- Capitalism and Alternatives -

Central America

Posted by: Nikhil Jaikumar ( DSA, MA, USA ) on October 18, 1999 at 21:33:16:

In Reply to: You'd think the masses were smart enough to see if the system they live under was failing. posted by Stuart Gort on October 18, 1999 at 10:43:08:


Unfortunately, your post falls into the old 'end justifies the mans' problem. foirst of all, so what if teh Soviets hoped for the victory of teh FLSN? They also hoped for the victory of civil rights in America. Does that eman that Martin Lutehr King also should have been 'crushed' as you put it?

The Sandinistas set up a democratic, multiparty state with free speech, freedom of religion, free and fair elections, a mixed economy, which explicitly incorportaed Christianity into their constitution. Does thst hsve anything in common with 'Soviet imperialism'? If the Soviets were behind all this, they were either the least effective bunch of imperialists this side of Madrid, or tehy were using some strange kidn of reverse pyschology.

Regardless, does the fact that the Sovviets supported a certain venture mean that that venture is to eb condemned? Of course not. See the American civil rights example above. The objective fact is that the Saninistas were elected to power in the 1984 elections, multiparty elections that were universally recognized as free and fair, and were thus the legitimate rulers of the land. Not only this, but they trutsed teh population and enjoyed their supprort (they were the only Central American government taht dared to arm its people); they gave peopel a share in the wealth and future of their country; they built a new society in which people's rights to food, shelter, medicine, and education were satisfied; they set an example of free and idnependent devlopment for teh rest pof the world. Their opponents on teh otehr hand, were a bunch of thugs recruited from Somoza's secret police, who wnated to reimpose the old tyranny. They murdered old men, women and children indiscriminately, murdering babies in front of tehri parents, realying heavily on torture and random terror, targeting clinics and hospitals. To support the latter against teh fromer is ABSOLUTELY unjustifiable, REGARDELSS of what your final objective (crushing teh Russians) may be. You cannot defend a clearly immoral action by arguing that it will help to prevent greater evil in teh future- because what relevance does taht have to teh victims of Contra terror in Nicaragua- teh 30,000 murdered civilians? My Gopd, are you a utilitarian?



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