Analogies

[und]

Does anyone mind posting some analogies about communist theories in order to make them easier to understand for the average person? I think it would be beneficial to have that sort of thing as a sticky, and it would make it easier to explain the communist ideology to someone. Thanks

[mel]

Do you have any examples of what you mean? There are a lot of tongue-in-cheek analogies to political systems out there involving cows, but I imagine you mean something more comprehensive and helpful.

[und]

Do you have any examples of what you mean? There are a lot of tongue-in-cheek analogies to political systems out there involving cows, but I imagine you mean something more comprehensive and helpful.
An example which I posted recently on here would be:

"If you could have one can of coke instead of zero, you might be happy with that. But if you knew you could be getting two but were only receiving one would you still be happy?"

That really bad analogy refers to the "making people happy with what they have" bit of capitalism.

[el_chavista]

It's a hard work to tabulate info from something like this:

http://libcom.org/files/Tendency_Map.jpg

[pastradamus]

Does anyone mind posting some analogies about communist theories in order to make them easier to understand for the average person? I think it would be beneficial to have that sort of thing as a sticky, and it would make it easier to explain the communist ideology to someone. Thanks

I think a great way of explaining communism's granddaddy Marx for a new member would be to check of the Mark Steel Lectures in Youtube. Its comical but also good watching and Interesting.

[und]

It's a hard work to tabulate info from something like this:

http://libcom.org/files/Tendency_Map.jpg
I'm talking about the general principles behind communism, and also capitalism, to help people better understand the idea, not the tendencies.

[Sam_b]

If we're taling about beginners to leftism, then that chart is just awful.

[Il Medico]

I only have one, it is an analogy on the capitalist worker relationship in capitalism.

"If I give you a knife and a piece of wood, give you 5 dollars and tell you to crave something. I then sell that thing you made for 50 dollars. I made ten times he profits you did and I did none of the work, how is that fair?"

I am not sure if that is an effective analogy, but is the one I most commonly use when trying to explain how the capitalist oppress and exploit the working class.

[Magdalen]

Does anyone mind posting some analogies about communist theories in order to make them easier to understand for the average person? I think it would be beneficial to have that sort of thing as a sticky, and it would make it easier to explain the communist ideology to someone. Thanks

One good source of such analogies would be the notes from John MacLean's 'Marxist Evening Classes' which produced many of the activists who were instrumental in the Clyde revolts during and after the First World War. My organisation had them transcribed for the internet from MacLean's original manuscripts about 10 years ago and they are available here. (http://revolutionarycommunist.org/wweb/macleanindexfiles/lectures.htm)

[pastradamus]

I only have one, it is an analogy on the capitalist worker relationship in capitalism.

"If I give you a knife and a piece of wood, give you 5 dollars and tell you to crave something. I then sell that thing you made for 50 dollars. I made ten times he profits you did and I did none of the work, how is that fair?"

I am not sure if that is an effective analogy, but is the one I most commonly use when trying to explain how the capitalist oppress and exploit the working class.

As lenin said. "the capitalist will sell you the rope you use to hang him".