{"id":38862,"date":"2020-02-01T09:41:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T17:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=38862"},"modified":"2020-02-01T09:41:29","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T17:41:29","slug":"open-thread-2-1-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/01\/open-thread-2-1-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–2\/1\/2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s another muggy day, here in the CatBox.  Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, so I\u2019m not too sure how much I\u2019ll have for you then.  Then Monday, I\u2019ll be gone for my cardiac stress test from 9:30 in the morning until around 5 PM with no food and no nap.  I\u2019ll be exhausted, so I may not cover Iowa very well.  Have a great weekend!<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s took me 4:05 (average 5:50).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Cartoon<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

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Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From Alternet<\/a>: 3. The Soviet Union and China achieved state capitalism, not socialism<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

As leader of the Soviet Union, Lenin once said that socialism was a goal, not yet an achieved reality. The Soviet had, instead, achieved \u201cstate capitalism.\u201d A socialist party had state power, and the state had become the industrial capitalist displacing the former private capitalists. The Soviet revolution had changed who the employer was; it had not ended the employer\/employee relationship. Thus, it was\u2014to a certain extent\u2014capitalist. <\/p>\n

Lenin\u2019s successor, Stalin, declared that the Soviet Union had achieved socialism. In effect, he offered Soviet state capitalism as if it were the model for socialism worldwide. Socialism\u2019s enemies have used this identification ever since to equate socialism with political dictatorship. Of course, this required obscuring or denying that (1) dictatorships have often existed in capitalist societies and (2) socialisms have often existed without dictatorships. <\/p>\n

After initially copying the Soviet model, China changed its development strategy to embrace instead a state-supervised mix of state and private capitalism focused on exports. China\u2019s powerful government would organize a basic deal with global capitalists, providing cheap labor, government support, and a growing domestic market. In exchange, foreign capitalists would partner with Chinese state or private capitalists, share technology, and integrate Chinese output into global wholesale and retail trade systems. China\u2019s brand of socialism\u2014a hybrid state capitalism that included both communist and social-democratic streams\u2014proved it could grow faster over more years than any capitalist economy had ever done. <\/p>\n

The only Socialism we need to fear in the US is the National Socialism of the Republican Reich. This is the third of ten things you should know about Socialism. Please click through for the other nine. RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/font> <\/p>\n

From YouTube<\/a> (CNN Channel<\/a>): Watch ER doctor confront Mike Pence<\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n