Senatus Populusque Romanus

Aug. 7, 2012 at 9:50pm with 29 notes

Lenin’s references to struggle aren’t really that different from Hitler’s use of the term. It’s a type of push for cultural and political through violence and war. Lenin used class struggle even though his circle consisted mainly of the middle class intellectuals and acts of terrorism carried out by the Bolsheviks affected the “exploited class” negatively. Hitler used race and nationalism in his references to the spiritual and national struggle of Germany.

Lenin’s regime brought purges, killings, and economic policies that only worsened the conditions in Russia. His policies destroyed the rights of the individual—the destruction of the Orthodox Church being one example. Hitler attempted to break the power of the Catholic and Protestant Churches but was largely unsuccessful.

Totalitarians think the same things across time and space.

I am not sure why Lenin, whose actions and policies were as tyrannical as the regime who proceeded it, is so often quoted by “freedom loving leftists.”

Is this who we are to align ourselves with? The admirers of despots?