Skip to main content

Can you compare Joseph Stalin to a modern day dictator?

For me, Stalin is incomparable to today's dictators simply due to the number of people he killed and the capriciousness way in which he killed them.  Yes, some of his killing was genocidal, as his farming program went specifically after Ukrainians, Armenians, and Kazakhs during the Holodomor but he also targeted his own people just as badly.  He killed his top generals during the military purges of 1937 and he also targeted the clergy in...

For me, Stalin is incomparable to today's dictators simply due to the number of people he killed and the capriciousness way in which he killed them.  Yes, some of his killing was genocidal, as his farming program went specifically after Ukrainians, Armenians, and Kazakhs during the Holodomor but he also targeted his own people just as badly.  He killed his top generals during the military purges of 1937 and he also targeted the clergy in an attempt to make the Soviet Union the world's first (and only) atheist empire.  Unlike today's dictators who kill based on religious and ethnic differences, Stalin destroyed anyone who was not useful to him.  



Stalin was also an effective dictator, or at least he appeared to be, and he was not afraid to let the world see how effective he thought he was.  Unlike the current regime in North Korea, which is very secretive, Stalin invited Westerners to his country for them to see how his five-year plans were going.  Many Americans came back home to say that Stalin had found a way to end unemployment and poverty; they never saw how Stalin had destroyed his own people to do it.  Unlike regimes in North Korea and Hussein's regime in Iraq, Stalin did not want to openly go to war with the West, though his use of spies served as a potential "fifth column" during WWII and the early Cold War which created the Iron Curtain.  Today's dictators are murderous, but Stalin is incomparable in terms of quantity of people killed and overall cunning.  

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more