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Adding to socialism_faq, some accents on murican revolution points to us_atrocities.

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favorite_apps_and_services.md
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## Goals
- Privacy conscious ( [end-to-end encrypted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption) )
- Privacy conscious, [end-to-end encrypted (E2EE)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption).
- Decentralized, **no reliance** on cloud providers like google, microsoft, apple, spotify, netflix, etc.
- Self-hosted and self-reliant, simple files preferred.
- Make sure no sites / services are US based.
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- Download all music / movies locally, using torrents behind a vpn.
- Use [AirVPN](https://airvpn.org/), [Mullvad](https://mullvad.net/), [NordVPN](https://nordvpn.com/), [ProtonVPN](https://protonvpn.com/)
- Use [qbittorrent](https://www.qbittorrent.org/) or [transmission](https://transmissionbt.com/) for a torrent client.
- Use [qbittorrent](https://www.qbittorrent.org/), [deluge](https://www.deluge-torrent.org/), or [transmission](https://transmissionbt.com/) for a torrent client.
- Use [MPV](https://mpv.io/) or [VLC](https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html), open source media players to play media.
- Use [plex](https://www.plex.tv/) for streaming to other devices, point it to your torrent downloads folder.
- Use [emby](https://emby.media/) for streaming to other devices.
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## Collaboration
- Self-host an [etherpad](http://etherpad.org/) instance, and share the document.
- Use [etherpad](http://etherpad.org/).
## Browsing
- Use Firefox or TOR browser, with the addons:
- [uBlock Origin](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/)
- [HTTPS Everywhere](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/https-everywhere)
- [Privacy Badger](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/privacy-badger17)
- [Facebook Container](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/facebook-container) - As suggested, this keeps all Facebook stuff in it's own Firefox container.
- [Google Container](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-container/) - The above, but for Google.
- [Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/) or [Searx](https://searx.me/) as a search engine
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## Browsing
- Use Firefox or TOR browser, with the addons:
- [uBlock Origin](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/)
- [HTTPS Everywhere](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/https-everywhere)
- [Privacy Badger](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/privacy-badger17)
- [uMatrix](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/umatrix)
- [Decentraleyes](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/decentraleyes/) - Local CDN emulation, to avoid large CDNs.
- [Facebook Container](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/facebook-container) - As suggested, this keeps all Facebook stuff in it's own Firefox container.
- [Google Container](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-container/) - The above, but for Google.
- [Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/) or [Searx](https://searx.me/) as a search engine
## Operating system
- Use Linux, preferably Arch Linux or a variant.

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glossary_of_socialist_terms.md
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- Keep the definitions as simple as possible, ~ELI 10 years old.
| Term | Definition |
| ---------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| [Capitalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism) | A system that allows private individuals to own the means of production, with the goal of extracting a profit from the sale of commodities produced by wage workers. |
| Term | Definition |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Capitalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism) | A system that allows private individuals to own the means of production, with the goal of extracting a profit from the sale of commodities produced by wage workers. |
| [Profit / Surplus Value](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_value) | The difference between the value a worker adds, and the value that they receive (such as a wage) and are able to use for themselves. This surplus value goes to another leeching party that controls production (capitalists, slavemaster, etc). <br>`Surplus Value = Worker Value Added - Wage Paid`.<br>Synonymous with unpaid labor, profit, exploitation, and wage theft. |
| [Communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism) | A stateless, moneyless, and classless system where the means of production are democratically owned and controlled by the community, for the benefit of all. Wage labor is non-existent, and production is planned for human needs, rather than private profit. |
| [Socialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism) | A range of social and economic systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production. It can also mean the transitional stage between capitalism and communism, sometimes referred to as the dictatorship of the proletariat. |
| [Anarchism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism) | A political philosophy that critiques hierarchical organization, and emphasizes free assocation. The main two branches are social anarchism, and individualist anarchism. |
| [Communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism) | A stateless, moneyless, and classless system where the means of production are democratically owned and controlled by the community, for the benefit of all. Wage labor is non-existent, and production is planned for human needs, rather than private profit. |
| [Socialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism) | A range of social and economic systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production. It can also mean the transitional stage between capitalism and communism, sometimes referred to as the dictatorship of the proletariat. |
| [Anarchism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism) | A political philosophy that critiques hierarchical organization, and emphasizes free assocation. The main two branches are social anarchism, and individualist anarchism. |
| [Social Democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy) | Originally synonymous with evolutionary socialism, social democracy is an ideology that supports economic interventionism to promote social justice whilst retaining a capitalist economy. It is often seen by socialists as supporting "welfare-state" band-aids to capitalism. |
| [Welfare State](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state) | A state that provides social services on behalf of the well-being of its citizens, while retaining capitalism. It often refers to Germany, the UK, and the Nordic countries, but can refer to any state with social services. |
| [State Capitalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism) | An economic system where some means of production are owned by the state, surplus labor is still extracted, and wage labor still exists. The state decides how to distribute the surplus. Engels argued that the state form would be the final stage of capitalism. |
| [Liberalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism) | A political ideology that emerged in the 19th century that justifies capitalism, free markets, representative democracy, freedom of the press, free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to own property. It conceptualizes rights as individual-being, rather than species-being or as collective human rights. |
| [Slavery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery) | A system that allows individuals to own other human beings, in order to extract a surplus from their labor. |
| [Feudalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism) | An arrangement predominating in the middle ages, where a local lord would allow serfs to live and sustain themselves on his land, as long as they provided him labor and military support. |
| [Fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism) | A multi-definition term generally characterized by hyper-nationalism, racial supremacy, a cult of personality around a "strong" leader as superior to democracy, and an alliance between big and small capitalists. |
| [Liberalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism) | A political ideology that emerged in the 19th century that justifies capitalism, free markets, representative democracy, freedom of the press, free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to own property. It conceptualizes rights as individual-being, rather than species-being or as collective human rights. |
| [Slavery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery) | A system that allows individuals to own other human beings, in order to extract a surplus from their labor. |
| [Feudalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism) | An arrangement predominating in the middle ages, where a local lord would allow serfs to live and sustain themselves on his land, as long as they provided him labor and military support. |
| [Fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism) | A multi-definition term generally characterized by hyper-nationalism, racial supremacy, a cult of personality around a "strong" leader as superior to democracy, and an alliance between big and small capitalists. |
| [Means of Production](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Means_of_production) | Physical, non-human inputs used for the production of economic value, such as workplaces, factories, machinery, or tools. Synonymous with Capital. |
| [Private Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_property) | Means of production, when owned by private individuals, whose ownership is claimed through title, and **not use**, with the aim of extracting rent from the actual users or workers. Synonymous with absentee property. |
| [Personal Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_property) | Property for personal use and consumption. Put simply, your house, and everything in it. Neither socialism nor communism intends to do away with personal property. |
| [Socialized Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_ownership) | Means of production, when democratically and socially owned and controlled, put to use to benefit people. Surplus value may still exist, but democratic decision-making decides how to use it. |
| [Proletariat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat) | The wage-earning class which lives entirely from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit from any kind of capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the demand for their labor power (their ability to work). |
| [Bourgeoisie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie) | The social class that came to own the means of production during modern industrialization and whose societal concerns are the value of property and the preservation of capital, to ensure the perpetuation of their economic supremacy in society. |
| [Proletariat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat) | The wage-earning class which lives entirely from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit from any kind of capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the demand for their labor power (their ability to work). |
| [Bourgeoisie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie) | The social class that came to own the means of production during modern industrialization and whose societal concerns are the value of property and the preservation of capital, to ensure the perpetuation of their economic supremacy in society. |
| [Class Struggle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_conflict) | A tension that exists between competing classes, caused by contradictory interests, that can only be resolved through violent confrontation. The competing classes are determined by the economic mode of society: In Slavery, the master and slave. In Feudalism, the lord and serf. In Capitalism, the capitalist and wage worker. |
| [Class Consciousness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_consciousness) | A state of awareness of the class system and membership to a class, as well as understanding the true collective interests of each class. |
| [Petit Bourgeoisie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite_bourgeoisie) | The lower subset of the bourgeoisie made up of small-scale capitalists such as shop-keepers and workers who manage the production, distribution, and/or exchange of commodities and/or services owned by their bourgeois employers. It often refers to "small business owners", and is contrasted with the haute bourgeoisie, or the big capitalists. |
| [Bourgeois Democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_Marxism) | The name that socialists use to refer to modern representative liberal democracies, criticized as being democracies for the rich only, since representatives and the media in capitalist countries are often the puppets of the capitalists themselves. |
| [Reformism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformism) | A position that advocates gradually transforming a capitalist economy into a qualitatively different socialist system through political and economic reform, in contrast to revolutionary socialism. Synonymous with evolutionary socialism. |
| [Reformism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformism) | A position that advocates gradually transforming a capitalist economy into a qualitatively different socialist system through political and economic reform, in contrast to revolutionary socialism. Synonymous with evolutionary socialism. |
| [Revisionism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionism_(Marxism)) | A pejorative term used by Marxists to refer to the common practice of "watering down", or blunting the revolutionary spirit of historical figures and theories, in order to make their ideas more *acceptable* to the ruling class. It often refers to bourgeois scholars transforming revolutionary icons into pacifists, or to socialist societies that have abandoned progress towards communism. |
| [Cultural Hegemony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_hegemony) | The domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class who manipulate the culture of that society—the beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values, and mores—so that their imposed, ruling-class worldview becomes the accepted cultural norm; the universally valid dominant ideology, which justifies the social, political, and economic status quo as natural and inevitable, perpetual and beneficial for everyone, rather than as artificial social constructs that benefit only the ruling class. |
| [The State](https://theimmortalscience.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/the-state-and-revolution-an-overview/) | In Leninism, the state is a *special organization of force* used for the suppression of one class by another. Under capitalist society, the state upholds capitalism and wields force to suppress the working class. In general terms, a state is any politically organized community under a single government. |
| [Imperialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism) | The domination of a weaker country by a stronger one; referring primarily to the conquering and exploitation of labor and natural resources of the weaker country. In Leninism, imperialism is the final stage of capitalism, where finance capital is exported to undeveloped economies, resulting in the colonization and division of the world amongst capitalist monopolies. Geopolitical conflict ensues over this economic exploitation, and the resulting super-profits permit businessmen to bribe native politicians and labor leaders, and intervene militarily to suppress worker revolts. |
| [Nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism) | An ideology which emphasizes nations (and often specific races living in those nations), self-governance, national identity, and patriotism over internationalism. Communists want working-class internationalism, but also defend the right of nations to be free from imperialism. |
| [Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution) | A fundamental change in political power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time when the population rises up in revolt against the current authorities. In Marxism, a revolution is expropriation and smashing of existing property relations, with the proletariat being the only truly revolutionary class that can enact this social transformation. |
| [Praxis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)) | The act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. Theory in action. |
| [Imperialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism) | The domination of a weaker country by a stronger one; referring primarily to the conquering and exploitation of labor and natural resources of the weaker country. In Leninism, imperialism is the final stage of capitalism, where finance capital is exported to undeveloped economies, resulting in the colonization and division of the world amongst capitalist monopolies. Geopolitical conflict ensues over this economic exploitation, and the resulting super-profits permit businessmen to bribe native politicians and labor leaders, and intervene militarily to suppress worker revolts. |
| [Nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism) | An ideology which emphasizes nations (and often specific races living in those nations), self-governance, national identity, and patriotism over internationalism. Communists want working-class internationalism, but also defend the right of nations to be free from imperialism. |
| [Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution) | A fundamental change in political power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time when the population rises up in revolt against the current authorities. In Marxism, a revolution is expropriation and smashing of existing property relations, with the proletariat being the only truly revolutionary class that can enact this social transformation. |
| [Praxis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)) | The act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. Theory in action. |
| [Dictatorship of the Proletariat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat) | A transitional state of affairs, between capitalism and communism, in which the working class holds political power, and is in the process of changing the means of production from private, to social ownership. Dictatorship doesn't refer to an autocracy, but rather that the working class now dictates what happens in society. |
| [Dialectical Materialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_materialism) | The evolution of the natural world and the emergence of new qualities of being at new stages of evolution. It also recognizes that the mode of production is the main motive force of history, and contains contradictions (such as class struggle), whose resolution results in the development of new modes of production and social organization. |
| [Labor theory of value](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_theory_of_value) | A theory of value that argues that the economic value of a good or service is determined by the total amount of average socially necessary labor required to produce it, rather than by the use or pleasure its owner gets from it. |
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| [Permanent Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution) | In Marxism, the strategy of a revolutionary class to continue to pursue its class interests independently and without compromise, despite overtures for political alliances, and despite the political dominance of opposing sections of society. In Trotskyism, PR holds that the only way to achieve world communism is to allow the revolution to spread unimpeded from nation to nation, the theory that a revolution in one nation would ignite revolutionary fervor worldwide, and that full scale working class revolution must be allowed to germinate. |
| [Right of nations to self-determination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninism#National_self-determination) | In Lenin's words: "The bourgeois nationalism of any oppressed nation has a general democratic content that is directed against oppression, and it is this content that we unconditionally support. At the same time, we strictly distinguish it from the tendency towards national exclusiveness." In short, its much easier to fight a one front war against local capitalists, than a two front war against much more powerful imperialists. |
| [Democratic Centralism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_centralism) | A tenet of Leninism, described by him as, *diversity in discussion, unity in action.* After decisions are reached, they are followed the group. |
| [Vanguardism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguardism) | A strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically advanced sections of the working class form organizations in order to draw larger sections of the workers towards revolutionary politics and serve as manifestations of proletarian political power against its class enemies. |
| [Vanguardism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguardism) | A strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically advanced sections of the working class form organizations in order to draw larger sections of the workers towards revolutionary politics and serve as manifestations of proletarian political power against its class enemies. |
| [Two Stage Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-stage_theory) | Argues that underdeveloped countries, such as Tsarist Russia, must first pass through a stage of capitalism before moving to a socialist stage. |
| [Mass Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_line) | In Maoism, a method of growing class consciousness and communism, where communists consult the masses, interpret their ideas and suggestions within the framework of Marxism-Leninism, decide how to best solve those problems through collective action, and then enforce those resulting policies. |
| [Mass Strike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_strike) | A strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labor force in a city, region, or country participates, spreading class consciousness, and forcing capitalist concessions. Rosa Luxemburg identified it as one of the most powerful tactics available to workers. |
| [Mass Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_line) | In Maoism, a method of growing class consciousness and communism, where communists consult the masses, interpret their ideas and suggestions within the framework of Marxism-Leninism, decide how to best solve those problems through collective action, and then enforce those resulting policies. |
| [Mass Strike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_strike) | A strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labor force in a city, region, or country participates, spreading class consciousness, and forcing capitalist concessions. Rosa Luxemburg identified it as one of the most powerful tactics available to workers. |
| [Alienation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation) | A term used by Marx to denote the estrangement of workers under capitalism from the products of their labor, and themselves; the worker loses the ability to determine life and destiny, when deprived of the right to think of themselves as the director of their own actions; to determine the character of said actions; to define their relationships with other people; and to own the things produced by their own labor. Although the worker is an autonomous, self-realized human being, as an economic entity, this worker is directed by the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production with which they must work to survive. |
| [Cultural Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution) | In Maoism, the idea that capitalist values do constantly re-appear within the communist party, although not uniformly. It is up to the people, who are the real motive force in world history, to call out and denounce capitalist values and corrupt people in positions of authority, and "bombard the headquarters", to ensure the elimination of bourgeois values and cement proletarian power. In short, "it is always right to rebel." |
| [United Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_front) | In Trotskyism, an initiative whereby communists propose to join with all workers belonging to other parties and groups and all unaligned workers in a common struggle to defend the immediate, basic interests of the working class against the bourgeoisie. Through united struggle, many workers can be won over to revolutionary socialism. |
| [United Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_front) | In Trotskyism, an initiative whereby communists propose to join with all workers belonging to other parties and groups and all unaligned workers in a common struggle to defend the immediate, basic interests of the working class against the bourgeoisie. Through united struggle, many workers can be won over to revolutionary socialism. |
| [Transitional Demand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitional_demand) | In Trotskyism, an agitational demand made by a socialist organization with the aim of linking the current situation to progress towards their goal of a socialist society. Transitional demands differ from calls for reform in that they call for things that governments and corporations are unwilling or unable to offer, and therefore, any progress towards obtaining a transitional demand is likely to weaken capitalism and strengthen the hand of the working class. Examples of transitional demands would be "Employment for all" or "Housing for all"; demands that sound reasonable to the average citizen, but are practically impossible for capitalism to deliver on. |
| [Dual Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_power_(Russian_Revolution)) | A tenet of Leninism, in which two powers, one proletarian (workers' councils / direct democratic organizations) and one capitalist (the official state apparatus) coexist and compete for legitimacy, during the transition away from capitalism. |
| [New Democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism%E2%80%93Maoism#New_Democracy) | A tenet of Maoism that holds that the national-bourgeois in semi-feudal and semi-colonial countries has a dual character in that although it is an exploitative capitalist force, it can also (though not always) side with the proletariat against colonialism and imperialism. |
| [Protracted Peoples War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism%E2%80%93Maoism#People.27s_War) | In Maoism, a strategy for achieving communism that includes winning the support of the locals(usually the peasantry) in areas away from capitalist strongholds, and waging unconventional guerrilla warfare, while building institutions of dual power to replace capitalist ones. |
| Workers Militia | An important focus of Trotskyism, where local, self-organized working-class militias, fighting for their class interests, are the primary vehicle to achieve socialism. |
| **Branches** | |
| [Marxism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism) | A socialist tradition created by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, that places emphasis on the means of production, your relation to them, and the inherent class struggle involved between those who control production, and those who don't. |
| [Leninism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninism) | A branch of Marxism developed by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks drawn from their experiences in early 20th century Russia. Important concepts include vanguardism, dictatorship of the proletariat (and how to transition to communism), dual power, the right of nations to self-determination, imperialism, and democratic centralism. The goal of Leninism is the development of a worker state capable of withstanding capitalist encirclement(often called siege socialism), in order to protect and continue the transition to communism, as well as aid other anti-imperialist nations. |
| Workers Militia | An important focus of Trotskyism, where local, self-organized working-class militias, fighting for their class interests, are the primary vehicle to achieve socialism. |
| [Accelerationism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerationism) | The support for increasing the oppression of capitalism in the hope that class contradictions will reach a point that revolution will become more likely. A metaphor might be that accelerationists see our current situation as boiling a frog in water slowly, while a stark uptick in oppression will cause workers to revolt. Few communists or anarchists support it, because it harms working people, and historically increased oppression hasn't lead to increased chance of revolt. What leads to revolution is actually socialist organization efforts, and a growth in class conciousness. |
| **Branches** | |
| [Marxism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism) | A socialist tradition created by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, that places emphasis on the means of production, your relation to them, and the inherent class struggle involved between those who control production, and those who don't. |
| [Leninism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninism) | A branch of Marxism developed by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks drawn from their experiences in early 20th century Russia. Important concepts include vanguardism, dictatorship of the proletariat (and how to transition to communism), dual power, the right of nations to self-determination, imperialism, and democratic centralism. The goal of Leninism is the development of a worker state capable of withstanding capitalist encirclement(often called siege socialism), in order to protect and continue the transition to communism, as well as aid other anti-imperialist nations. |
| [Marxism-Leninism (ML)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism) | A term created by Joseph Stalin to refer to the ideology of the USSR, generally synonymous with Leninism. |
| [Maoism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoism) | A Marxist tendency developed by Mao Zedong. Important concepts include protracted people's war, new democracy, the mass line, cultural revolution, contradiction, and agrarian socialism. |
| [Maoism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoism) | A Marxist tendency developed by Mao Zedong. Important concepts include protracted people's war, new democracy, the mass line, cultural revolution, contradiction, and agrarian socialism. |
| [Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism%E2%80%93Maoism) | A resurgent tendency of Maoism formalized by the revolutionary internationalist movement in 1993, generally synonymous with Maoism. |
| [Anarcho-communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-communism) | A theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labour, and private property (while retaining respect for personal property), and in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy, and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". Primarily based on the ideas of Kropotkin. |
| [Egoist Anarchism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egoist_anarchism) | An individualist school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, defining an egoist as one who has no political calling, but rather "lives themselves out" without regard to "how well or ill humanity may fare thereby". Stirner held that the only limitation on the rights of the individual is his power to obtain what he desires. |
| [Trotskyism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyism) | A branch of Leninism created by Leon Trotsky, a leading bolshevik. Important concepts include permanent revolution, world revolution, the transitional programme, transitional demands, the united front, workers militias, and criticism of the soviet union under Stalin as a deformed workers state. |
| [Luxemburgism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxemburgism) | A branch of Marxism created by Rosa Luxemburg, a leading figure in the German revolution of 1919. Important concepts include Revolutionary Spontanaeity, emphasis on low-level democracy, the mass-strike, opposition to reformism, and criticism of bolshevism. |
| [Trotskyism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyism) | A branch of Leninism created by Leon Trotsky, a leading bolshevik. Important concepts include permanent revolution, world revolution, the transitional programme, transitional demands, the united front, workers militias, and criticism of the soviet union under Stalin as a deformed workers state. |
| [Luxemburgism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxemburgism) | A branch of Marxism created by Rosa Luxemburg, a leading figure in the German revolution of 1919. Important concepts include Revolutionary Spontanaeity, emphasis on low-level democracy, the mass-strike, opposition to reformism, and criticism of bolshevism. |
| [Left-Communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_communism) | A range of communist viewpoints held by the communist left, which criticizes the political ideas and practices espoused by Bolsheviks, Marxist-Leninists, Anarchists, and social democrats. Proponents of left communism include Amadeo Bordiga (Italian tradition), Herman Gorter, Anton Pannekoek (Dutch tradition). Left communists assert positions which they regard as more authentically Marxist and proletarian than other traditions. |
| [Syndicalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicalism) | A proposed economic system, that suggests that workers, industries, and organizations be systematized into confederations or syndicates. It can also refer to the tactic of using general strikes to build trade unions. |
| [Syndicalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicalism) | A proposed economic system, that suggests that workers, industries, and organizations be systematized into confederations or syndicates. It can also refer to the tactic of using general strikes to build trade unions. |
| [Democratic Socialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism) | A branch of socialism that emphasizes democratic management of enterprises within a socialist economic system. The redundant adjective "democratic" is often used to distinguish it from the Marxist-Leninist branches, whom democratic socialists view as not being democratic enough. |
| [Council Communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_communism) | A type of socialism that rejects vanguardism and democratic centralism, opposes the state, and advocates workers councils as the basis for dismantling the class state. |
| [Hoxhaism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoxhaism) | A branch of Marxism-Leninism by Enver Hoxha, communist leader of Albania, that distinguishes itself by a strict defense of the legacy of Joseph Stalin, the organisation of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and fierce criticism of virtually all other communist groupings as "revisionist". |
| [Autonomism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomism) | A set of anti-authoritarian left-wing political and social movements and theories, emerging from Italy in the 1960s. It involves a call for the independence of social movements from political parties in a revolutionary perspective which seeks to create a practical political alternative to both authoritarian socialism and contemporary representative democracy. |
| [Bordigism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordigism) | A variant of Left communism espoused by Amadeo Bordiga. Bordigists refuse on principle any participation in parliamentary elections. |
| [Titoism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titoism) | A branch of socialism by Josip Broz Tito, leader of Yugoslavia, a once socialist state independent of the soviet union. Characterized by policies and practices based on the principle that in each country, the means of attaining ultimate communist goals must be dictated by the conditions of that particular country, rather than by a pattern set in another country. During Tito’s era, his ideas specifically meant that the communist goal should be pursued independently of (and often in opposition to) what he referred to as the Stalinist and Imperialist policies of the Soviet Union. |
| [Communalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communalism) | A system that integrates communal ownership and federations of highly localised independent communities, developed by libertarian socialist Murray Bookchin. |
| [Hoxhaism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoxhaism) | A branch of Marxism-Leninism by Enver Hoxha, communist leader of Albania, that distinguishes itself by a strict defense of the legacy of Joseph Stalin, the organisation of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and fierce criticism of virtually all other communist groupings as "revisionist". |
| [Autonomism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomism) | A set of anti-authoritarian left-wing political and social movements and theories, emerging from Italy in the 1960s. It involves a call for the independence of social movements from political parties in a revolutionary perspective which seeks to create a practical political alternative to both authoritarian socialism and contemporary representative democracy. |
| [Bordigism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordigism) | A variant of Left communism espoused by Amadeo Bordiga. Bordigists refuse on principle any participation in parliamentary elections. |
| [Titoism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titoism) | A branch of socialism by Josip Broz Tito, leader of Yugoslavia, a once socialist state independent of the soviet union. Characterized by policies and practices based on the principle that in each country, the means of attaining ultimate communist goals must be dictated by the conditions of that particular country, rather than by a pattern set in another country. During Tito’s era, his ideas specifically meant that the communist goal should be pursued independently of (and often in opposition to) what he referred to as the Stalinist and Imperialist policies of the Soviet Union. |
| [Communalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communalism) | A system that integrates communal ownership and federations of highly localised independent communities, developed by libertarian socialist Murray Bookchin. |
| [Utopian Socialism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian_socialism) | A collection of socialist ideas that predated Marx, namely those of Owen, Fourier, and Saint-Simon. They focus on the presentation of visions and outlines for imaginary or futuristic ideal societies, with positive ideals being the main reason for moving society in such a direction. Later socialists such as Marx and Engels criticized utopian socialism as not being grounded in the material conditions of existing society, and for not identifying the wage-earning class capable of making the transition, and relying on wealthy utopian reformers acting within a capitalist framework. |

10
socialism_faq.md
View File

@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
- [Did Socialism work in the USSR, and didn't the fall of the USSR bring more prosperity to Russia?](https://www.reddit.com/r/socialism/comments/86tqdd/but_socialism_doesnt_work_s/dw7qco0/)
- [[Honestly not trolling] Why, in your opinion, have most attempts to form countries based economically on communism and socialism (USSR, Cuba, China) fail?](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/1f8obt/honestly_not_trolling_why_in_your_opinion_have/)
- [What about the authoritarian leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc?](https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/8xl4bi/stay_angry_comrades/e24fuqs/)
- [Why did the Soviet Union fail?](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/1zrroq/why_did_the_soviet_union_fail/)
- [Communism, does it work?](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/190vro/communism_does_it_work/)
- [How do I counter the "communism is a nice thought, but it just doesn't work, as proved by Soviet and China" argument?](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/28sjy4/how_do_i_counter_the_communism_is_a_nice_thought/)
@ -179,7 +180,7 @@
- [Why does left communism reject national liberation movements?](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/27lbru/why_does_left_communism_reject_national/)
- [Is it true that Socialism has killed X million people, and how many has capitalism killed?](https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/5q2oak/someone_dies_under_socialism_no_matter_how_its/dcvu8lg/)
- [What's the role of the state in the revolution, and what is a state?](https://theimmortalscience.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/the-state-and-revolution-an-overview/)
- [Why do many socialist attempts end up in an authoritarian state? Watch this brilliant talk by Micheal Parenti](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYVes44hcJg&feature=youtu.be), or read his article, [Left anticommunism, the unkindest cut](http://www.greanvillepost.com/2015/05/23/left-anticommunism-the-unkindest-cut/)
- [Why do many socialist attempts end up in an authoritarian state? Watch this brilliant talk by Micheal Parentihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYVes44hcJg&feature=youtu.be, or read his article, Left anticommunism, the unkindest cuthttp://www.greanvillepost.com/2015/05/23/left-anticommunism-the-unkindest-cut/]()
- [What did Lenin say about socialism in one country?](https://espressostalinist.com/2012/03/11/lenin-on-socialism-in-one-country-2/)
- [Is Chomsky right about Marxist-Leninists being evil?](https://www.reddit.com/r/socialism/comments/4394rt/how_do_you_guys_feel_about_chomskys_views_on/czgj95w/)
@ -369,6 +370,13 @@
- [Essential readings on the Juche idea and the Korean revolution](http://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/2pil0z/what_are_some_essential_readings_on_the_juche_idea/)
- [E-Library on the DPRK](http://www.korea-dpr.com/e_library.html)
## On Venezuela
- [What's going on with venezuela? Rebuttal to John Oliver's venezuela show, and overview of the situation in Venezeula](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fV-C1Ag5sI).
- [Are the people in venezeula really starving?](https://monthlyreview.org/2018/06/01/the-politics-of-food-in-venezuela/)
- [Whats going on in Venezuela?](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/66f7u5/eli5_comrades_what_is_the_situation_in_venezuela/)
- [Is venezuela moving towards communism?](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/7ixh1h/the_venezuelan_situation_already_understand_most/dr35p31/)
## Other Topics
### Why are socialists against bitcoin mining?

8
us_atrocities.md
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@ -129,10 +129,8 @@ Notes :
- In 1914, the US military invaded Veracruz, Mexico, after US sailors were arrested by the Mexican government for entering off-limits areas, in the [Tampico Affair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampico_Affair). Over 200 were killed in the invasion.
- In 1912, the US military invaded Nicaragua after intermittent landings and naval bombardments in the previous decades. It was occupied by the U.S. almost continuously from 1912 through 1933. With the onset of the [Great Depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression) and [Augusto C. Sandino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_C._Sandino)'s Nicaraguan [guerrilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla) troops fighting back against U.S. troops, it became too costly for the [U.S. government](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States) and a withdrawal was ordered in 1933.
- In 1903 the US backed its puppet state [Panama's secession from Columbia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_Panama_from_Colombia). The [Panama Canal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal) was under construction by then, and the [Panama Canal Zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Zone), under United States sovereignty, was then created. The zone was transferred to Panama in 2000.<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_Panama_from_Colombia)</sup>
- In 1899, after a [popular revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Revolution) in the Philippines to oust the Spanish imperialists, the US invaded and began the [Phillipine-American war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine–American_War). The US military committed countless atrocities, leaving 200,000 Filipinos dead. [Jacob H Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_H._Smith) killed between 2,500 to 50,000 civilians, His orders included, "kill everyone over the age of ten" and make the island "a howling wilderness."<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine–American_War),[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_H._Smith)</sup>
- From 1895-1917, the [Banana Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars) refers to the military intervention on behalf of US business interests in Central America and the Caribbean(8 countries in total) after the Spanish American War. In Honduras, for example, the [United Fruit Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company) and [Standard Fruit Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Fruit_Company) dominated the country's key banana export sector and associated land holdings and railways, and saw insertion of American troops in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925. <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars)</sup>
- In 1896, the US fought the [Spanish-American War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War) largely over economic interests in the Caribbean, primarily Cuba. Historian Eric Foner writes: "Even before the Spanish flag was down in Cuba, U.S. business interests set out to make their influence felt. Merchants, real estate agents, stock speculators, reckless adventurers, and promoters of all kinds of get-rich schemes flocked to Cuba by the thousands. Seven syndicates battled each other for control of the franchises for the Havana Street Railway, which were finally won by Percival Farquhar, representing the Wall Street interests of New York. Thus, simultaneously with the military occupation began . . . commercial occupation." <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War)</sup>
- In 1883, the US engineered the overthrow of its native monarch, Queen [Lili'uokalani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani) . Due to the Queen's desire "to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life" for her subjects and after some deliberation, at the urging of advisers and friends, the Queen ordered her forces to surrender. Hawaii was initially reconstituted as an independent [republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic), but the ultimate goal of the revolutionaries was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished in 1898.<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii)</sup>
- In 1846, the US sent a small force into Mexico with the aim of bringing about a war, and started the [Mexican-American War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War). The US prevailed, expanding its territory far into Mexico, and killed ~25,000 mexicans in the process, as part of an ideological goal of white supremacy in north america called [manifest destiny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny). The shift in the Mexico-U.S. border left many Mexican citizens separated from their national government. For the indigenous peoples who had never accepted Mexican rule, the change in border meant conflicts with a new outside power.<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War)</sup>
### Africa
@ -178,6 +176,8 @@ Notes :
- From 1942 to 1945, the US military carried out a [fire-bombing campaign of Japanese cities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan), killing between 200,000 and 900,000 civilians. One nighttime fire-bombing of Tokyo took 80,000 lives. During early August 1945, the US [dropped atomic bombs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki) on [Hiroshima](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima) and [Nagasaki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki), killing ~130,000 civilians, and causing radiation damage which included birth defects and a variety of genetic diseases for decades to come. The justification for the civilian bombings has largely been debunked, as the entrance of Russia into the war had already started the surrender negotiations earlier in 1945. The US was aware of this, since it had broken the Japanese code and had been intercepting messages during for most of the year. The US ended up [accepting a conditional surrender from Hirohito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan), against which was one of the stated aims of the civilian bombings. The dropping of the atomic bomb is therefore seen as a demonstration of US military supremacy, and the first major operation of the Cold War with Russia. <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan),[2](http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/30/the-bomb-didnt-beat-japan-stalin-did/)</sup>
- In 1918, the US took part in the [allied intervention in the Russian civil war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_intervention_in_the_Russian_Civil_War), sending 11,000 troops to the in the Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions to support the anti-bolshevik, monarchist, and largely anti-semitic [White Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_movement). <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_intervention_in_the_Russian_Civil_War)</sup>
- In 1900 in China, the US was part of an [Eight-Nation Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-Nation_Alliance) that brought 20,000 armed troops to China, to defeat the Imperial Chinese Army, in the the [Boxer Rebellion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion), an anti-imperialist uprising. <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion)</sup>
- In 1899, after a [popular revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Revolution) in the Philippines to oust the Spanish imperialists, the US invaded and began the [Phillipine-American war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine–American_War). The US military committed countless atrocities, leaving 200,000 Filipinos dead. [Jacob H Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_H._Smith) killed between 2,500 to 50,000 civilians, His orders included, "kill everyone over the age of ten" and make the island "a howling wilderness."<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine–American_War),[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_H._Smith)</sup>
- In 1883, the US engineered the overthrow of Hawaii's native monarch, Queen [Lili'uokalani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani) . Due to the Queen's desire "to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life" for her subjects and after some deliberation, at the urging of advisers and friends, the Queen ordered her forces to surrender. Hawaii was initially reconstituted as an independent [republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic), but the ultimate goal of the revolutionaries was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished in 1898.<sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii)</sup>
### Europe
@ -428,9 +428,9 @@ Notes :
- In the 1830s, after the accumulation of farmland by a few wealthy families, thousands of farmers forced to rent their land formed Anti-Rent associations to prevent evictions, culminating in the [Anti-Rent War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Rent_War), a guerilla war between bands of sheriffs and farmers. The wealthy used sheriffs and deputies to evict thousands of returning civil war veterans unable to pay rent. The farmers had fought, been crushed by the law, their struggle diverted into voting, and the system stabilized by enlarging the class of small landowners, leaving the basic structure of rich and poor
intact. It was a common sequence in American history.
- From 1786-87, [Shays' Rebellion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion) was an [armed uprising](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_uprising) in [Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts) over dissatisfaction from returning veterans. The rural farming population was generally unable to meet the demands being made of them by merchants or the civil authorities, and individuals began to lose their land and other possessions when they were unable to fulfill their debt and tax obligations. This led to strong resentments against tax collectors and the courts, where creditors obtained and enforced judgments against debtors, and where tax collectors obtained judgments authorizing property seizures. It,and similar conflicts and unrest were pacified by the passing of the 1789 [Bill of Rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights). <sup>[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion)</sup>
- In 1787, [James Madison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison) in the [Federalist Paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Federalist_Papers) #10, outlined the primary role of the US constitution, arguing that representative government was needed to maintain peace in a society ridden by factional disputes. These disputes came from "the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society." The problem, he said, was how to control the factional struggles that came from inequalities in wealth. Minority factions could be controlled, he said, by the principle that decisions would be by vote of the majority. So the real problem, according to Madison, was a majority faction, and here the solution was offered by the Constitution, to have "an extensive republic," that is, a large nation ranging over thirteen states, for then "it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength,and to act in unison with each other.... The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States." Madison's argument can be seen as a sensible argument for having a government which can maintain peace and avoid continuous disorder. But is it the aim of government simply to maintain order, as a referee, between two equally matched fighters? Or is it that government has some special interest in maintaining a certain kind of order, a certain distribution of power and wealth, a distribution in which government officials are not neutral referees but participants? In that case, the disorder they might worry about is the disorder of popular rebellion against those monopolizing the society's wealth. This interpretation makes sense when one looks at the economic interests, the social backgrounds, of the makers of the Constitution. Charles Beard warned us that governments-including the government of the United States-are not neutral, that they represent the dominant economic interests, and that their constitutions are intended to serve these interests.
- In 1787, [James Madison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison) in the [Federalist Paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Federalist_Papers) #10, outlined the primary role of the US constitution, arguing that representative government was needed to maintain peace in a society ridden by factional disputes. These disputes came from "**the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society.**" The problem, he said, was how to control the factional struggles that came from inequalities in wealth. Minority factions could be controlled, he said, by the principle that decisions would be by vote of the majority. So the real problem, according to Madison, was a majority faction, and here the solution was offered by the Constitution, to have "an extensive republic," that is, a large nation ranging over thirteen states, for then "it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength,and to act in unison with each other.... The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States." Madison's argument can be seen as a sensible argument for having a government which can maintain peace and avoid continuous disorder. But is it the aim of government simply to maintain order, as a referee, between two equally matched fighters? Or is it that government has some special interest in maintaining a certain kind of order, a certain distribution of power and wealth, a distribution in which government officials are not neutral referees but participants? In that case, the disorder they might worry about is the disorder of popular rebellion against those monopolizing the society's wealth. This interpretation makes sense when one looks at the economic interests, the social backgrounds, of the makers of the Constitution. Charles Beard warned us that **governments-including the government of the United States-are not neutral, that they represent the dominant economic interests, and that their constitutions are intended to serve these interests.**
- The 1787 [US Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution) is falsely portrayed as a document representing an ideal of social and political equality, despite **every framer being a rich white propertied man**. Historian [Charles Beard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_A._Beard) found that a majority of the framers were lawyers by profession, that most of them were **men of wealth, in land, slaves, manufacturing, or shipping**, that half of them had money loaned out at interest, and that forty of the fifty-five held government bonds, according to the records of the Treasury Department. Thus, Beard found that most of the makers of the Constitution had some direct economic interest in establishing a strong federal government: the manufacturers needed protective tariffs; the money lenders wanted to stop the use of paper money to pay off debts; the land speculators wanted protection as they invaded Indian lands; slave-owners needed federal security against slave revolts and runaways; bondholders wanted a government able to raise money by nationwide taxation, to pay off those bonds. Four groups, Beard noted, were not represented in the Constitutional Convention: **slaves, indentured servants, women, men without property**. And so the Constitution did not reflect the interests of those groups. He later wrote: "Inasmuch as the primary object of a government, beyond the mere repression of physical violence, is the making of the rules which *determine the property relations of members of society*, the dominant classes whose rights are thus to be determined must perforce obtain from the government such rules as are consonant with the larger interests necessary to the continuance of their economic processes, or they must themselves control the organs of government."
- The [American Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_revolution) is falsely portrayed as being a social revolution. [Edmund Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Morgan_(historian)) sums up the class nature of the Revolution this way: "The fact that the lower ranks were involved in the contest should not obscure the fact that the contest itself was generally a struggle for office and power between members of an upper class: the new against the established." Looking at the situation after the Revolution, Richard Morris comments: "Everywhere one finds inequality." He finds "the people" of "We the people of the United States" (a phrase coined by the very rich governor Morris) did not mean Indians or blacks or women or white servants. In fact, there were more indentured servants than ever, and the Revolution "did nothing to end and little to ameliorate white bondage." [Carl Degler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Neumann_Degler) says (*Out of Our Past*): "No new social class came to power through the door of the American revolution. The men who engineered the revolt were largely members of the colonial ruling class." **George Washington was the richest man in America**. John Hancock was a prosperous Boston merchant. Benjamin Franklin was a wealthy printer.
- The [American Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_revolution) is falsely portrayed as being a social revolution. [Carl Degler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Neumann_Degler) says (*Out of Our Past*): "**No new social class came to power through the door of the American revolution.** The men who engineered the revolt were largely members of the colonial ruling class." **George Washington was the richest man in America**. John Hancock was a prosperous Boston merchant. Benjamin Franklin was a wealthy printer. [Edmund Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Morgan_(historian)) sums up the class nature of the Revolution this way: "The fact that the lower ranks were involved in the contest should not obscure the fact that the contest itself was generally a struggle for office and power between members of an upper class: the new against the established." Looking at the situation after the Revolution, Richard Morris comments: "Everywhere one finds inequality." He finds "the people" of "We the people of the United States" (a phrase coined by the very rich governor Morris) did not mean Indians or blacks or women or white servants. In fact, there were more indentured servants than ever, and the Revolution "did nothing to end and little to ameliorate white bondage."
### Prisoners