Tuesday, March 28, 2006

I know I liked Yeltsin for a reason

In a related bit of interweb reading I got turned onto this old book review about Boris Yeltsin's life story

The same demotic spirit aroused his outrage when he discovered the privileges available to the power elite. He writes that ''full communism'' has been achieved only for those who climbed ''to the top of the establishment pyramid.'' And: ''In using the word 'communism,' I am not exaggerating. It is not simply a metaphor for an overbright Communist future: 'From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.' ''

It has literally been realized for those at the top. ''I have already mentioned their abilities,'' he writes, ''which, alas, are not outstanding. But their needs! Their needs are so great that so far it has only been possible to create real communism for a couple of dozen people. . . .''


It is a shame that man is dead

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