Hi Marlen, thank you so much for your detailed thoughts on my article. I definitely took it as a compliment, even before you advised me to do so!

I’ll respond to a little bit of what you wrote (my reply is also long, so please don't feel obligated to read and translate)

Regarding the “attempt to defend property from democracy”, the academic in question (Colin Crouch) conceived democracy in the early 20th century as being something that was more than just elections, but as a process in which the masses would find their own material interests and needs catered to, at the expense of the elite. I don’t think he believed that democracy existed in the Weimar Republic or in 1920’s Italy, but that democracy was something in danger of happening and that in some countries this would lead to a form of communism. So the “attempt to defend property from democracy” was the elite and small business owners etc seeking to stop this “democracy” by turning to fascism which would crush the forces of the left that threatened their property rights.

The question of whether communism can exist or not is interesting. Many people on the left would say that the Soviet Union was not truly communist but many others would say it was. So even what “communism” is can be disputed.

If you think about the word, it implies political and economic processes carried out by a shared group, by a commune. It makes me think of how agricultural communities in the past might come together to collect the harvest or plough the fields collectively, sharing the products afterwards. Or maybe how residents of a town might come together to act collectively to prevent some unwanted development.

Obviously, this is very different to the state totalitarianism, powered by a centralised bureaucracy with a single figure-head at the top, which is what most people think of when they see the word “communism”.

I agree “automated equality” (I like this term!) is undesirable and maybe could only be achieved under totalitarianism.

Competition is human nature for sure, but cooperation is even more human I think. You can have civilisation without competition but not without cooperation.

Still, today competition is the winner, and that’s why we have the rise of these various right-wing movements (Brexit, Trump, Orban etc etc) who prey on the losers of competition. We have the same movements here in Ireland, but they are still very weak thankfully. Germany has done so much for accepting migrants and many of Germany’s problems, I think, are because other European countries (including Ireland) have not shared this necessary burden with them. The solution to the rise of the far-right across Europe is more integration of migrants and a new form of economy that does not leave much of the middle and working classes feeling embittered and under threat. Unfortunately, I see few signs of this happening.

Your side thoughts:

America is insane (!) in allowing ordinary people access to weapons. Of course it promotes insecurity and normalises violence; the country looks ready for a civil war.

I’m not sure what the admission requirements are for the police in America but I read recently that in America there are more hours of training to be a hairdresser than there are to be a police officer. This is also insane and explains a lot of what is happening over there.

Thanks again for your comment, it really means a lot to me that there are people taking the time to read (and translate!) and consider the arguments deeply.

Have a good weekend!