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Socialism Explained

Posted by mdk2608 10 years, 1 month ago to The Gulch: General
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The older I get the more I realize that some of my best thoughts come while I am on my lawn mower cutting my grass. It gives me time to think. This past weekend in Wisconsin was one of those nice warm sunny fall days that probably will not be seen again till spring. It was also a day cutting my lawn allowed me to release some creative thought once again. In those thoughts, deep in my privacy of my own mind, I have fixed the problems of the world and society. Obama is tried and convicted of treason and deported back to Kenya while the free world rejoices. Hillary is exposed as a fraud and discredited. I develop new medication to help liberals properly develop the left side of their brains while being surrounded by cheering like-minded friends as I accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Granted many of those thoughts on how I solve our nation’s political divide are pure fantasy and best kept private so as not to create a never ending thread of discussion on this site. Even more thoughts I keep private because don’t much like the idea being apprehended by federal agents wearing white coats driving white vans.
Watching a few of these humorous somewhat sad but true animations makes me appreciate the author’s creativity and how they take it upon themselves to think up ideas to put in a short presentation. The internet is filled with some really creative thoughts. Like the industrials who helped build America, the people who come up with some of these animated expressions possibly, in their own small way, might help save American by getting important points of view expressed that might otherwise be stifled. Granted some of the animations may have been produced at the spur of the moment just for fun, while others probably produced in some dorm room at 2:00 am., while others produced out of general frustration. Then again maybe there is a greater purpose. Some of the points are humorous and make us laugh, some remind us of conversations we’ve had with people in our life, but they also make us think. As my zero turn mower is making its turn around a large prickly Colorado spruce with needles painfully bushing against my face reminding me of liberals creating pain in another part of my body, I begin thinking about the truly innovative, intelligent people on Galt’s Gulch who love our country and the intent of the founding fathers. I remind myself how I love reading the many insightful articles that producers take the time to post as I mow lines that are straight and true.
It’s been fun following the production of the Atlas Shrugged series and is the issue that binds us together. How long can this Galt’s Gulch survive in its present form? How could we improve this site and bring others to it? As I am filling my mower with gas for the final stretch, the thought occurs to me that with the insights, wisdom and genius of my fellow Gulchers it would be pure bliss to have a contest among us using online software and come up our own animated version of our various thoughts and positions. This could be another way for us to communicate issues to the public. Atlas Distributing might also want to think about publishing short clips, animated or real life, that can express the issues dear to us all. They have us to come up with some of the ideas while they distribute the content. It would be fascinating watching the creative minds of fellow Gulchers put together stories that express contemporary thought. We have so many fantastic people out there I bet some videos could go viral if publically released and might over time change the world or possibly one or two minds. If one man can create one video that sends the Arab world in an outrage resulting in a destroyed embassy imagine what Gulchers could produce. While logistically challenging, it would be interesting to have available on this site or elsewhere, the ability to come up with some creating animated videos of our own similar to the I am John Galt videos but made easier to produce quickly. An animated version of Atlas Shrugged might enlighten more people and be more reasonable to produce. At this point in my thinking, it’s time to power wash the mower and make it clean for a new journey next week and hope I can still use my mower and not the snow blower.




SOURCE URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMqNL7sIhGs


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    Posted by Temlakos 10 years, 1 month ago
    Galt's Gulch has more to it than promoting the three Atlas Shrugged movies. Any frequent visitor knows that.

    You want another scenario? Here's one: a new governing philosophy takes such command that two-thirds of both Houses of Congress sign onto it, or get elected running on it. They then, in this order:

    1. Expel the remaining third from each House on various grounds. That shouldn't be too difficult. For instance, let's start with Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.-14th, a former corrupt judge thrown off the bench on impeachment for, and conviction of, bribery. He should have been told never again to hold office honor, trust or profit under the United States or any of them. Now it's time to correct that oversight--among others.

    2. Remove Obama and Biden both on impeachment for, and conviction of, circumvention of the Article II Section 1 Clause 5 natural born citizenship requirement, and conspiracy to do the same. This is important: it means he was never President, and declares a total Mulligan on his every legislative act and appointment.

    3. Let the new President, i.e. the former Speaker (per the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, as amended), nominate Judge Andrew P. Napolitano as CJOTUS. That might require offering the current CJ, John Roberts, a special Medal for Merit as a remittance.

    4. Let the new (Acting) President also nominate other Justices of the Supreme Court having a judicial mind-set and temperament similar to that of Judge Napolitano.

    5. Proceed at once to dismantle every Department except State, Treasury, Defense and Justice, and every standalone agency--but particularly every agency that is quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial in character.

    6. Pass a Constitutional amendment canceling the federal Congressional power "to establish post offices and post roads." Let the States establish such things if they want to, but I would advise against it.

    7. Pass another Constitutional amendment enumerating the specific kinds of "armies" Congress "shall have the power to raise and support," and permit no others.

    8. Pass a Constitutional amendment repealing Amendment XVI, the Income Tax. In keeping with John Galt's first word of advice to Mister Thompson: "Abolish all income taxes."
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    • Posted by IndianaGary 10 years, 1 month ago
      5. (revised) Proceed at once to dismantle every Department except State, Defense and Justice, and every standalone agency--but particularly every agency that is quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial in character.

      Reason: See next revision (e.g. no need for a Treasury department)

      9. Pass a Constitutional amendment Providing for the Separation of State and Economy. Congress shall make no law abridging the right of individuals from entering into free trade agreements. Congress shall also pass laws protecting the right of free trade by protecting the property rights of individuals.
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      • Posted by Temlakos 10 years, 1 month ago
        Your Point Nine reads like an expansion on the Judge Narragansett Amendment. Let's make that "Congress shall have the power to..."

        But why shouldn't the government have a treasury? The government must still recruit, train, equip, and pay the armed services, and must provide the police to protect the Federal City and its "Needful Buildings." (Though it might also do to enumerate more extensively the categories of "Needful Buildings" over which the "Congress shall have the power...to exercise exclusive legislation."

        The Constitution provides for "Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, [and] dock-Yards." Let's add "Air bases, service academies, courthouses for the inferior tribunals that Congress may from time to time ordain and establish, and other Buildings needful to the exercise of the specific powers this Constitution grants to Congress."
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  • Posted by edweaver 10 years, 1 month ago
    There is some intelligent life in Wisconsin. Great ideas. I especially liked you comparison of the Colorado spruce and the liberals. Lol
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    • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
      +1 Fo edweaver. Thanks for your comments
      We are hoping our Governor will win Tuesdayy
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      • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
        And many of us are praying that we can surmount the margin of fraud.

        Anyone not familiar with the Dem nominee for Wis Gov really should take a look. An empty pantsuit, fired by her own family business, fired by a Dem Gov from role as state commerce sec, failed to pay state taxes for a few years, spent $128,000 to win a seat on the Madison school board (yes, you read that right, more than a hundred thousand dollars), dumped $5 million into her bid for Governor, plagiarized most of her "jobs plan" as well as other position papers, and lies about just about everything anyone asks her. The fact that she is a toss up against Gov Scott Walker just proves how corrupted the dem party and those who support it have become.
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        • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
          We have to also remember that this liberal candidate for governor and disgraces State Commerce Secretary is so smalrt she spends $5million to run for a job that pays $200,000 and spent $128,000 to get elected to a liberal school board in our state capital that pays less than $50,000. Seeing how smart she is at spending her own money one can only imagine how smart she will be at spending other people's money. Some in the democratic party like the idea of hiring the unemployed as governor. She has not ever had a real job one jobs her family connections have made possible. Those jobs she was fired from.
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          • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 1 month ago
            If she gets the governorship of Wisconsin, it will be worth far more than $5 million to her in the long run; undoubtedly it would cost us far more than that. Scott Walker has hurt the socialists in Wisconsin right where it hurts - in the pocketbook. They are having a much harder time looting our money there now. If she wins, then the looting begins anew.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 1 month ago
    I am sure, mdk2608, that, while Mr. Thompson's (er, Mr. Obama's) administration will eventually be terminal, the sheer length of Atlas Shrugged convinced you that it may be a very long time indeed before the death of socialism happens. You and I are likely to have died first.
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    • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
      You make a very good point. Sadly each new generation coming up does not learn history and repeats the mistakes of previous generation and socialism gets reborn and reinvented. As the world becomes more enpoverished in 3rd world nations more people will look toward socalism as the answer. My own believe is that socialism can die but it will take a significant major event to make it happen. This event will result in so much pain and suffering that the masses will look for another answer hopefully the snawer is freedom and less government.. I am afraid this event may be more severe that Rand depicts in Atlas Shrugged. I hope I do not see it but like most of this site we worry about our children and those not even born yet. We must also face that we live in a world that can be completly different before sunset or sunrise. This has never before been the case in world history. Therefore this event may come quicker than we realize. I believe our system of government can outlast one individual over 8 years. Can we withstand 2 or three Obama-like leaders in a row? I do not know the answer.
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      • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
        Fiscally, we've had O or O-lite since Bush1. Reagan did some good in rolling back gov't, but not enough. The only reason that we had decreasing deficits in the '90's was the BabyBoom generation hitting their peak income/spending in that decade.
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      • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 1 month ago
        Actually I think the repeating happens for mistakes made just over a lifetime earlier, so 3 generations instead of 1. The more frequent mistakes aren't related to history, they are somewhat different cons, because the con-men remember the cons within their lifetime, too.
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  • Posted by ddustin 10 years, 1 month ago
    One video that I think is helping is "Fear the Boom and Bust". It has nearly 5 million views now.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo...

    There is also a follow up video with nearly 3 million views.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzm...
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    • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
      I don't think that we make enough of the point that Keynes made about a broken window being good for the economy because the glass seller has a new customer. If that were true, then we should break all the windows and make a boom economy. Of course, the fallacy in that logic is that it comes at the cost of the owner of the window now needing to expend money on something that doesn't advance his business, being a total drain. But then, isn't that the fundamental economic theory of the left - inhibit those who create/provide in favor of those who leech off the productive.
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      • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 1 month ago
        Agree. Just nuke the entire world to improve the economy to the ultimate.
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        • Posted by plusaf 10 years, 1 month ago
          Yes, FFA, but some folks do point at how Japan's done well after BEING nuked some time back, and make the suggestion that the same catharsis might work in Detroit... :) </joke>
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          • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
            1) Detroit is doing a pretty good job itself of destroying the decay - they're tearing down buildings at a record pace.

            2) The entire Japanese economy and industry was devastated during WWII. We make a big deal about the 2 nukes, but we had been carpet bombing the industrial centers for much of the war, certainly the last year. This ended up being a "good" thing for Japan, as their steel industry had to be totally rebuilt from the ground up, and they did so with modern methods and technologies. MacArthur brought in Dr. Deming to teach them quality methods (after Detroit had rejected his approach, by the way - how ironic). And the Japanese culture is one of incessant incremental improvement. They are never satisfied and always looking to make it just a bit better.
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    • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
      These are very well done. I thought the end of the 2nd quite realistic - with Keynes being declared the winner despite all evidence that those theories don't and haven't worked.

      I disagree the statement that the Hayek portrayer makes that WWII was a single point where gov't spending worked - it didn't. Even FDR's own Tres Sec stated that all the gov't spending did nothing to wrench the economy out of the depression.
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      • Posted by ddustin 10 years, 1 month ago
        It can be a little hard to hear the words but the statement Hayek makes is that 100% employment through war leads to people starving. His point is that "employment" is not the goal that matters. Here are the lyrics for reference:

        KEYNES
        You too only see what you want to see
        The spending on war clearly goosed GDP
        Unemployment was over, almost down to zero
        That’s why I’m the master, that’s why I’m the hero

        HAYEK
        Creating employment’s a straightforward craft
        When the nation’s at war, and there’s a draft
        If every worker was staffed in the army and fleet
        We’d have full employment and nothing to eat
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        • Posted by ddustin 10 years, 1 month ago
          The Hayek in the video is very anti world war spending working. Instead of saying that outright he is giving the reasons that make it obvious. Here is another section showing that:

          KEYNES
          We could have done better, had we only spent more
          Too bad that only happens when there’s a World War
          You can carp all you want about stats and regression
          Do you deny World War II cut short the Depression?

          HAYEK
          Wow. One data point and you’re jumping for joy
          the Last time I checked, wars only destroy
          There was no multiplier, consumption just shrank
          As we used scarce resources for every new tank

          Pretty perverse to call that prosperity
          Rationed meat, Rationed butter… a life of austerity
          When that war spending ended your friends cried disaster
          yet the economy thrived and grew faster
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          • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
            yeah, it's the "one data point" that got me. It's not a data point if it doesn't support the theory. That was my problem. Gov't spending for the war didn't get the US economy out of the depression. It was still in depression at the end of the war and only when the troops started to return home and begin to work, did the economy actually start to take off.
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          • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 1 month ago
            "Too bad that only happens when there’s a World War "
            The Keynes characters wishes there were a way to have a deluge of deficit spending to prime the pump during recessions and surpluses to retire that debt during expansions without the need for war.
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            • Posted by plusaf 10 years, 1 month ago
              True.... in some alternate universe. Unfortunately for us, Keynes' "ideas" don't work all that well in ours.
              :)
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              • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 1 month ago
                "Unfortunately for us, Keynes' "ideas" don't work all that well in ours. "
                There should be two words for Keynesian economics, one for the notion taught in school (i.e. paying off debt during expansions and borrowing during recessions to avoid idle productive capacity) and another for the completely different notion most Keynesian critics use (i.e. excessively loose monetary policy and fiscal policies aimed at propping up politically connected industries.)
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    • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
      Thanks for sharing these. I stayed at that Hilton in the first video.Both of these are powerful in telling a message, plus it has an appeal to younger people. 5 million hits can make a huge difference. Considering MSNBC has only 124,000, this is a huge hit. If we could get more of these produced maybe we can turn the tide.
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  • Posted by $ AJAshinoff 10 years, 1 month ago
    This video reminded me of a conversation I had
    several or more years ago while driving from Phoenix to Las Vegas to see Networld Introp with one of my employees, a 24 year old naturalized Bulgarian national. On this long drive we talked political ideologies. He adamantly defended the merits of socialism and pointed out the flaws of capitalism. Rather than arguing for 4-5 hours (one-way) we examined his stance point by point. To make a long story short, he agreed that socialism is a wonderful ideology that is entirely unrealistic for human beings because of our inherent nature. :) The last I heard from him he went into business for himself driving a truck cross country, he doesn't laud socialism, and he's still very odd. :) Thanks for the video/reminder.
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    • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
      I think many of us have run into people like this. The more they talk the more their rational falls apart. Thats why I think the animations lat us see how ridiculous their postions are. Thanks for the comments
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  • Posted by NealS 10 years, 1 month ago
    Hilarious, it's just too bad that most of these sketches are true. Unfortunately I clicked over and watched this one at the YouTube site, and then got hung up there watching a bunch more of them. It's Saturday and us retirees gotta stop wasting Saturday watching these educational videos, we gotta find something more important to do.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 1 month ago
    "Granted some of the animations may have been produced at the spur of the moment just for fun, while others probably produced in some dorm room at 2:00 am., while others produced out of general frustration."
    Such things can change the world. I imagine many great ideas started during mundane activities like mowing the lawn and were developed in the middle of the night.
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  • Posted by jimslag 10 years, 1 month ago
    Excellent prologue but I have seen the video and plenty of others over the last few years. I get the Wisconsin analogy as I grew up there and can sympathize with the feelings of when is the snow going to hit and understand I am not going to see green from roughly the end of October to near the end of May. I grew up in Stevens Point and left there another lifetime ago in 1976 and moved to Denver, Colorado. At least there, the snow comes and is usually gone within a couple of days. Now in New Mexico and we only get the white stuff once or twice a winter and usually not more than a half inch or so. I keep trying to get away from that white stuff but it is usually only for a short time and then I am back in it.
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    • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
      Thanks for sharing you comments. Stevens Point is still a nice place and a nice place to grow up in. It is probably a little more of a university town these days. My goal is to retire in a warmer climate. Wen the weather changes and Daylight Savings Time goes off I can feel the cold in my bones. I envy your climate. Last winter was a difficult one up here
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      • Posted by jimslag 10 years, 1 month ago
        Yeah, I still have tons of relatives in the Central Wisconsin area, so I follow things up there still. My mom and stepdad just moved to Belize in February and I think I may be there in a couple of years. They love it down there and only come back to visit every 6 months or so and not during the winter. What area are you in?
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        • Posted by 10 years, 1 month ago
          I own a financial services firm in Pewaukee and am 54. I have heard some good things about Belize and have thought about it. I have never been there but have to make a trip there soon to check it out
          I have 1 son in high school ad a junior.
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          • Posted by jimslag 10 years, 1 month ago
            I had an aunt and uncle who lived in Waukesha and a cousin in West Allis, so I know the area there. I am 55 myself and left Wisconsin in 1976 and moved to Denver. I agree on the warmer weather, I shoveled more snow than I care to remember. Our concrete driveway was 4 cars long and 2 cars wide, so by the end of December, I was running out places to put it. So my piles got around 6-8 feet high. I was glad when my dad closed in the patio, that way I did not have to shovel that also.
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  • Posted by woodlema 10 years, 1 month ago
    I have always said Socialism/Communism IS the best form of government , however; a few things MUST be true for it to work.

    1) EVERYONE without exception MUST always work their hardest at what they do, and NOBODY is allowed not to work or be productive.
    2) EVERYONE must ONLY use what they need, not what they want EVER.
    3) The people in power MUST always do what is best for the masses not for themselves, and special interest will not be allowed to exist or have any say in how the government is run or its policies.
    4) All laws must be applied equally to everyone with no exception.

    The ONLY group I have ever heard of or read about that even came close to this was the Apache and Cherokee Indians in America, BEFORE the Europeans came to this country and corrupted them.
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    • Posted by teri-amborn 10 years, 1 month ago
      When you live hand-to-mouth then the future of your tribe is all that you have.
      In the case of Native Americans, they had no ability to store vast amounts of time. Their lives were nomadic and hence driven by lack...not by excess.
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      • Posted by woodlema 10 years, 1 month ago
        The Indians did jerk meat for the winter, the lived off the land. they were happy, and one interesting thing, there was no work for Lie, or Deceit in their language because it was not something they did until the Europeans came with their forked tongue.

        Key is they may not have had great storehouses, but they were a happy people.

        Also all 4 conditions MUST be met completely for Socialism or Communism to work. Since that will not happen it will never work.
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        • Posted by teri-amborn 10 years, 1 month ago
          True...jerky IS A Native American invention.
          I am 1/16 Lakota and realize that covenant breaking was a completely foreign thought to most tribes.
          Hopefully we are now able to spot it (covenant breaking...AKA adultery) and stop it before our government does it to each of us individually...!
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          • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 1 month ago
            BUT, there was still warfare between tribes with some forcing others out from where they had resided. This is nothing new - it is part of human history and seemingly the human condition.
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            • Posted by teri-amborn 10 years, 1 month ago
              That's mostly due in part to availability (or lack thereof) of mobile resources and the battle was about simple survival.
              Pretty honest, wouldn't you say?
              Now we war over "women's issues", drug abuse and various sundry things that are nonsensical and fighting them has the same result of not fighting them.
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    • Posted by $ blarman 10 years, 1 month ago
      Good luck finding any group of people who conform to your descriptions. When you take away the desire for the individual to pursue their own interests - their wants and desires - you essentially relegate them to slavery/roboticism. You co-opt free will and destroy the market. You chain up the free mind, because no one could then benefit from his own expression or invention.

      That and the minor little detail of finding leaders who aren't draw to power like a moth to flame.

      And if you really want to say that the American Indians had a life exemplified by the best government, you'll probably want to look into the histories of the wars of those nations. There is a reason they were the largest in people and territory, and it wasn't because of their system of government.
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