I am a communist

Yesterday I visited ВДНХ in Moscow. ВДНХ is packed full of soviet idealism – as these pictures suggest. If the ideals were so great, what went wrong? The ideal of striving together for a better future, moving forward together, progress together, equity, fairness, justice, whereby all would have enough and resources would not be hoarded by a few – why did it so spectacularly fail?

1. Firstly it was brought in by violence and it continued to live by violence. Blood was on the hands of the soviets from the very first day. You cannot bring about a society of freedom and equality by force. Striving for a better future together – yes but. Providing sufficient food and resources for all – yes but. Such things can only be achieved by the glad cooperation of all, not by force. Freedom by force doesn’t work.

2. Secondly, why did the soviets throw God out? Didn’t they realize that God is on the side of the poor, the upholder of the weak, oppressed and downtrodden. Why didn’t they enlist his support in their strivings for justice and equality? Well, unfortunately the church had sided with the oppressor. Church went arm in arm with the Tsarist State and no one would have guessed that God was the defender of the weak and the protector of the downtrodden. The church had identified with the oppressor and so the soviet idealists ditched the church along with the rest of the old corrupt system, and of course God was thrown out too. No one realized that God was redeemable, that he is King of the Broken.

3. Thirdly, the soviets seemed to not appreciate beauty. There’s a case for arguing (as I did in 1991) that they deliberately tarnished the natural beauty God had created, and tried to create a beauty of their own – massive buildings, broad roads, spacious parks. In the late Tsarist period beauty was the luxury of the rich, the privilege of the oppressor. Out with the oppressor, out with his beauty – like God, the proverbial baby was thrown out with the dirty bathwater.

4. Fourthly, the selfishness of man was not taken into account. Not everyone wanted to work for the common good. Some were just out for no.1. An ideal state of equity and justice can only be reached with people who live up to those ideals. And while some (one likes to think many) of the early soviets really believed that their communistic ideals were achievable, sufficient numbers of others were opportunistic and/or selfish.

Think RBM. Impact statement: “A just and equal society for all.” But the ‘outcomes’ set for achieving that impact get it completely wrong:
1) Bring about a revolution, violent if need be (and it probably does need to be) in which the oppressor is toppled.
2) Banish belief in God because God and his church are part of the system of oppression.
3) Don’t waste precious resources on beauty; people don’t need things to be beautiful, they need them to be utilitarian.
4) In order to bring about our new society of justice and equality those who are opposed to it (and who are therefore opposed to justice and equality) must be eliminated.

I am a communist. I embrace the goal, the impact statement of a just and equal society for all. But I do not espouse the route the soviets took. If change is not peaceful the oppressed simply become the oppressor – and that is what happened. I recognise that God is King of the Broken, and so I harness his support. Beauty is important, people need it to bring esthetic quality to their lives. Those who are opposed to the new society – love them. Melt them with the warmth of the sun; blowing a howling gale around them will just make them cling to their opposition more tightly. But as I look at those communist ideals, they resonate with me. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.