i’m new to marxism and i’m debating against the us and capitalist side tomorrow, and i got access to the other group’s ideas. i’ve read theory and marx but i can’t exactly debunk all of these due to my limited knowledge of socialism.
Gulags
• Dictator- ppl don't have autonomy
• Resentment is suppressed
• Secret police killed ppl who don't support communism
• Communism and socialism sounds good on paper but can never be truly achieved
• Suppressed individual freedom
• Mainly operates under a non democratic one party system
• No private properties so command economy's fail
• Harvest and earnings go to the government
• Lack of incentives
• Forced taking of properties & grain led to famine and roughly 5 million in the volga region died and some even resorted to cannibalism under a policy called War Communism under the Bolshevik government under Lenin
• In China The Great Leap forward caused massive famine under Mao Zedong
• Ethnic cleansing, religious prosecution, people used for labor in concentration camps
• Perfect opportunity for corruption because most income goes to the government
• People who support communism lives in capitalist countries themselves, often hypocritical
• Communism only benefits the government not the ppl
• "Why don't you go live in North Korea"
• From the time of Karl Marx to today, communism is based on the abolition of religion.
Communism-theoretically, ideologically, and historically-opposes God and all forms of religion. In 1844, Marx wrote, "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.
• Theres gonna be that one lazy guy that doesnt work but gets the benefits anyways
Pro Capitalism:
Private land
You get to keep profits
Only a small percent is taxed
Free, democratic elections
People are more enticed to work
Market competition allows for innovation
Very adaptable and versatile
Consumer focused
Advantages over soviets:
Space tech, while they may have gotten the first man in space, we got the first man on the moon
Flying black doritos that can explode you (b2, developed very late in the cold war in like 1988 that was when the design got approved if i remember)
Military tech
Stronger economy
Stronger allies
Freedom