Communist treadmill

Authors are slaves to material forces in their description of Soviet tyranny | Marvin Olasky

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The official date of this issue is Nov. 7, a day that once lived in infamy, because on this day in 1917 a tiny Marxist group, through a mixture of ungodly determination and depravity, seized power in Russia. Vladimir Lenin and then Josef Stalin wiped out in Mafia-like style their opponents, including those who had been their friends. Decades later, at the height of its military power, in an awesome show of God's judgment, the Soviet empire quickly collapsed.

What an amazing story! And how dully Archie Brown's The Rise and Fall of Communism (HarperCollins, 2009) tells it. The political Iliad of the 20th century needs to be written—but by someone who understands the evil that comes when men see themselves as gods. Brown's liberal worldview comes through clearly when he states that "the Cold War almost certainly did more to keep Communist systems going than to bring them down." He minimizes the importance of Ronald Reagan's strong words and military spending in showing Soviet leaders that they couldn't win.