Communism needs democracy like the human body needs oxygen.
Leon TrotskyRead
If you cannot convince a Fascist, acquaint his head with the pavement.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that sometimes force may be necessary when rational persuasion fails in the face of extreme ideology.
This quote by Leon Trotsky speaks to the idea that there are instances when attempts at convincing individuals with extremist beliefs may be futile. In such situations, he implies that more drastic measures might be required to address oppressive ideologies, emphasizing the importance of standing against authoritarianism and defending one's principles.
In practice
In a debate about extremism, this quote can be referenced to underline the limits of rational argumentation.
Communism needs democracy like the human body needs oxygen.
Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery, humiliation, and disrespect for human dignity, oneβs own and that of other people.
In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat.
Man will become immeasurably stronger, wiser, and subtler; his body will become more harmonious, his movements more rhythmic, his voice more musical. The forms of life will become dynamically dramatic. The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above these heights, new peaks will rise.
The masses go into a revolution not with a prepared plan of social reconstruction, but with a sharp feeling that they cannot endure the old regime. Only the guiding layers of a class have a political program, and even this still requires the test of events and the approval of the masses.
History has different yardsticks for the cruelty of the Northerners and the cruelty of the Southerners in the Civil War. A slave-owner who through cunning and violence shackles a slave in chains, and a slave who through cunning or violence breaks the chains β let not the contemptible eunuchs tell us that they are equals before a court of morality!
Surely the best way to meet the enemy is head on in the field and not wait till they plunder our very homes.
Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer.
Let your tears roll tonight, but tomorrow you will start the battle again. What defeats us, always, is just our own sorrow.
Nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his cruel ministry we will not tamely submit - appealing to Heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free . . . .
In war you're either a collaborator or you're a resistor. I mean you don't get to be neutral.
If somebody's trying to shut you up, sing louder, and if possible, better.
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