2018-08-21: Padesáté výročí v Pražské Jaro konec

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Warsaw Pact Coalition invading the former ČSSR (Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic) ending the experiment of the Prague Spring. I won't write about the tragedy that was the abortion of Dubček's 'Socialism With a Human Face' (You can read Havel or Klima for that) But instead can write a more personal anecdote/story about it...

I remember a conversation I had about 10 months ago with a person I went to college with. At some point I made a quip about the failure of Lysenkoism, and then the conversation got derailed into an argument about whether Communism or Capitalism had caused greater death and suffering in the 20th century.

The individual however, mistook my argument. They had interpretted my suggestion that if I was attributing famines caused by central planning as intentional death as a fault of the system, that Capitalism was responsible for more starvation in the World. I didn't say anything though, because I wanted to see where this was going to go.

No specifics were provided. I mentioned that I was well aware of the crimes the US had gotten away with in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, and that I argued that both Capitalism and Communism were both economic systems that require a tyrannical state. They continued to talk about, in generalities, sanctions, free-trade agreements, and the like being responsible, but not not delve into any specifics, even for the kinds of events I mentioned.

My argument, at least relating to the joke I made about Lysenkoism, was related to the fact that this individual, as a Physicist, would not be able to do their job without playing politics. Scott Aaronson wrote an interesting blog post on Kolmogorov . Communism, even if it did result in less deaths than Capitalism, certainly meant more deaths to scientists whenever expedient for the state.

It was not only this specific ignorance, but the asymmetry of how much we remembered of each other that had upset me about this conversation. I was well aware that this individual was struggling to find good post-doctorate jobs. The opportunities available in their field were mostly projects/positions in the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy, and this individual had spouted anti-US rhetoric since they were a freshman. I never asked, but it was possible that they failed a security clearance investigation.

To contrast, forgotten were the times at college parties I had mentioned that my Grandfather died after serving a prison sentence for fighting Fascism "On the Wrong Side" (i.e. with the Free Czechoslovak force with the Allies) instead of with the USSR, and that both my parents were political refugees from the ČSSR. Communism ascribes itself to be an economic system that uplifts the proletariat, but uplifting and comforting are not the same. Harlow's experiments on Rhesus monkeys show us that much.

Since then "The Death of Stalin" has played in theatres. I do remember this individual being a fan of Ianucci's work, specifically "The Thick of It". It makes me wonder if they are still a fan of Ianucci, or have decided to retroactively adjust their view of him in light of the film. If so, it would be a painful irony; un-personing someone with "reprehensible views" and not realizing that a similar fate could befall themselves. From my last conversation with this individual, it seemed that they had settled on tutoring children of foreign Bourgeoisie in order to make ends meet

Not as painful an irony though, as your King and army fail to repel an invasion in a great time of need...

2018, Fr8train

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