02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus

 Imperialism and Feudalism are Mountains Weighing Down the...

There is an ancient Chinese fable called "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains". It tells of an old man who lived in northern China long, long ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of North Mountain. His house faced south and beyond his doorway stood the two great peaks, Taihang and Wangwu, obstructing the way. With great determination, he led his sons in digging up these mountains hoe in hand. Another greybeard, known as the Wise Old Man, saw them and said derisively, "How silly ...
Folksonomies: government revolution
Folksonomies: government revolution
  1  notes

The Chinese overthrew kings just as Americans and Europeans did.

19 JAN 2013 by ideonexus

 Anti-Science in Communism

Suppression of knowledge weakened Russia in the Lysenko affair. which a political ideologue and former peasant named Trofim Lysenko ingratiated himself to communist leaders and was placed in charge of national agriculture because of his ideological conformity. He denounced and suppressed scientists who questioned his odd schemes as "fly lovers and people haters"^^ (because geneticists were doing fruit fly research-h—I kid you not!) and his uneducated methods decimated Soviet agriculture. So...
Folksonomies: politics science communism
Folksonomies: politics science communism
  1  notes

The USSR and China as examples of how anti-science attitudes and political loyalty over empiricism damaged both countries.