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Communism was not popularized in the West under the direct banner of communism. Instead, it came largely under the banner of postmodernism, and aimed to transform the values and beliefs of our societies through its Marxist idea that knowledge and truth are social constructs.

Under it, a new wave of skepticism and distrust was applied to philosophy, culture, history, and all beliefs and institutions at the foundations of Western society.

The postmodern philosophy came into vogue in the 1970s, according to Jordan Peterson, Canadian clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, after classic Marxism, especially of the economic type, had been so thoroughly discredited that no one but an absolute reprobate could support it publicly.

Peterson said its not possible to understand our current society without considering the role postmodernism plays within it, because postmodernism, in many waysespecially as its played out politicallyis the new skin that the old Marxism now inhabits.

Even the French intellectuals had to admit that communism was a bad deal by the end of the 1960s, he said. From there, the communists played a sleight of hand game, in some sense, and rebranded their ideology under a postmodern guise.

Thats where identity politics came from, he said. And from there, it spread like wildfire from France, to the United States through the English department at Yale University, and then everywhere.Marxism preached that the natural and economic landscape is a battle between the so-called proletariat and the bourgeois. It claimed that economic systems were going to enslave people and keep them down, Peterson said.

In practice, however, communism repeatedly showed it made things worse. It was put into place in many parts of the world throughout the 20th century with absolutely murderous resultsa, Peterson said. It was the most destructive economic and political doctrine I think that has ever been invented by mankind, surpassing even the terror seen under Adolf Hitler, with its system of murder that would kill over 100 million people in less than a century.

Peterson said the full breadth of that catastrophe of communism is something students rarely learn in school. The students I teach usually know nothing at all about what happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Lenin between 1919 and 1959. They have no idea that millions, tens of millions, of people were killed and far more tortured and brutalized by that particular regimeto say nothing of Mao.

By the end of the 1960s, he said, even French intellectuals like Jean-Paul Sartre had to admit that the communist experimentwhether under Marxism, Stalinism, Maoism, or any other variantwas an absolute, catastrophic failure.

Rather than do away with the ideology, however, they merely gave it a new face and a new name. They were all Marxists. But they couldnt be Marxists anymore, because you couldnt be a Marxist and claim you were a human being by the end of the 1960s, said Peterson.

The postmodernists built on the Marxist ideology, Peterson said. They started to play a sleight of hand, and instead of pitting the proletariat, the working class, against the bourgeois, they started to pit the oppressed against the oppressor. That opened up the avenue to identifying any number of groups as oppressed and oppressor and to continue the same narrative under a different name.

It was no longer specifically about economics, he said. It was about power. And everything to the postmodernists is about power. And thats actually why theyre so dangerous, because if youre engaged in a discussion with someone who believes in nothing but power, all they are motivated to do is to accrue all the power to them, because what else is there? he said. Theres no logic, theres no investigation, theres no negotiation, theres no dialogue, theres no discussion, theres no meeting of minds and consensus. Theres power.

And so since the 1970s, under the guise of postmodernism, weve seen the rapid expansion of identity politics throughout the universities, he said. Its come to dominate all of the humanitieswhich are dead as far as I can telland a huge proportion of the social sciences.

Jordan Peterson, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto

Weve been publicly funding extremely radical, postmodern leftist thinkers who are hellbent on demolishing the fundamental substructure of Western civilization. And thats no paranoid delusion. Thats their self-admitted goal, he said, noting that their philosophy is heavily based in the ideas of French philosopher Jacques Derrida, who, I think, most trenchantly formulated the anti-Western philosophy that is being pursued so assiduously by the radical left.

The people who hold this doctrinethis radical, postmodern, communitarian doctrine that makes racial identity or sexual identity or gender identity or some kind of group identity paramounttheyve got control over most low-to-mid level bureaucratic structures, and many governments as well, he said. But even in the United States, where you know a lot of the governmental institutions have swung back to the Republican side, the postmodernist types have infiltrated bureaucratic organizations at the mid-to-upper level.

I dont think its dangers can be overstated, Peterson said. And I also dont think the degree to which its already infiltrated our culture can be overstated.

Communism is estimated to have killed at least 100 million people, yet its crimes have not been fully compiled and its ideology still persists. The Epoch Times seeks to expose the history and beliefs of this movement, which has been a source of tyranny and destruction since it emerged. Read the whole series at ept.ms/DeadEndCom

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Jordan Peterson Explains How Communism Spread Under the Guise of Identity Politics - The Epoch Times

While President Donald Trump was elected in large part to reverse the policies of his predecessor, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) thinks there is one area where former President Obama actually got it right: normalizing foreign relations with Cuba.

For over half a century, we have had an embargo with Cuba, Paul wrote in a Reason Magazine op/ed published on Tuesday. Not only did the Castros survive it, but they milked it for everything it was worth. As the only source of information on the island for decades, they stoked the nationalism of those Cubans who remained in Cuba to blame America for any of their shortages, instead of the true culprit: socialism.

One of President Obamas signature achievements was opening up relations with Cuba, and he even visited the communist country last year. Trump will not be doing a complete about face from Obamas Cuban policies. He will not be removing the American embassy in Cuba, and will not be imposing any restrictions on items that Americans can take out of the island nationincluding their prized cigars. However, Trump will be ramping up sanctions, using course rhetoric, and applying other restrictions that could strain relations between the countries.

They made a deal with a government that spread violence and instability in the region and nothing they got, think about it, nothing they got, they fought for everything and we just didnt fight hard enough, but now, those days are over, Trump said. We now hold the cards. The previous administrations easing of restrictions of travel and trade does not help the Cuban people. They only enrich the Cuban regime.

Sen. Paul disagrees strongly with Trumps assessment of Obamas deal, and warns against the current path that Trump is following regarding Cuba.

We cant spread democracy through force, as we have shown time and again in our recent foreign policy, Paul wrote. But we can model capitalism to the world, export it through our people and goods, and win the debate without one bullet being fired Lets see what Cubans will choose when they come face to face with iPhones, modern cars, and tourists with fistfuls of dollars buying Cuban services and goods.

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Sen. Rand Paul Argues To Stop Communism In Cuba With Capitalism And Free Trade - The Liberty Conservative

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

This year marks 100 years since the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia. That year, the centuries-old czardom of Russia and the brief liberal democracy that replaced it collapsed and was soon replaced by the Soviet Union, the worlds first stable communist state.

It was that year, a long, bloody, century ago, that the class warfare and revolutionary ideas of Marxism went from being the fanciful talk of disaffected intellectuals to a serious international political and historical force.

Since that fateful event, which the title of John Reeds Ten Days that Shook the World so aptly captures, communism through its various forms and adherents has directly led to the deaths of well over 100 million people and the subjugation of countless more across the world.

With the end of the Cold War, many Americans may believe that communism has now been relegated to the history books, and as a tragic holdout in nations like North Korea and Cuba or as a curious aberration in nations such as China and Vietnam. Yet on this 100th anniversary, it is worth the time for Americans to reflect on the lessons of the incredible hardships of this past century as well as the challenges the future may pose.

Over the course of the 20th century, the United States was the center of human freedom and God-given liberty in polar contrast to totalitarian ideologies, most notably communism.

Tens of thousands of American service members lost their lives fighting for the freedom of peoples around the world from communism.

Conflicts in such places as Vietnam and Korea, and other countless anti-Communist expeditions and engagements, were unique because these were not conflicts in self-defense like almost all of Americas other wars but were wars waged in the name of moral dignity and truth.

The stark contrast between America and totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union clarified in our minds and hearts the ideals and values that made us different from them. This contrast also often pushed us to live up to our ideals whenever we strayed.

Yet we are already showing worrying signs of forgetting our past.

In 2012, movements such as Occupy Wall Street attempted to capitalize on the real hardships many Americans were feeling in the wake of the financial crisis. However, rather than promoting more insulation in the system, many sought to throw out the system all together.

Since then, many of these attitudes have not dwindled but grown.

A 2016 poll by YouGov showed that while millennials still saw communism very unfavorably, they did so at a rate (37 percent) that was significantly lower than Americans as a whole (57 percent).

Furthermore, many millennials expressed worrying sentiments, such as distrust of capitalism, ignorance of communisms record and history, and support of Marxs quote from each according to his ability to each according to his needs.

Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders ran on redistributionist policies and class warfare rhetoric. The shocking level of support he and other similar candidates and movements did and still receive, as well as the rise of far more extreme trends such as Antifa and campus free speech suppression, are warning signs for the direction some in our country are sliding toward. It is incredibly tragic that such beliefs are taking root in the center of liberty and freedom in the world. Over the course of this past century, the idea of class warfare and totalitarian ideas gaining traction in the United States was laughable. Efforts not only by the government but by the citizenry itself ensured that such ideas would never be able to take root in this fortress of human liberty.

Ironically, the fact that communism has never taken root in America is likely a major cause of current increasing comfort with and interest in some of its tenets. Many other nations have directly experienced the hardships of communist tyranny and war, and have been hardened against the extreme lefts siren song through direct personal, familial and societal experiences. In contrast, in modern America communism has largely only been an abstract idea seen on TV or read about in books.

Now that the pressing existential threat of nations such as the Soviet Union has seemingly been alleviated, many have stopped combating the collectivist ideals which fuel Marxist thought. However, many of those on the ultraleft have not stopped pushing their anti-liberty ideas.

On this 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, it is time for all of us to remind ourselves and others of the ideals that define America individual liberty, the Constitution, rule of law, and God-given freedom. The lessons of this past century have been learned with too much sacrifice to be forgotten so easily.

Erich Reimer, a lawyer, is a Republican activist and commentator.

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The tragic Bolshevik legacy, 100 years on - Washington Times

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has started a petition asking for former basketball star Dennis Rodman to be ejected from the Basketball Hall of Fame. Rodman is a supporter and frequent visitor to North Korea. He has previously said that he loves dictator Kim Jong-un and considers him to be a friend. The petition argues that his actions have damaged the integrity of basketball, and therefore merit his removal from the Hall.

The North Korean regime is one of the most brutal communist dictatorships in the world, starving its people, constantly threatening nuclear war, and now, murdering an American citizen. Almost unanimously, the worlds leaders continue to come together to condemn the regime while a select few attempt to humanize Kim Jong-un and praise the respect he receives from his people.

While those sort of attempts are expected from fellow dictators it is appalling that they come from a once household name in American sports. Former NBA star and Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman has embraced North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as a friend for life and asserted I love him as he defended his human rights record. Rodman continued this one-man PR campaign for North Korea even as his fellow American Otto Warmbier fought for his life.

Rodman has long been known for his eccentricities, but this has gone too far. As a professional athlete and an NBA Hall of Fame member, Rodman is called to be a role model and set an example for the next generation. Individuals that praise murderers have no place being idolized by Americas youth or in any Hall of Fame in the United States.

According to the Halls Board of Trustees, a candidate may be removed if he or she has damaged the integrity of the game of basketball. Clearly, Rodmans actions have tarnished the name and reputation of basketball and it is time that he is removed from the Hall of Fame. Doing so will send a message that all facets of American society, from sports to politics, will stand firm for our shared values and reject the shameless coddling of murderous dictatorial regimes.

Rodman's support and embrace of a murderous dictatorship is certainly troubling, especially in light of Otto Warmbier's death at the hands of the North Korean regime.

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Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Launches Petition To ... - Townhall

Last week, President Trump decided to scale back President Obamas rapprochement with the communist government of Cuba. Every major story has talking points, and this one is no exception. After watching the medias reaction, it became clear that one of them would be that the older generation of Cuban Americans supports the presidents hard-line stance whilst the younger generation opposes it.

Theres truth in this. Despite exceptions like myself, younger Cuban Americans tend to be far less interested in maintaining longstanding U.S. policy toward Cuba than older ones like my grandparents are. But the implication, of course, is that this sentiment is unfashionable and obsolescent; in another generation or two itll be dead, along with the generation thats responsible for its influential persistence.

Perhaps thats true. So what? Is there something about being young and fashionable that makes one more competent than older people to speak on this topic or any other? On the contrary, people whove experienced Castroism are far more qualified than the relatively affluent Cuban-Americans of my generation whove lived as far away from the harms of communism as a person can be in this world.

My great-grandfather was an officer in Cubas regular army during the rebellion. Sometime after the communists took over the country, he was arrested as a political prisoner because the cancer of Batista was in his blood, they told him. According to my great-grandmothers account, he wouldve been executed if it hadnt been for a connection in the new government, who secured his release. Her brother, my great-uncle, wasnt as lucky; he was murdered by the regime.

A few years later, they decided to flee Cuba. Government expropriated their housefor which they had worked many yearsand their personal effects, down to my grandmothers wedding ring. Unfortunately, this wasnt uncommon. Hundreds of thousands of other Cuban Americans have similar stories to tell. I havent yet mentioned the other half of my family, who were also persecuted.

Despite the above, my family were relatively lucky. The communist usurpers enormous seizure of property is only one of their many crimes. Summary executions, torture, and imprisonment of counter-revolutionaries were common in Fidel Castros Cuba, especially in the immediate aftermath of his revolution. And thats only scratching the surface. The Castro regime outlawed religious practice and sent homosexuals to labor camps, for just two more examples.

All of these facts are why the older generations tend to be much more sceptical of leftism than the younger generations: theyve experienced it and would like very much never to do so again. Thats why Cuban Americans have been the only Hispanic community in this country that reliably supports the Republican Party. Its unfortunate this is changing.

In the light of the above, it isnt difficult to see why the opinions of the older Cubans are more weighty in this matter than those of millennials: One group experienced the scourge that is revolutionary socialism; the other enjoys the benefits of capitalism in Che Guevara T-shirts. If truth is what were interested in, then the older folk are much more reliable guides than the younger ones. Thats why Ive chosen to put much more stock in my grandparents experiences than in the underdeveloped political opinions of third-generation Cuban Americans.

Not surprisingly, then, the rational case for rapprochement is weak. A common claim is that the United States regularly does business with other repressive states like China. Why not Cuba as well?

This argument seems to involve a pretty appalling principle, according to which if a country subsidizes oppression anywhere then it ought to subsidize it everywhere. And the Left doesnt apply this principle to right-wing repressive regimes. Afrikaner apartheid comes to mind. There the Left supported isolating and boycotting the Afrikaner government until they relinquished their power and ended apartheid. Its only leftist regimes that they oppose sanctioning.

The next argument one invariably hears involves the claim that the embargo hasnt worked, and theres truth in this. Its true that the embargo and travel restrictions havent led to significant human rights reforms on the island. Far from being a bastion of liberalism, Cuba remains an illiberal, country-sized shanty town frozen in the 1950s. From this, it is concluded that we should normalize relations with the Cuban government.

Even supposing that the premise were true, the conclusion wouldnt follow. It would follow only if we had reason to suppose that normalization would lead to significant liberal reform, for if it wouldnt, then all wed achieve by normalizing relations is to help a repressive regime, enabling them to profit from American money and business for nothing in return.

Is there any reason to suppose that normalization would lead to significant political reforms? Not really. President Obama got virtually nothing in return for his rapprochement. (This shouldnt surprise anyone who sees that the communists wouldnt have supported normalization if they didnt think it would help them maintain their grip on the country.)

Moreover, we have lots of inconvenient empirical evidence against this hypothesis. Over the last few decades, millions of tourists from other Western countries (e.g., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, etc.) have visited the island, pouring in millions of dollars. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from these countries visit Cuba every year. Despite this, there have been no significant political reforms that have even a tenuous connection to Western tourism and trade. Is there something magical about American tourists that will suddenly cause the Cuban government to have an epiphany and relinquish power?

The failure of other countries normalization approach isnt remotely surprising. Over the last few decades, the Cuban government has succeeded in making an entire population completely dependent on the government. Whats more, they ingeniously allowed the entirety of their political opposition to flee decades ago, leaving only those brainwashed to believe that capitalism and the United States are the reason for their destitution. Given these facts, we shouldnt expect that allowing millions of dollars to flow into the hands of the government would lead them to change the status quo, which they like very much.

Consequently, as with the hard-line approach, we have reason to suppose that normalization would not lead to liberalization, but unlike the hard-line approach, it would involve American business and money helping prop up Cubas odious regime.

Thats why this argument is seriously flawed: It assumes that the only goal of having an embargo and travel ban is to cause regime change or political reform. Not so. The primary reason to maintain this policy is to prevent us from being complicit in evil without any compensating good.

On that front, the policy has, until Obama, been a resounding success. It would be a resounding success on the other front as well if only other Western countries had followed our example, but the regime has been able to maintain its grip on power precisely because of the kind of normalized relations for which people on the Left advocate. Without that profit and with international isolation in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the regime likely wouldve gone the way of Afrikaner rule in South Africa.

The older generation happen to be right on this issue. Im glad President Trump decided to listen to them.

CZar Bernstein is a philosopher whose interests include topics in applied ethics, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of law. He has published essays in peer-reviewed philosophy journals on a variety of topics including the morality of abortion and gun rights. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a masters in philosophy and will begin as a law student at The George Washington University School of Law this August.

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We Should Trust The Cubans Who Fled Communism And Testify Of Its Horrors - The Federalist