Per StellarInsights on Twitter:

"Philip Sedgwick noted that the Communist Manifesto was published when Neptune last entered Pisces in 1848. Communist Manifesto: Feb 21 1848"

Now that is interesting.

Idealistic and unrealistic. Makes sense.

And the ideal broke down with Neptune in Capricorn.

Wow, this is really interesting!

Wow.

Wow, this is really interesting!

Yeah, Obama is gonna turn the US into a SOCIALIST nation!! Ahhhh!!Ruuunnnn!

Well..... let's hope that there's still enough people in this country who remember just what that form of government (Communism) brought to it's subjects.

Otherwise..... a whole lot of Americans are gonna get a real eye-opener when the "ideas" in that book are put into practice here!!!

Really?

I think there is a huge discrepancy between what Marx wrote in the Manifesto vs what a "communist" type of government became.  Two different things.

Yes, I agree with mahchi. That's why the Neptune placement of that era is so fitting, I think. Because on paper it seemed like an ideal.But in practice it turned out to be something completely twisted. I doubt Marx had that in mind.

Socialism here in the UK doesn't mean the same thing as Communism.

Communism is what was going on in the Soviet Union.

Socialism is what UK has! And it's democratic and still capital-based!

Basically if you're going to become homeless here, the government gives you a house. A small but affordable and decent one.

If you don't have a job, you get paid a certain amount each week to live.

If you need healthcare, you get it for free!

If you want to go to university, well if you live in the England part of the UK you have to pay, but if you live in the Scotland part you get in for free!

So the lesson in history is not to get caught up in the idealism of a particular philosophy .... because if there is an attempt to turn it into reality, someone will get it messed up.  The Soviet Union didn't have "communism" as Marx meant it....they had "Stalinism" which was something entirely different.

Listen to mahchi, his point is valid!

her point is valid

Anyways I look forward to a new compassionate humanitarianism on the rise!

Oh!  Sorry mahchi

Solaire is correct! And no worries Rising.

I doubt that will work here.  The welfare state already has people grumbling about entitlement programs, and adding to that....well, if they thought Occupy Wall Street was bad...

Most of us had ancestors that at some point had the balls to get on a ship and make a long ocean voyage to a land only heard about.  They worked hard and each generation tried to boost the next one. 

That does not translate into "okay, I'll work extra hard because my neighbor doesn't feel like working".

Utopian societies are impossible, although it is important to think about these ideas. Altruism is important for the survival of the species but no way people will everyone agree to being "equal" in all things. Not at least in the way we live now, anyway. Dystopia will always result in such a situation. Acquiring resources is what we are biologically wired to do and we are programmed to acquire as much as possible to ensure our survival. I imagine that it would be incredibly hard to change these behaviors.

It makes me a little upset when people look at the poor and call them lazy. Lol. Step for just a minute in a "poor" persons shoes and you'll see how ridiculously ignorant it is to call them lazy. How could any person better themselves without being able to obtain a proper education? Where mental health issues are rampant? And can't even afford the proper health care? What are they really suppose to do? I got out. I come from a family like this. I'm the only one to have ever graduated from high school and it was a HARD journey to a Phd. So believe me when I tell you, people who don't belong to the poor class really have no clue how difficult it is to survive. It's not just about being lazy.

But we are all so worried about "getting that money" that we loose all compassion for our neighbor.

To quote Maya Angelou "I seem to have more than I need and you seem to have less than me. I would like to share my excess with you."

I wish more people thought this way. That is just my opinion.

I read that this weekend too!

I also agree with Mahchi. I don't think Marx had the Gulags in mind!

The Soviet Union didn't have "communism" as Marx meant it....they had "Stalinism" which was something entirely different

Exactly. Also, Lenin actually didn't want Stalin to be his successor, he insisted he be forbidden because he could see Stalin was crazy. But Stalin put lots of force to become the party leader and do things in his perverted way. Wasn't it Stalin whose one side of the brains after his death was found malfunctioned? The side which was responsible for emotions. I read it in one psychology journal.

Scandinavian countries are also good examples of socialism and..feminism 

"This" is what I love about this Board..... quite a lot of highly intelligent feedback & thought.

OK.... I'll agree about the government in the Soviet Union. It definitely was a bastardization of Marx's ideas. Also , as long as we are "flesh & blood" in this relm.... Greed & Desire (to control others) will unfortunately overwhelm any Utopian Idealism.

My Opinion:  Charity & Humanitarian work should be left to those groups who specialize in it.... Churches , Religious Groups , Humanitarian Organizations.  Mr. Carl Marx may not have liked what the Western Industrial societies were in his days , but over time they improved the lifestyle of the poor.

Yes, given the utopian nature of the original manifest this isn't surprising at all.

On a less controversial note, the last Neptune in Pisces produced some great music too, especially opera. Verdi and Wagner were at their productive height in 1850's.

Whatever happens I think we could all use a good dose of Piscean empathy.

I personally think music is one of the most effective forces for social change. It is accessible and it crosses many cultural, economic, and geographical divides. It also expresses the human spirit in a way no article, photograph, or movie could.

It was Comrade Lenin who bastardised the ideals of Communism; and this in turn led to Stalin. Read up on the political battles of the Bolsheviks (Lenin's faction) and the Mensheviks, just after the Revolution. Entrenched by c1918, Lenin was utterly ruthless, in a quite different way from Stalin: he was a much cleverer man and a far more skilful political operator. 

It's a great tragedy that Lenin's ruthlessness prevailed against the more democratic and open-minded Menshevik faction. Who knows what a different world might have ensued, had they prevailed? - and they had far more popular support than the hardline Lenin. Once in power, he ruthlessly supressed all opposition: Stalin learned at his feet

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSmensheviks.htm

http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3770.html

http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch11.htm

"So the lesson in history is not to get caught up in the idealism of a particular philosophy .... because if there is an attempt to turn it into reality, someone will get it messed up."

Right on, Mahchi. Jesus' Piscean message of unconditional love for all, oneness, non-judgement and compassion for all went the same way once all of the different churches got hold of it.

I spent most of last week texting my Scorpio friend the Communist Manifesto one line at a time.

"A spectre is haunting Europe..."

then when I saw him I apologized if he recieved any strange idealistic txts from my number, I caught my phone reading the communist manifesto again...

LMAO @ Nota, I HATE IT when that happens!

persoanlly I am glad neptune is in pisces.  The last fourteen years have been hard and I have walked with stones in my shoes on rocky ground.

@RisingLibra-AriesSun

"Socialism is what UK has! And it's democratic and still capital-based!

Basically if you're going to become homeless here, the government gives you a house. A small but affordable and decent one.."

Not so.  Rampant capitalism/Consumerism is what the uk has.

The government will not give the homeless shelter.  In fact the government is causing homelessness in ever increasing numbers.

Darwin rules in the uk.

I actually talked with a few homeless people in London. They do have a choice to stay at a shelter. The reason why they don't want to stay there is because they have to obey certain rules of behavior, for example, no drinking. So the ones who choose to live on the streets usually prefer their freedom vs. restrictions and/or different lifestyle.

It reminded me of one time when a beggar in central London approached me saying he hadn't eaten all day. I gave all the small change i had (coins), but the beggar said, 'You giving me small change??Nothing bigger?' So basically he didn't seem very happy with the coins he was given (it was probably £2-3, which would have bought him bread/milk or any other basic food) and didn't even thank.

Yes its just a one example, it doesn't represent all of the homeless people in the UK, but i thought i would comment about my experience to be fair.

@cherry

Theres no accounting for people.

There nowt so strange as folk - apart from thee and me - and thes a bit strange.