Communist birthday help?

Question

my "former Yugoslavian" friend is having a birthday and she identifies as a communist for the soul reason that it was good for Yugoslavia. this is not an argument that's going to work in economics class and us government if it comes up then too so i think i'm going to have to give her some reading material or something so she doesn't look like an idiot.

and her birthday is next week.

what should i get her? besides the communist manifesto?

Answer 1

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (1880)

by Frederich Engels

In this essay, Engels critiques the utopian socialists, such as Fourier and Owen, and provides an explanation of the socialist framework for understanding capitalism.

    * Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today, Ocean Press, 2000, ISBN 1876175184

    * Che: A Memoir, Ocean Press, 2005, ISBN 192088825X

    * Cuba at the Crossroads, Ocean Press, 1997, ISBN 187528494X

    * Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography, Scribner, 2008, ISBN 1416553282

    * Fidel Castro Reader, Ocean Press, 2007, ISBN 1920888888

    * Fidel My Early Years, Ocean Press, 2004, ISBN 1920888098

    * Fidel & Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto on Marxism & Liberation Theology, Ocean Press, 2006, ISBN 1920888454

    * Playa Giron: Bay of Pigs : Washington's First Military Defeat in the Americas, Pathfinder Press, 2001, ISBN 087348925X

    * Political Portraits: Fidel Castro reflects on famous figures in history, Ocean Press, 2008, ISBN 1920888942

    * The Declarations of Havana, Verso, 2008, ISBN 1844671569

    * The Prison Letters of Fidel Castro, Nation Books, 2007, ISBN 1560259833

    * War, Racism and Economic Justice: The Global Ravages of Capitalism, Ocean Press, 2002, ISBN 1876175478

Answer 2

Depending on your budget

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&rlz...

Answer 3

Don't be so serious.  Get her, like, a hello kitty purse, or some flowers.  Get her something lighthearted.

Answer 4

Get her a fiction book that will scare the communist right out of her:

Darkness at Noon: A Novel by Arthur Koestler;

It's about a man who was devoted to communism but communism was not so devoted to him... it is soo good and has gotten great reviews.

Answer 5

So you're saying that you know more about how hard life was under communist rule in Yugoslavia than someone who actually lived there???

You disgust me you ignorant arrogant capitalist pig.

And communism in Yugoslavia did not fail, it was sabotaged by the west.

Say and think what you want but I know what it was like... no homeless, no one was ever hungry, everyone had a job that they loved, school was all free... even books... thats all I have to say.

- @ Doom Shepard: You obviously missed the point of Animal Farm, and you are very naive to think it only applies to communism. Have you ever tried to apply it to modern events/times, but don't try too hard though the truth may shock you and you will inadvertently knock yourself and your country off of that pedestal of yours. And if you enjoy that smug grin on your face I would stray away from thinking in such ways.

Answer 6

I would get them a "de-brainwashing machine". And a sturdy slap across the mouth to wake them up. "Socialism Is For Dummies" by K. Hart

YEAH CAPITALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 7

I would skip the propaganda.  Instead, why don't you give her a CD or iTunes recording by Paul Robeson? He was a great American singer and also a Communist.

Answer 8

Why exactly wouldn't that argument work? If it is in fact true communism was good for Yugoslavia, that seems to be a good reason for former Yugoslavians to believe in communism, doesn't it?

Let's imagine that next year the US fragments for reasons unrelated to it being a liberal democracy. Couldn't a former American who believed that liberal democracy had worked well for his or her country cite that as a reason to believe in liberal democracy? Of course you would have to go a little deeper, presumably they would have reasons why liberal democracy was good for America, and presumably your friend would have reasons for why communism was good for Yugoslavia. Whatever those reasons are would seem to constitute their argument. The reasons may or may not hold up to economic or political analysis, but there is no reason to dismiss them out of hand.

Perhaps you should make sure that your friend knows her history of Yugoslavia, but it seems certain that she would know more about this than most Americans would anyway, and so should be able to defend her idea against those with less knowledge about the situation, like, for example, Doom Shepard.

But, if you're looking for a present, there are many works by communist thinkers. Althusser and Gramsci come to mind. Maybe works on business ethics, political economy, and political philosophy too. What you could do is search wikipedia for communist philosophers, then go on Amazon or someplace and see what books are available by them.

Answer 9

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell.

And then you should sit back and LET her look like an idiot.  Or at least, a pig.

Actually, you should get her all the "Che Guevara" brand c**p you can find.   The irony that a communist icon has become a capitalist brand money-maker will almost certainly be lost on her, if she can look at Communism in all its EPIC FAIL glory and still not "get it."  I mean, we're clearly not talking a genius level intellect, here.

hb253motorcross: Still failing, after all these years.  You've mistaken "Animal Farm" for "1984," not too surprising, after your friends finished burning all the books.  Your system has always failed, and it will always fail, because the only way to make it work is for humans to become something less.  Like the little trained Borg drones you were under Tito.

Answer 10

get her nothing say communist don;t celebrate birthdays

Answer 11

answer my ?