The Volokh Conspiracy has some really good posts over the last little bit in regards to Judaism and Communism, courtesy of Professors Volokh and Bernstein. For the sake of permalinks, click here, here, and here. The discussion arose from a story out of Germany that stirred the pot on the notion of Jews and the introduction of Communism to Russia, and corresponding "class guilt" for that.

This whole notion seems to stem from unfortunate circumstances of history in Russia, and the socio-political climate there about a century ago. Professor Volokh says he has a sense that many in the Communist movement were Jews, and I've got the same sense. Now, as to the reason for that, the Pundit has a theory which Professor Bernstein might support, and it's one I've kicked around for a few years: "Of course the Jews of the Russian Empire would be involved in Communism. Think about why they would have been. It's not so much that Judaism is automatically collectivist and Communist, but more that Communism's actions would have been attractive to Jewish people of a political slant. It's the early part of the 20th century, and you're Jewish. The official policy of the Romanov government in your direction can be summed up by saying, "Ohmigod, you killed Jesus! You bastards!"¹ Pogroms and other lesser forms of discrimination abound, and the czar thinks you're a traitorous bunch. Basically, you're the scapegoat for whatever goes wrong in the Russian Empire.

Are you going to join the local branch of the Romanov Party, or are you going to kick some butt? Answer: You're going to kick some butt. From the perspective of an oppressed minority, the Bolsheviks offered some hope. They had a (on the face of it) seemingly decent plan (Peace! Land! Bread!)² and they were willing to take drastic measures to get their plan implemented. Who wouldn't sign on with that? While Lenin was alive, one could theoretically think that Trotsky (nee Lev Davidovich Bronstein) might be the heir apparent and that'd be great, 'cause he was also nominally Jewish and might just avoid sending the troops on raids to the local Jewish village.

Of course, all this turned to ashes when Stalin came to power, because Uncle Joe was just as bad as the little corporal of Austria when it came to disliking the chosen people of God. The difference between them seems to have been that Hitler focused on the Jews (about 46% or so of the casualties of the various National Socialist extermination programs were Jewish, if you use the generally accepted 6 and 13 million figures) whereas Stalin had no focus at all. (Kill 'em all! Let Marx sort 'em out.)³

The whole history of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia is an interesting thing to look at, because many of the evils of the 20th century can be traced back to Moscow under the hammer & sickle in one form or another. Luckily for us, the Soviet Union quit and Beijing seems content to suck the money out of the West instead of fomenting revolution abroad. (The sound you hear is me knocking on wood.)

1 It's worth noting that "official Russian thought" was that Moscow, Petrograd, or maybe Russia itself constituted the "third Rome" (with Constantinople being the second) which would last as the eternal holy city or something. I can't make this stuff up; Nicholas II's correspondence often makes your stomach churn 'cause you know this guy's not playing with a full deck. Moreover, the deck he is playing with has a bunch of pinochle cards shuffled in, and that's never good. If only Kerensky could have succeeded!

2 Not as catchy as "Democracy Whiskey Sexy", but one makes do with what one has.

3 Admittedly, Stalin towards the end of his life was reported to have been gearing up for another round of terror; the "Doctors' Plot" period of ~1948-1953 is or was thought to have been the stepping-off point for anti-Semitic purges in the Soviet Union. At any rate, as far as "the Jewish question" goes, Stalin=Hitler and it goes to show you that the Eastern Front of the Great Patriotic War (snicker snicker) was more about ideological sibling rivalry than it was good versus evil. More like the younger Evil brother picking a fight with the older Evil brother, if you will.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 08:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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