so, what's the deal with communism, anyways?

we hear a lot about communists, but we don't really know who they are. who are these people?

communism is a theoretical social order where production is automated, and held in common. you might think it's a bunch of other things, but it isn't - it's automation. that's it. communism = automation.

so, if you're a communist, you support automation; if you support automation, you're a communist.

there's the caveat that you have to get rid of private property, but that's an inevitability, because private property is impossible in the face of automation; it's a redundancy to talk about "production being automated and held in common", it's enough to just talk about automation - and the inevitable struggle as a consequence of it.

automation is fast approaching. does that mean we're on the way to communism? by definition, yes.

now, nobody knows how we get there, or what happens in between, but if you adhere to any level of technological determinism at all then it's unavoidable by anything short of nuclear holocaust. so, not only are we quickly moving towards communism, but there's nothing that capitalism can do to stop it. the question is what kind of a path we take - and we have infinitely many choices.

we could end up killing 70% of the world's population, first, for example. but, if that's what happens, then what will be left will be communism...

or, the capitalists could step down without a fight. who knows.

we can be dialectical, but that would be silly - the actual outcome is likely somewhere in between.

but, that's the deal with communism - it's automation, it's happening and nobody can stop it.