collectivist enterprise?

Yes, and we live in a Republic. Does that make everyone who lives here a Republican?

 

[jayem]

Yes, and we live in a Republic. Does that make everyone who lives here a Republican?

Yes. If that's how you define Republican. That's what I'm getting at--what is meant by collectivist?

 

[Rion]

Yes. If that's how you define Republican. That's what I'm getting at--what is meant by collectivist?

Assuming that you're not doing a "what the definition of is, is" it's another name for statists who have given up the idea of violent revolution and instead use "mind games" and propaganda instead.

As the author describes it in his first piece, regarding a novel:

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[FONT=times new roman, times]If the tyrants on Earth were worth their salt, all the freedom-loving colonists would be subjected to an intense, manipulative indoctrination, which would shape their self-image as small and sinful "little guys" vis-à-vis the powerful, virtuous government that serves the powerless and protects them against all enemies, including themselves.[/FONT]
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[FONT=times new roman, times]Thus, the government's propagandistic narrative would establish the illusion of a society divided into three major classes: the ruling government class, endowed with benevolent powers to guide or punish; the majority class of hapless losers, whose survival depended on the government's largesse and protection; and an unquantifiable class of demonized mysterious enemies of the government and, by extension, of the people, who would be the perceived culprits of all failures, hardships, and misery of the little guys' everyday existence.[/FONT]
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[Redac]

Well, very first paragraph and they're already misconstruing how we see things.

The Marxist ideal of Communism is an altruistic collectivist society of the future, in which there will be no need for government, family, or private property. Freed from capitalist exploitation, people are expected to unleash their full potential and create unprecedented material abundance. The selfish notion of the pursuit of individual happiness will wither away. There will be no money, no greed, no deprivation, and, therefore, no crime.

This is not the case. The world does not become some sort of utopian, violence-free place just because capitalism is abolished, and anyone who thinks that needs a reality check.

Maybe I'll look at the rest of it later, but if it's all based on this (false) idea that the goal is to use a totalitarian, Stalinist state to achieve a perfect utopia, it's probably not worth the effort.

 

[Rion]

Well, very first paragraph and they're already misconstruing how we see things.



This is not the case. The world does not become some sort of utopian, violence-free place just because capitalism is abolished, and anyone who thinks that needs a reality check.

Maybe I'll look at the rest of it later, but if it's all based on this (false) idea that the goal is to use a totalitarian, Stalinist state to achieve a perfect utopia, it's probably not worth the effort.

Except, that's what was preached every time they've tried it.