The North Korean 2%

[Glowpun]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

 

[iguanaman]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

N. Korea is a dictatorship disguised as "Communist".

 

[Andalublue]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

Word: not everything that people call communism is actually communism. It's a bit like the USA. They might call it United...

 

[Helix]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

NK isn't communism. it's a cult centered around the Kim family and the military. sometimes when things are going wrong, i think about how happy i am that i wasn't born there.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

Probably government officials. That's the way socialism/communism works. The government are the 1% instead of the successful businessmen.

 

[Homer.]

North Korea isn't Communist, it's a Juche.
All references to Marxism-Leninism were removed from the constitution in the 90's, and the Songun doctrine, also in the 90's, formally designated the military, not the proletariat or working class, as the main revolutionary force in North Korea.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

North Korea isn't Communist, it's a Juche.
All references to Marxism-Leninism were removed from the constitution in the 90's, and the Songun doctrine, also in the 90's, formally designated the military, not the proletariat or working class, as the main revolutionary force in North Korea.

Regardless of what they decide to call it, it seems pretty communist/socialist to me. The government has all the power and the people have none. That's essentially the definition of both.

 

[DDD]

When will we liberate it also!

 

[ecofarm]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

Is this the only "communist" state that you've noticed is not a utopia?

 

[ecofarm]

When will we liberate it also!

Never. It has no social capital and no natural resources, nation building would be near impossible (plus, nukes). It's a pile of crap and will be staying that way for some time. If the Iranian regime gets nukes, it will do the same to its people.

 

[DDD]

Never. It has no social capital and no natural resources, nation building would be near impossible (plus, nukes). It's a pile of crap and will be staying that way for some time. If the Iranian regime gets nukes, it will do the same to its people.

All places have resources. The area is not a desert!

Plus it could join in with South Korea. What does South Korea has that it does not?

 

[Rainman05]

Who are those 2% NKs who can afford cosmetics, Italian suits, luxury cars and yachts while the rest of the country is at or near starvation? I don't see communism at work here.

but that is what communism is, in practice.

 

[Rainman05]

Never. It has no social capital and no natural resources, nation building would be near impossible (plus, nukes). It's a pile of crap and will be staying that way for some time. If the Iranian regime gets nukes, it will do the same to its people.

Actually, N. Korea has huge mineral deposits. It has the 2nd largest supply in the world of rare metals. Their value is estimated anywhere between 6 tril $ to 8 tril $ at the current rate. And who is the sole beneficiary of those minerals? China.

 

[ecofarm]

Actually, N. Korea has huge mineral deposits. It has the 2nd largest supply in the world of rare metals. Their value is estimated anywhere between 6 tril $ to 8 tril $ at the current rate. And who is the sole beneficiary of those minerals? China.

Then China should begin extraction and nation build the crap hole.

 

[Rainman05]

Then China should begin extraction and nation build the crap hole.

China is extracting... and it is not building up the crap hole. it is only extracting. That's the difference between a communist country and a capitalist country. If a capitalist country does business in a developing nation, it promotes the economy and allows for private enterprise to invest -> better infrastructure, better working conditions, etc.

if a communist country does business in a developing nation... well... it does it the communist way: Lets' share. You give everything to me and I will not let the big bad USA bully you in the UN and overall.

 

[ecofarm]

China is extracting... and it is not building up the crap hole. it is only extracting. That's the difference between a communist country and a capitalist country. If a capitalist country does business in a developing nation, it promotes the economy and allows for private enterprise to invest -> better infrastructure, better working conditions, etc.

if a communist country does business in a developing nation... well... it does it the communist way: Lets' share. You give everything to me and I will not let the big bad USA bully you in the UN and overall.

To be fair, China enters contracts with Kenya for highway building that include local workers and other mechanisms such that Kenya benefits directly. The US and Kenya have excellent relations. US support of Kenya in Somalia is a big reason; Kenya suffered developed world casualty rates thanks to various US measures.