The Losers Club: the Swamps, Iran, and North Korea

The past century unfolded in a confrontation between two political-economic realities — capitalist and socialist. The first resulted from centuries-long evolution of social relations. The second turned out to be an artificial and extremely aggressive phenomenon. Moreover, at the beginning, socialism looked like some vague theory. It described the next, post-capitalist period of human development. Yet this ideology ultimately gave birth to what we now recognize as the Losers Club — nations that chose ideology over prosperity and aggression over development.

If we simplify Marx’s general idea, he advocated for fair distribution of labor results. Furthermore, he saw this fairness in the well-known principle of “Take away and divide.” He firmly believed in a simple plan: Take away the means of production from owners, particularly land. Distribute all this to the proletariat. Then socialism would come, and later — communism.

When Theory Meets Reality

But practice showed that leveling completely kills the internal core of any production. Eventually, there’s simply nothing to divide because there’s no one to produce. ollowing this, a new stratification of society occurs. Those responsible for distribution receive the main part of labor results. Under capitalism, the smartest, most persistent, consistent and hardworking get rich. Socialism lifts up demagogues and loudmouths.

Moreover, the very concept of social justice, which is the cornerstone of socialism, can be quite different, and sometimes — very different. Now it’s somehow not customary to say that both Stalin and Hitler built socialism. Yes, Adolf Hitler headed the National Socialist Party back in the mid-1920s. Ten years later, Joseph Vissarionovich proclaimed the union of socialist republics.

That is, the goals of these two builders of socialism were practically identical, just the means of achieving these goals differed somewhat. However, all the main tools were identical. Propaganda, the system of repressions, and even symbolism almost completely echoed each other, and the now-banned swastika was used by the Sovok¹ as its symbol even before Hitler.

Socialist Experiments: From China to Cambodia’s Killing Fields

Moreover, it was precisely according to Comrade Marx’s patterns that socialism was built in China and some other countries. The huge population of China levels out the number of victims who were thrown on the altar of socialism builders. But Kampuchea showed the purest experiment of accelerated revolutionary transition. They aimed for developed socialism and even communism. In just a few years, they destroyed a third of the population.

Comrade Marx’s theory died, not withstanding experimental verification. It triggers mechanisms that do not lead to general prosperity but inevitably lead to execution pits and large-scale massacres. Everyone who built socialism on Marx’s principles of class struggle got the same result. Devastation, mountains of corpses, cannibalism and other inevitable applications of this theory. The artificial entity that communists created died. But the confrontation in the world not only didn’t disappear. It’s gaining momentum and threatens to spill out into something very unpleasant.

The New Axis: What Binds Them Together

Characteristically, previously countries of different caliber, history, economic state and everything else were united by the same socialist-communist theory and corresponding ideology. Now you can observe in one harness the Swamps², Iran and the DPRK, which seemingly have nothing in common with each other. The Swamps is a country where mafia and fascism are closely intertwined. Iran is a theocratic state that stands on uncompromising religious positions. The DPRK — there came the era of pharaohs, and the public pisses their pants upon seeing their incomparable Kim Piggy.

Each of these countries has gone so crazy that from the side it looks simply wild. At the same time, each of them has every reason to record its partner as blood enemies. They don’t fit any criteria for an ally. Nevertheless, they play almost synchronously. They put up with each other’s obvious “problems.” They easily agree on enemies. Against these enemies, they act as a united front.

Such synchronization of actions indicates that there is some single idea that forms the unity of goals and methods of achieving it. Characteristically, this commonality is not based on unity of economic interests, let alone ideological or religious ones. Even the coincidence of two countries regarding what is their main source of prosperity (oil and gas) doesn’t mean anything because they are competitors in sales markets. And the DPRK has neither oil, nor gas, nor dogs, nor even rats for themselves, let alone for export. But practice shows that there is something in common, and it’s very significant.

The Losers Club: United by Failure

A closer look at these countries shows that the unifying factor of these countries is “losing.” These countries turned out to be unable to reach even an approximate level of development of those countries with which they are geographically located nearby or connected by blood, mentally or religiously. This failure to compete became the foundation of the Losers Club.

This is most simply manifested in the case of the DPRK. This is a pure, one might say — classic variant. Practically all neighbors of North Korea have shown the highest rates of industrial development and living standards of their citizens. First of all, this applies to Japan, but the brightest example is South Korea, which has become one of the world leaders in innovative, high-tech sectors of the economy.

With Iran, though not as obvious as with the DPRK, but still the same. Small Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have already built themselves a fairy tale in the middle of the desert. Note that there is also theocracy and Islam there. But they managed to build ultra-modern cities. They opened productions not related to extraction and processing of hydrocarbons. They created exemplary passenger airlines. These airlines connected the whole world with air routes. Their youth study at the most prestigious universities in the world. They confidently look into tomorrow when oil will stop bringing the main part of income.

Not having the opportunity to create something at home that they can be proud of and show neighbors how conveniently and in what abundance its citizens live, Iran strives to obtain nuclear weapons to show “Kuzka’s mother” to all those who overtook it and whom it simply cannot reach. So saber-rattling is the only thing they can demonstrate there.

The Swamps: Excuses That Don’t Hold Water

As already understood, the Swamps found itself in worthy company of the Losers Club. Usually, their propaganda is accustomed to explaining the low standard of living by harsh climate and consequences of World War II. Although this doesn’t withstand any criticism:

1. The climate of the inhabited part of the Swamps approximately corresponds to the climate of France or Germany, and countries like Canada, Finland or Norway have a harsher climate.
2. References to post-war devastation look funny, and sometimes openly idiotic. Most of Germany was destroyed, and industrial centers were bombed to rubble. Approximately the same thing happened to Japan, which also survived atomic bombing.

Compare the standard of living in the listed countries with the standard of living in the Swamps… Or should we take into account the gigantic natural resources that no country in the world has?

The Core Principle: If You Can’t Build, Destroy

So, the Losers Club to which the Swamps, Iran and the DPRK belong united around the main principle — the desire to mess things up for everyone, and first of all — for their neighbors. This is done because their own crookedness, envy and the leadership’s desire to stuff their faces don’t allow them to become a subject of respect or envy. They want to be respected if not for obvious achievements, then at least for the force they threaten to use.

If you can’t do better than others, you can try to make it so that others can’t do anything. Characteristically, the population of these countries perceived this idea as something great and considers this desire almost sacred. The Losers Club turned destruction into a badge of honor.

It is for this reason that there arose a confrontation between the world that is trying to build itself a clean, spacious and bright home on one side, and those who want to sneak into this house by deception and mess it up as much as possible — on the other. The whole question is when the adequate world will get tired. Tired of cleaning out from their homes what these “beauties” bring.

Sovok¹ – sarcastic abbreviation for “Soviet Union,” derived from “Sovetskiy Soyuz”. The word also means “dustpan,” carrying a double connotation of trashiness and backwardness.

Swamps² – ironic name for Russia, emphasizing decay, stagnation, and filth.