On International Holocaust Remembrance Day—marked by the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, a brief history of how it became the symbol of pure evil
Thank you for covering this. I would love to see you write something on contemporary antisemitism from a skeptic viewpoint and how its a conspiracy theory. We see this manifested so clearly with the likes of Prof David Miller of Bristol U, for example, accusing the Jewish student group of being part of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy. Its so evident but even skeptics addressing conspiracies don't address it.
Touring Dachau as a young teenager in the mid-70's forever imprinted on my mind the capacity for evil that cannot be denied or erased if human dignity is to be protected against all forms of ideological or religious fanaticism. Socialism and it's adherents spread this form of fanaticism better than most because the utopian visions require mass extermination of it's enemies.
I agree with you, except for the last sentence which is blatantly false. Many countries in Europe are socialist to a great extent and have not exterminated their enemies. So, you are either lying, delusional, or misinformed.
I reject all three of your accusations as they don't meet the standards based on evidence & what is likely a false notion of Socialism you & many others have. It's best to become better informed & follow the best scholarly evidence & real world results of the variants of Socialism that's been unleashed on the world for the past century before accusing those knowledgeable of its ugly history as "delusional, misinformed, or worse yet "lying".
No doubt your definitions of Socialism and how its changed over time is the cause. There are still those who cling to the notion that European societies as "socialist" in origins - but they are not. Libertarians & some conservatives are notorious for conflating these notions. They are better described as large welfare states with massive redistribution programs designed to suit the cultural values unique to these countries. But the distribution of revenue is more a function within capitalist based systems. You can always ask knowledgeable citizens of those countries themselves. Dinesh D'souza explains this better than most. Try following Dinesh on YouTube by searching the title "Socialism and the Scandinavian illusion | Dinesh D'Souza LIVE at Chapman University"
As for real Socialism, I give you the following for edification: You can start by reading the origins of the Marxist variety: The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration by Paul Kengor; a scholarly compilation of its impact on the world: "The Black Book of Communism"; Dinesh D'souza's brilliant summation of the collaborative effort to deny the obvious off-shoot of Fascism from Socialism due to a break from communist internationalist theory; and a recent version to articulate the evil origins of fascism & its' links with communism: "Hitler Was a Socialist: A comparison of NAZI-Socialism, Communism, Socialism, and the United States" by Mit Sandru.
There are plenty of other scholarly material to consume, but the evidence is incontrovertible that Socialism is the core evil that unleashed the horrific murders & massive deaths in WWII. The Holocaust phenomena was a unique evil that was hatched within countries with a history full of antisemitism, but the Socialist fanatical elements provided the irrational hatred necessary to carry out this genocide on a scale never experienced in history. We seek to remember the causes, and therefore never tolerate again. But we can't succeed in that endeavor unless reality based evidence is accepted to understand how to prevent future evils of this magnitude.
GO2: I reject all three of your accusations as they don't meet the standards based on evidence & what is likely a false notion of Socialism you & many others have.
GW2: My statements about socialism were not accusations. But I do accuse you of either lying, being deluded, or being misinformed. Which is it?
CO2: It's best to become better informed & follow the best scholarly evidence & real world results of the variants of Socialism that's been unleashed on the world for the past century before accusing those knowledgeable of its ugly history as "delusional, misinformed, or worse yet "lying".
GW2: I am sufficiently informed. I might agree with you had you said “communism,” but you are grossly mistaken to speak of “socialism” that way.
CO2: No doubt your definitions of Socialism and how its changed over time is the cause.
GW2: Present your definition, I’ll present mine, and then we can debate them.
CO2: There are still those who cling to the notion that European societies as "socialist" in origins - but they are not. Libertarians & some conservatives are notorious for conflating these notions.
GW2: Straw man. I never said anything about their “origins.”
CO2: They are better described as large welfare states with massive redistribution programs designed to suit the cultural values unique to these countries.
GW2: They are better described as democratic socialist-capitalist hybrid states.
CO2: But the distribution of revenue is more a function within capitalist based systems.
GW2: They are socialist-capitalist hybrids.
CO2: You can always ask knowledgeable citizens of those countries themselves. Dinesh D'souza explains this better than most. Try following Dinesh on YouTube by searching the title "Socialism and the Scandinavian illusion | Dinesh D'Souza LIVE at Chapman University"
GW2: I have watched several of D’Souza’s debates and read at least one of his books. He is a joke. I have no trust in him as an expert on anything.
CO2: As for real Socialism, I give you the following for edification: You can start by reading the origins of the Marxist variety: The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration by Paul Kengor; a scholarly compilation of its impact on the world: "The Black Book of Communism"; Dinesh D'souza's brilliant summation of the collaborative effort to deny the obvious off-shoot of Fascism from Socialism due to a break from communist internationalist theory; and a recent version to articulate the evil origins of fascism & its' links with communism: "Hitler Was a Socialist: A comparison of NAZI-Socialism, Communism, Socialism, and the United States" by Mit Sandru.
GW2: Just as I thought. You are confounding communism with modern democratic socialism. Hitler was a tyrant and dictator.
CO2: There are plenty of other scholarly material to consume, but the evidence is incontrovertible that Socialism is the core evil that unleashed the horrific murders & massive deaths in WWII.
GW2: You are either lying, delusional, or misinformed. You have said nothing persuasive to me.
CO2: The Holocaust phenomena was a unique evil that was hatched within countries with a history full of antisemitism, but the Socialist fanatical elements provided the irrational hatred necessary to carry out this genocide on a scale never experienced in history.
GW2: False. The fanatic autocratic Hitler provided the hatred.
CO2: We seek to remember the causes, and therefore never tolerate again. But we can't succeed in that endeavor unless reality based evidence is accepted to understand how to prevent future evils of this magnitude.
GW2: I agree, but you are just wrong in your claim about socialism. Reason contradicts you.
You didn't retract your irrational ad hominims, which makes you unwilling or incapable of rational discussion. Some of your statements are worthy of discussion or clarification, but your combative attitude & slurs are insulting as they are unfounded. It's especially true of Dinesh D'souza. If you followed his debates as I have, you would know this. I've gone down this road many times on YouTube, and found 2 of many that were willing to tone down their ad hominims long enough to learn from others more knowledgeable; the rest continued their irrational tirades. I attempted pointing you in that direction of dense material worthy of study & learning- your rudely rejected it. You haven't reached that standard, so best of luck convincing those outside of the orbit or echo chamber you inhabit. You will never learn anything substantive that way. Discussion ended.
GO3: You didn't retract your irrational ad hominims,...
GW3: Your statements about socialism are not wrong because of who you are or your personality traits. They are wrong based on a rational assessment of the evidence. But given that you are wrong, it has to be that you are lying, delusional, or misinformed. What other alternative could there be?
GO3: which makes you unwilling or incapable of rational discussion.
GW3: False. I have already proven that I am willing and capable of rational discussion. You just don’t like my conclusions.
GO3: Some of your statements are worthy of discussion or clarification, but your combative attitude & slurs are insulting as they are unfounded.
GW3: All are well founded.
GO3: It's especially true of Dinesh D'souza. If you followed his debates as I have, you would know this.
GW3: If you find him credible, then you have greatly lowered your standards.
GO3: I've gone down this road many times on YouTube, and found 2 of many that were willing to tone down their ad hominims long enough to learn from others more knowledgeable; the rest continued their irrational tirades.
GW3: I don’t care about the roads you’ve traveled.
GO3: I attempted pointing you in that direction of dense material worthy of study & learning- your rudely rejected it.
GW3: You didn’t say anything which would motivate me to look into those other sources. I am already too familiar with D’Souza and he is not credible.
GO3: Discussion ended.
GW3: You may quit anytime you wish. You have made no reasonable case against democratic socialism.
Thank you for covering this. I would love to see you write something on contemporary antisemitism from a skeptic viewpoint and how its a conspiracy theory. We see this manifested so clearly with the likes of Prof David Miller of Bristol U, for example, accusing the Jewish student group of being part of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy. Its so evident but even skeptics addressing conspiracies don't address it.
Michael, thank you for this article and audio reading. One of your best. The descriptions of the process are horrifying.
Touring Dachau as a young teenager in the mid-70's forever imprinted on my mind the capacity for evil that cannot be denied or erased if human dignity is to be protected against all forms of ideological or religious fanaticism. Socialism and it's adherents spread this form of fanaticism better than most because the utopian visions require mass extermination of it's enemies.
I agree with you, except for the last sentence which is blatantly false. Many countries in Europe are socialist to a great extent and have not exterminated their enemies. So, you are either lying, delusional, or misinformed.
I reject all three of your accusations as they don't meet the standards based on evidence & what is likely a false notion of Socialism you & many others have. It's best to become better informed & follow the best scholarly evidence & real world results of the variants of Socialism that's been unleashed on the world for the past century before accusing those knowledgeable of its ugly history as "delusional, misinformed, or worse yet "lying".
No doubt your definitions of Socialism and how its changed over time is the cause. There are still those who cling to the notion that European societies as "socialist" in origins - but they are not. Libertarians & some conservatives are notorious for conflating these notions. They are better described as large welfare states with massive redistribution programs designed to suit the cultural values unique to these countries. But the distribution of revenue is more a function within capitalist based systems. You can always ask knowledgeable citizens of those countries themselves. Dinesh D'souza explains this better than most. Try following Dinesh on YouTube by searching the title "Socialism and the Scandinavian illusion | Dinesh D'Souza LIVE at Chapman University"
As for real Socialism, I give you the following for edification: You can start by reading the origins of the Marxist variety: The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration by Paul Kengor; a scholarly compilation of its impact on the world: "The Black Book of Communism"; Dinesh D'souza's brilliant summation of the collaborative effort to deny the obvious off-shoot of Fascism from Socialism due to a break from communist internationalist theory; and a recent version to articulate the evil origins of fascism & its' links with communism: "Hitler Was a Socialist: A comparison of NAZI-Socialism, Communism, Socialism, and the United States" by Mit Sandru.
There are plenty of other scholarly material to consume, but the evidence is incontrovertible that Socialism is the core evil that unleashed the horrific murders & massive deaths in WWII. The Holocaust phenomena was a unique evil that was hatched within countries with a history full of antisemitism, but the Socialist fanatical elements provided the irrational hatred necessary to carry out this genocide on a scale never experienced in history. We seek to remember the causes, and therefore never tolerate again. But we can't succeed in that endeavor unless reality based evidence is accepted to understand how to prevent future evils of this magnitude.
GO2: I reject all three of your accusations as they don't meet the standards based on evidence & what is likely a false notion of Socialism you & many others have.
GW2: My statements about socialism were not accusations. But I do accuse you of either lying, being deluded, or being misinformed. Which is it?
CO2: It's best to become better informed & follow the best scholarly evidence & real world results of the variants of Socialism that's been unleashed on the world for the past century before accusing those knowledgeable of its ugly history as "delusional, misinformed, or worse yet "lying".
GW2: I am sufficiently informed. I might agree with you had you said “communism,” but you are grossly mistaken to speak of “socialism” that way.
CO2: No doubt your definitions of Socialism and how its changed over time is the cause.
GW2: Present your definition, I’ll present mine, and then we can debate them.
CO2: There are still those who cling to the notion that European societies as "socialist" in origins - but they are not. Libertarians & some conservatives are notorious for conflating these notions.
GW2: Straw man. I never said anything about their “origins.”
CO2: They are better described as large welfare states with massive redistribution programs designed to suit the cultural values unique to these countries.
GW2: They are better described as democratic socialist-capitalist hybrid states.
CO2: But the distribution of revenue is more a function within capitalist based systems.
GW2: They are socialist-capitalist hybrids.
CO2: You can always ask knowledgeable citizens of those countries themselves. Dinesh D'souza explains this better than most. Try following Dinesh on YouTube by searching the title "Socialism and the Scandinavian illusion | Dinesh D'Souza LIVE at Chapman University"
GW2: I have watched several of D’Souza’s debates and read at least one of his books. He is a joke. I have no trust in him as an expert on anything.
CO2: As for real Socialism, I give you the following for edification: You can start by reading the origins of the Marxist variety: The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration by Paul Kengor; a scholarly compilation of its impact on the world: "The Black Book of Communism"; Dinesh D'souza's brilliant summation of the collaborative effort to deny the obvious off-shoot of Fascism from Socialism due to a break from communist internationalist theory; and a recent version to articulate the evil origins of fascism & its' links with communism: "Hitler Was a Socialist: A comparison of NAZI-Socialism, Communism, Socialism, and the United States" by Mit Sandru.
GW2: Just as I thought. You are confounding communism with modern democratic socialism. Hitler was a tyrant and dictator.
CO2: There are plenty of other scholarly material to consume, but the evidence is incontrovertible that Socialism is the core evil that unleashed the horrific murders & massive deaths in WWII.
GW2: You are either lying, delusional, or misinformed. You have said nothing persuasive to me.
CO2: The Holocaust phenomena was a unique evil that was hatched within countries with a history full of antisemitism, but the Socialist fanatical elements provided the irrational hatred necessary to carry out this genocide on a scale never experienced in history.
GW2: False. The fanatic autocratic Hitler provided the hatred.
CO2: We seek to remember the causes, and therefore never tolerate again. But we can't succeed in that endeavor unless reality based evidence is accepted to understand how to prevent future evils of this magnitude.
GW2: I agree, but you are just wrong in your claim about socialism. Reason contradicts you.
You didn't retract your irrational ad hominims, which makes you unwilling or incapable of rational discussion. Some of your statements are worthy of discussion or clarification, but your combative attitude & slurs are insulting as they are unfounded. It's especially true of Dinesh D'souza. If you followed his debates as I have, you would know this. I've gone down this road many times on YouTube, and found 2 of many that were willing to tone down their ad hominims long enough to learn from others more knowledgeable; the rest continued their irrational tirades. I attempted pointing you in that direction of dense material worthy of study & learning- your rudely rejected it. You haven't reached that standard, so best of luck convincing those outside of the orbit or echo chamber you inhabit. You will never learn anything substantive that way. Discussion ended.
GO3: You didn't retract your irrational ad hominims,...
GW3: Your statements about socialism are not wrong because of who you are or your personality traits. They are wrong based on a rational assessment of the evidence. But given that you are wrong, it has to be that you are lying, delusional, or misinformed. What other alternative could there be?
GO3: which makes you unwilling or incapable of rational discussion.
GW3: False. I have already proven that I am willing and capable of rational discussion. You just don’t like my conclusions.
GO3: Some of your statements are worthy of discussion or clarification, but your combative attitude & slurs are insulting as they are unfounded.
GW3: All are well founded.
GO3: It's especially true of Dinesh D'souza. If you followed his debates as I have, you would know this.
GW3: If you find him credible, then you have greatly lowered your standards.
GO3: I've gone down this road many times on YouTube, and found 2 of many that were willing to tone down their ad hominims long enough to learn from others more knowledgeable; the rest continued their irrational tirades.
GW3: I don’t care about the roads you’ve traveled.
GO3: I attempted pointing you in that direction of dense material worthy of study & learning- your rudely rejected it.
GW3: You didn’t say anything which would motivate me to look into those other sources. I am already too familiar with D’Souza and he is not credible.
GO3: Discussion ended.
GW3: You may quit anytime you wish. You have made no reasonable case against democratic socialism.