Why is the U.S. so bent on eradicating Communism off the planet?

Question

They tried to assassinate Fidel Castro 800 times. They designed their intelligence infra-structure purely to spy on the U.S.S.R. And they fought the Korean and Vietnam wars purely to stop the spread of communism. Serious answers only please. Any smart aleck responses will have no, I repeat, no chance at the 10.

Answer 1

Communism is anathema to everything that the Amirican way of life holds dear. Let me give you some examples;

Private Ownership - it's the American dream to build something to pass on to our Children, one of the keys to that is home-ownership. Its the basis for the financial stability of our economy - in no other country on earth do so many people have a stake in their own financial security - In a Communist Country, the state owns everything, including your house.

Work Ethic - In Communism you - the worker - get the same amount every day, no matter how much work you put in. The guy on your left and the guy on your right ALSO get exactly the same thing every day no matter how much - or how little - they work (see where this is going) this de-incentivises people from working, essentially all they do is show up and go through the motions, because A) doing anything more will NOT get me any more, and B) doing any more will make me unpopular with my comrades. This creates a downward spiral of diminshing returns.

Social and political freedoms - America is a country FOUNDED on the principles that you can say whatever you want - its your right. Communism does not allow for free speech - or free anything else for that matter. In fact, anything at all that points our the failures of communism is usually put into political prison, or called a dissenter and shot at dawn.

Religious Freedom - America is, once again, a country founded on the right to believe whatever you want. In Communism the only thing one is allowed to believe in is the state. There is NO God. For this reason alone half of America wants to destroy communism.

So, yes it's ideological, yes it's societal and yes its financial, but it's not any one of these things, it's the gestalt of them all which makes Americans bristle at the thought of Communism. It's as if Karl Marx wrote his paper by deliberately choosing the diametric opposite of everything America stands for.

And here's the thing. Communism is a HUGE FAILURE. The Koreans are starving, the Cubans think it's 1958 (and if you've been there, it looks it). The Chinese are really just a One Party Dictatorship pretending to be communist (but really isn't). Communism is a failure because it fails to take one very important thing into account. Stupidity.

See, people are stupid. Oh not you and not individually, but collectively, people are lazy, selfish, greedy and stupid. And Communism, in it's purest marxist form, is a society which requires highly educated, thoughtful, conscientious, self-sacrificing moralists prepared to put the good of the many ahead of the good of the one (Themselves). This is an impossibility, as there isn't a society on earth well educated enough, self sacrificing enough and conscientious enough to make it work.

Hope that does it for ya!

Answer 2

I don't know about attempting to kill Castro 800 times although I do know (or believe) our government did attempt to kill him....probably on a few occasions. As far as how the spy infrastructure was designed I would think that at the time that was being done we had some serious and legitimate concerns about the spread of communism and the threat towards our national security. Nuclear weapons were in their infancy and the thought of those types of weapons falling into the hands of countries close (land proximity) to either us or our allies most likely caused great concern. I would have to say though that it appears as though our government fought (or didn't) the Vietnam war because they were trying to save face. Please understand I support and always have supported our Vietnam veterans as well as any Veteran from our military services. Sometimes we stick our noses where they don't belong and other times we probably need to get involved. I will say that I have talked with several Russian imigrants who lived in the former Soviet Union and all have expressed their relief at the fall of the communist government in their country but have all said that the government that is now in power is just as corrupt as the communists were.

Answer 3

It could be argued that it was mostly an economic issue. Think about it in terms of the economy giving rise to the political system. If the economy of a country is doing well, the people will benefit from that economy. As the economy expands and modernizes, an educated middle-class citizenry will begin to develop. It is precisely this middle-class that Aristotle believed to be the foundation for creating and maintaining a democracy. As the middle-class grows, so will the call for more freedoms. From there you'll have your various levels of political (read: democratic) development.

In a communist society, you won't have much in the way of economic development. With the exception of China, no other communist country has been able to prosper. China, a socialist country, started to lean away from communism in the 1980s and more towards a market-socialism form of government. Basically, the Chinese government still oversees business, but it is not as all-controlling as it was in the past. Many other communist/socialist countries have begun to do the same, most recently: Vietnam.

Answer 4

Short answer: Global stability, Economy, Progression
Long answer: Pure communism in isolationism, like North Korea, is bad for global stability because only ONE man (or the state) is in power. Kim Jong Il for example can do whatever he wants in his country with no "check and balance" system. If Pres Bush tried to do those things, our house and senate would say no way because the people would say no way and obvioulsy they represent us and are trying to get re-elected.
It effects the ecomomy by trading with other nations that are prosperous. Imagine for a moment the U.S. government said that there is a 100% federal income tax now, so you didn't receive a paycheck, but they would provide everything for you. The catch is they provide everything for everyone causing a sense of economic equallity. You know what needs you have with your money more than the government does. With this system, why would anyone go get a doctorate degree that is difficult to obtain if they will receive the same benefits as someone who maybe delivers the morning paper for 3 hours a day. Competition drives us to be our best as society and is a civilized evolutionary means of survival of the fittest so to speak. Our country lives in enormous wealth and prosperity due to capitalism and our urge in the want for a better quality of life. North Korea for example lives in poverty in most places and doesn't have electricity or food for some citizens because there is no drive in people's personal life for a better tomorrow because the government reaps all of your talents and gives back what it thinks is fair.

Answer 5

One would presume the same reason even any rational and freethinking socialist or "true" communist would want to eliminate an obviously dictatorial, imperialistic and highly economically heirarchical state one would see in the U.S.S.R. Stalin was certainly not freedom from want. Although the case can be made that in being " so bent on eradicating" the U.S. may have unfairly targeted genuine social movements and socially minded governments can be made.

Answer 6

Guys you leave out one major factor. The battle was once intently regarding NATIONAL LIBERATION of Vietnam. Communist sympathizes fought in opposition to the French after which in opposition to the Americans. In case of Vietnam communism and nationalism grew to become out to be one the equal part. You do not recall the prior COLONIAL historical past of the nation. Thus, it was once now not the battle of communists in opposition to capitalists. It wasn't so functional. It was once the battle for the status quo of the unbiased Vietnamese statehood. Sure, with powerful communist rhetoric what furnished Soviet and Chinese help. The Americans (like Soviets in Afghanistan a while later) had been doomed there.

Answer 7

Communism would be a great idea! Unfortunately, we are dealing with humans, and they really don't like to recieve less for doing more than their neighbor.

The short answer is:
A democratic free-market capitalist society rewards individuals for lifting themselves up and making the world a better place. Because it encourages it.
Communism, on the other hand, does a poor job of motivating people. It has fewer rewards for individual achievement. As history has proven, people who don't have enough to try for, don't try. And when enough people don't try, nothing gets done, and people live in poverty.

Therefore, the United States has erred on the side of over-zealousness when it comes to fighting communism. We don't seem to enjoy watching people dying of apathy.

Answer 8

They have a pure fear of the word communism. In fact they are obsessed with it. Look at the McCarthy era in the 50s. All the money they have spent trying to rid the world of communism, and yes the the Berlin wall come down etc. As a European here I can't understand American fears about communism.

Answer 9

Communism is a threat to the mankind because they talk of Stateless society and totalitarianism. The world has to be kept safe for Democracy where the value of human life is protected and not trammeled up on under pressure of the artificial State power called 'the Leviathan'.

Answer 10

The nature of the world during the Cold War was one very different from today. During the Cold War ideology was a powerful tool that both sides could use to gain support. By portraying Communist as evil and god-hating the capitalist regimes could maintain their power and draw in more allies. It is important to note that mot of these allies would be nations with strong religious backgrounds.

It is the nature of capitalism to be at odds with communism. Communism, if its message is spread, will remove the basis of capitalist power--the working class. Once the working class learns to rise up capitalism will fall. Capitalism if it wants to survive has to eliminate communism.