By Kelly O'Connell ——Bio and Archives--December 15, 2013
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Of the leading Bolsheviks, none had the slightest outside leadership experience of any kind, or history of administering any organizations, nor any business experience. Yet this did not stop them from assuming posts of national leadership, or nationalizing all businesses. As Clarence Carson puts it in Basic Communism: Its Rise, Spread, and Debacle in the 20th Century, "The Bolsheviks knew no more about making an economy work than they did about rearranging the orbits of the heavenly bodies." Given their intellectual background and doctrinaire Marxist ideology, this group believed all they needed to successively lead a country was a set of untested socialist theories stuck in their back pockets.Following are a few epically failed Marxist leaders with some of their notable failures. The mention of these will certainly bring a knowing look and sigh to the countenance of even the most casual Obama critic.
Lenin once said, "Any cook should be able to run the country." Yet, after the civil war, the Bolshevik regime experienced an unmitigated chain of failure in every conceivable undertaking, in all sectors of government, and on each attempt at public policy. For example, by 1921, economic productivity had fallen to less than 20% of the 1913 level. In just three years, the Marxists ruined a functioning economy. One reason was the confiscation of land, factories, banks, etc. The economy was handed to inexperienced socialist functionaries. Workers commandeered factories, then failed to manufacture anything. Big farms were run by peasants puzzled by large-scale agriculture. Money and other liquid assets were confiscated as fiat money was printed, causing spiraling inflation, debasing the currency. When the economy crashed, the government used the army for labor, and then turned the labor force into a wing of the army.Five million peasants starved from the debacle. Fortunately, Vlad Lenin died an early death, probably from the results of syphilis, his brain strangely ossified almost into stone. Yet, the worst was yet to come in the form of the man of steel, Joe Stalin.
Psychologically, it is astonishing. Once again Stalin is shown as--openly--exhibiting a manic, even on the face of it, self-defeating egotism. His conviction that he could judge a situation better than the professionals was to be with him all his life--not only as to military science, but in physics, biology, and other fields, and always to the detriment of his own plans.Compare this to a strangely similar sentiment from Barack's own stated, megalomaniacal self-analysis:
I think I could probably do every job on the campaign better than the people I'll hire to do it. It's hard to give up control when that's all I've known. I think I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director.Given Stalin's absurd level of confidence and pseudo-knowledge of fields he never studied or labored in, it comes as no surprise that he was a catastrophic failure as a leader. Unable to learn the lessons of failure from Lenin's mistakes, Stalin launched his own 5 Year Plan in 1929, as described in Joseph Stalin: Memoirs of a Leftist Madman:
This put the entire economy under state control. The government promised if the people worked hard to meet the goal of tripling production, the outcome would be an increased standard of living for all. Neither took place. Instead, Alec Nove, a specialist in the early socialist Russian economy declared, "1933 was the culmination of the most precipitous peacetime decline in living standard known in recorded history."
In 1958, Mao announced the Great Leap Forward to transform China into a modern state. In Mao's mind, his plan to revolutionize China would then transfer to the rest of the globe. The Great Leap would occur when collectivized farms saw food production spike from new methods. A compliant press celebrated massive increases in harvests, such as 100-fold gains in productivity. Yet, after 6 months, the program was exposed as a massive failure, and instead of swelling production, widespread food shortages resulted. When reported to Mao, he replied all people would eat less since it was healthier anyway. Up to 40 million Chinese died as a result of the Great Leap. The Great Leap Forward reveals Mao's unhinged approach to "industrialization." Among many harebrained growth schemes, Mao ordered multiple canal and lake excavation projects, using primitive means, resulting in many peasant deaths. Yet, most either failed or were abandoned. Another dumb plan was ridding China of the "Four Pests," being rats, sparrows, flies and mosquitoes. Unfortunately, when Chinese sparrows were wiped out by crowds of broom-waving peasants, it was discovered sparrow "pests" actually reduced real insect menaces. Many died when pestilence broke out. Another astounding plan was the "Make Steel" program. Since Chinese steel mills couldn't upgrade fast enough, Mao ordered private citizens to build foundries. These "backyard furnaces" were constructed by 90 million peasants encouraged to melt down any metal available, including farm implements. Mao bragged China's steel output would excel Britain's in three years, and America's by ten. Instead, an absurd failure resulted, revealing Mao's utter ignorance of scientific or economic principles.All of Mao's programs are reminiscent of Barack's own failures. First, Mao didn't know anything about the areas he was trying to change, just as Obama knows nothing about medicine, but still feels confident overhauling the industry. Second, Mao's plans were undeniably stupid, much like Barack's Cash for Clunkers, his Stimulus Bill, his discouraging US oil production with "We can't drill our way out," or his ObamaCare program, etc. In other words, Barack seems to have convinced himself he's a natural genius who doesn't need to study anything to know everything.
If ever there were a time when liberalism has been revealed as a shockingly stupid series of ill-conceived policies which are impossible to implement, and which threatens America--this is it. The only antidote to this reign of stupidity is Conservative principles and policies. But until a person eloquent enough to explain the ideas, bold enough to challenge the liberal elites, and wise enough to know when to fight, versus negotiate, stands up -- there will not even be a hope for Conservative revolution. So, calling all Conservatives, Libertarians and GOP faithful--this is your opportunity to fight against evil and, help establish a return to sanity--and by vanquishing socialism, put your name down in the annals as a hero for liberty.
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Kelly O’Connell is an author and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law practice in New Mexico.