More stupid questions from yours truly...

[Che Guevara69]

Here we go with more dumb questions, and if I wasn't suppose to make a new thread for this, please forgive me and erase it.

1) What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?

2) What weapons did the guerillas use?(I'm guessing the AK-47, but just want to know for sure, it's interesting)

3) Where do you think Che got his beret? :cool:

4) How did Che and Fidel get together and decide to start a revolution and gain power?

5) How did Fidel override the system and contain power up until this point?

6) Who invented "guerilla warfare"?

7) How did they get the Cuban government to fight against them?(what was their first striking move that started the fighting)

8) What was Cuba's form of government before Fidel took power?

9) Why was Fidel the one to get power and not Che?(was it because Che was dead?)

Thanks, I'm going to do this a lot with asking questions because it's super easy for me to learn about it instead of reading huge stories and paragraphs. :D

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by Che [email protected] 24 2004, 08:41 PM
Here we go with more dumb questions, and if I wasn't suppose to make a new thread for this, please forgive me and erase it.
Stop with the self loathing stuff. It takes a lot to decide to learn so no one here thinks any less of you for asking. If we did, we wouldnt have this forum. Questions are what this forum is for, so please dont feel embarresed by asking them.


1) What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?

It is hard to try and explain these things simplisticly because they are so complicated, but I will try.

Communism is a theory of a society where the state and class doesnt exist anymore. Now in Marxism, Communism is the final phaze of a two phaze process. The first phaze is socialism which is a theory where by the workers control the state and fight the capitalists, this eventually withers away when it is no longer needed and you have the final stage which is communism.

Capitalism > Socialism > Communism

Marxists called the socialist phaze, the transitional stage or to get into the jargon, the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Socialism is also an idea in itself. It's not just this transitional stage. Some people are socialists in their own right. Socialism basically is a society where the state controls the economy and makes it work for everyone, rather than a minority control it for their benifit...

Are you with me so far?

There is the Che-Lives Dictionary (http://www.che-lives.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=25786) which has information that may help you.

If your confused or you dont understand somehing that I have said, just highlight the part and I or someone else will try and explain it more.


2) What weapons did the guerillas use?(I'm guessing the AK-47, but just want to know for sure, it's interesting)

There have been many guerilla fighters through out history so it is difficult to say. However, the most popular weapons for guerilla fighters in the second half of the 20th century has been the AK47, although I think the Zapatistas and FARC use M16's.


3) Where do you think Che got his beret? :cool:

Good question..Have no idea?


4) How did Che and Fidel get together and decide to start a revolution and gain power?

Guevara met Castro in Mexico in the early 50's and became friends. I think Castro was already leading or about to start a liberation movement for Cuba and Guevara became apart of it.


5) How did Fidel override the system and contain power up until this point?

I'll let someone else answer this one.....


6) Who invented "guerilla warfare"?

I think Castro, Guevara and the Viet cong played a huge part in developing guerilla warfare tactics in the modern era, but they have been around for centuries before.


7) How did they get the Cuban government to fight against them?(what was their first striking move that started the fighting)

Have no idea...


8) What was Cuba's form of government before Fidel took power?

US backed dictatorship.


9) Why was Fidel the one to get power and not Che?(was it because Che was dead?)

Castro was the leader of the movement and he was greatly respected. Guevara was not a politician and I dont think he would have wanted the job.


Thanks, I'm going to do this a lot with asking questions because it's super easy for me to learn about it instead of reading huge stories and paragraphs. :D

Keep them coming. Its great to have new members here...and dont worry, I have ADD too. Just take it easy and keep asking the questions, it will come eventually.

[Subversive Pessimist]

1) What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?


Socialism is a society where we have money. Regular people will just have more money then now, and there won't be any people with a lot of money, while others are poor and starving. In capitalism, a few people have a lot of money, while many people have little money.

Basically, in communism, everybody will help each other, and everything will be free.



2) What weapons did the guerillas use?(I'm guessing the AK-47, but just want to know for sure, it's interesting)


I think they used everything they could find. I think Che's favorite weapon was the M1 Garand rifle. Small and compact guns are ideal for warfare in cities (also called urban warfare), but in forests, where Che fought, you need rifles.


4) How did Che and Fidel get together and decide to start a revolution and gain power?


He saw a lot of supression in rest of Latin America. The indians were suffering.

He met a guy named Pesce, and they had a lot of common. Pesce was a communist, and registered as a member in the communist party since 1928. both of them agreed on many things. Pesce was a doctor, and Che was too, and I think Che really identified with Pesce. He also visited Guatamala and saw CIA fucking up the country. The guerilla group trained in Mexico.

I think Che met Castro for the first time in Guatemala, with a few other Cubans.

A Cuban friend of Che, ñico Lopez revealed Fidel's plans on creating a guerilla, which is going to fight in Cuba later on. After that, Che revealed to his family in a letter that he was a communist.



6) Who invented "guerilla warfare"?

I don't know, but both Lenin, Mao and Che Guevara wrote books and manuals on Guerilla warfare.

This is my favorite manual on Guerilla Warfare, written by Carlos Marighella:

http://www.bellum.nu/wp/cm/cmmotug.html



7) How did they get the Cuban government to fight against them?(what was their first striking move that started the fighting)

Good question. :)
The coastguard saw them before they maked it to the land.
They started the revolution with 82 men, but only 22 survived the next days.


8) What was Cuba's form of government before Fidel took power?

Capitalist, I think. It was a really bad dictatorship. The dictator's name was Batista..


9) Why was Fidel the one to get power and not Che?(was it because Che was dead?)


I think it was because Fidel started the revolution. After Fidel was impressed by Che's bravery, he was promoted to commandante, the same as Fidel's. Che was the Minister of Industry, I think.


Thanks, I'm going to do this a lot with asking questions because it's super easy for me to learn about it instead of reading huge stories and paragraphs.


That's nice. :) Don't be afraid to ask dude ;)

Just taking a quote from TAT here:

I think the Zapatistas and FARC use M16's.


Just so Guevara69 knows.

FARC is a guerilla group in Colombia, and the Zapatistas are in Mexico.

The leader in the Zapatistas is Sub-commandante Marcos.

[synthesis]

What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?

Ask 20 leftists and you'll get 25 different answers.

In a historical sense, I suppose you could say that Socialist movements tend to work through 'democratic', gradualist means, whereas Communist movements tend towards armed revolution.

Theoretically... it's quite complicated. There are many, many different definitions of each.

edit: I feel bad recommending a movie to someone rather than a book, but I guess that's probably better if you have ADD. Showtime aired a two-part series called 'Fidel' a few years ago, and you can probably find it at your local video store. It's a pretty factual and in-depth dramatization of the Cuban Revolution, plus one of the guys from Y Tu Mama Tambien plays Che.

[GoaRedStar]

Why is Marcos a Sub-commandante and not a Commandante .

[Subversive Pessimist]

The original leader died, and he stayed as sub-commandante out of respect for the past leader.

[DaCuBaN]

3) Where do you think Che got his beret?
:D
I'm not sure... but if you were wanting one this site has maintenance costs, and hence has a shop. You can purchase a variety of different ones there.


Stop with the self loathing stuff. It takes a lot to decide to learn so no one here thinks any less of you for asking.

Quite so. It is the sign of an enquiring mind - an enviable characteristic indeed.

[Che Guevara69]

Thanks again everyone in this thread. I'm sorry, I will no longer call them dumb questions. :marx: :engles:

[CubanFox]

Originally posted by "CheGuevara69'+--> ("CheGuevara69')2) What weapons did the guerillas use?(I'm guessing the AK-47, but just want to know for sure, it's interesting)[/b]

Kalashnikovs mostly, yes, due to the support the USSR threw at just about every guerrilla group it could find, especially in Africa and Latin America.

They're also extremely rugged, cheap, and very efficient. You can submerge it in mud, pull it out, and keep firing. They're also idiot proof, and even a child could operate one.


Originally posted by "CheGuevara69"+--> ("CheGuevara69")4) How did Che and Fidel get together and decide to start a revolution and gain power?[/b]

I believe they met in Guatemala in 1954, then went to Mexico City together. Che arrived, I believe, just in time to be part of a plan that had been going for a long time to take down Batista.

("CheGuevara69")6) Who invented "guerilla warfare"?[/b][/quote]

Strictly speaking, guerrilla warfare, and, indeed the word "guerrilla", was invented by Spanish peasants resisting Napoleon's occupation of their homeland.

("CheGuevara69")7) How did they get the Cuban government to fight against them?(what was their first striking move that started the fighting)[/b][/quote]

The attack on the Moncada Barracks. It was a complete buggerup, Fidel was captured, and half the guerrillas were killed. The date of the attack, July 26, was adopted as the name for Fidel and Che's guerrilla group from then on.


"CheGuevara69"@
8) What was Cuba's form of government before Fidel took power?

The dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He was essentially a slave to the US, and whored Cuba out to American businessmen on dirty weekends.


"CheGuevara69"
9) Why was Fidel the one to get power and not Che?(was it because Che was dead?)

No, Che wouldn't die until 1967, when CIA agents shot him in the middle of Bolivia. Fidel took power because he was the leader of the guerrilla group, Che was more like one of his generals. And besides, Che didn't have a head for politics. He was the head of the reserve bank after the revolution, and he just signed the notes "Che", a sign of how very interested he must have been in the post. :P

[ComradeRed]

1) What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?Socialists and Communists (http://redstar2000papers.fightcapitalism.net/theory.php?subaction=showfull&id=1083333881&archive=&cnshow=headlines&start_from=&ucat=&)


2) What weapons did the guerillas use?(I'm guessing the AK-47, but just want to know for sure, it's interesting)Varies group to group, the rule of thumb is the guerrillas use the weapons the army uses. For example, a guerrilla movement in Mexico uses the same weapons as the Mexican army, so the guerrillas do not have to purchase ammunition, but can take it from the government's lackeys.

[robob8706]

Who was the commadante before Marcos?

[Raisa]

"Who invented guerilla warfare?"

Someone said the Spaniards, but I think guerilla warfare and ambushes have been used long before the Spaniards.

"What's the fine-line difference between Socialism and Communism(please make it easy to understand)?"

Socialism is a government that works in the interests of the workers.
There is a socialist state because people have not truly become one class and the socialist state stands for the workers and not the bosses or the ritch.

Communism is where there doesnt have to be a state to stand for the working class interests in opposition to capitalist interests, because when there is communism every one has become the same class. Communism is a classless society.
So instead of having a state to maintain working class control then there is an administratve democracy, because we are all the same class with the same class interests, and that is what you call communism.

[Ortega]

Who was the commadante before Marcos?
As far as I know, Marcos founded the EZLN. He calls himself "Sub-comandante" because he is commanded by the people.