The greatest mass murderer of all time? Mao, 60 million plus. The second greatest? Stalin, 20 million plus. What do they have in common? Socialism. (I could argue that it is the environmentalists with their horrifying ban on DDT--a ban that gave civilization the rebirth of Malaria. But that might be a mite fastidious)
When you intentionally avoid consideration of deaths due to military operations and civil defense, you are stacking the deck with false data. So how many of those 60 million and 20 million were due to military action?
I do not know how much is the data about Mao exaggerated. Stalin's Penal System is responsible for 4 million fatalities. Was it a necessary price to be paid in order to prepare USSR for WWII? Sadly, in any emergency innocent people perish. USA also killed about 500,000 civilians in bombing of Japan, 1,000,000 civilians in Korean War, 800,000 civilians in Vietnam War.
Yup. So the question is, are numbers the important measure, or is the cause, the motivation, the purpose for the deaths that is important?
I am not a Stalinist -- in my opinion Leon Trotsky was the best choice. But Joseph Stalin was not a monster. Under his rule, USSR saved the World from Nazis.
Only in response to attempted genocide by Nazis. Stalin loved Hitler until Hitler's surprise invasion of Russia. Stalin was so sure of his alliance and friendship with Hitler that it took him days to admit that the Nazi invasion was even happening. Til then, Stalin and Hitler were 'peas in a pod' (from Stalin's perspective).
This is a sad truth. USA is guilty of democide of 2.3 million civilians in bombing of Japan, Korean War, Vietnam War.
That we gifted Eastern Europe to Stalin was absolutely disgusting. We should have gone Stalin and Hitler or neither.
Stalin had both great virtues and faults. Like most great rulers. He was not perfect. He was not a villain.
I do not know. The fact that Stalin played the greatest role of any mortal in saving the World from Nazism may be a virtue outweighing all his faults.
He also played the greatest role of any mortal in subjecting most of those Eastern European nations he "liberated" to Stalinism.
It's like a bystander fighting off your murder and proceeding to rape you. Yeah it's a bit better I suppose. Still, I'd prefer neither.
I do not know. Laws and Incarceration Rate in Stalin's USSR were as severe as they are in modern South States.
Care to elaborate? Where have his actions or policies been cruel or oppressive on our society? Has this President's policies not broken up the advance of Isis and their establishment of the caliphate? Has Trump not tried to reach out to our adversaries and broker peace? Has Trump not tried to make bad trade deals more palatable and fairer to our country? Has Trump not led the fight for lower taxes, so companies can reinvest in machinery and upkeep, and create more jobs? Has Trump not led to lower taxes for working people, so they take home more money each week, instead of giving it to the government? Has Trump not tried to uphold the Constitution by securing the funding to protect our southern border? Has Trump not been fighting for fairer trade and protection of intellectual property? Has Trump not been leading the charge against the opioid crisis and pharmaceutical companies? Has Trump not exposed the corruption in the FBI, CIA, NSA and others? Has Trump not exposed the Media for the bias and slanderous corruption that is pervasive through out some of the past great institutions of newspapers and television? Awaiting your reply.
I get the first three, But why Norway = Venezuela? While it is true that Norway uses its oil to finance its social programs, it still is more capitalist than socialist, and is nowhere near the catastrophe that Venezuela is.