Young Americans need to learn communism’s true history

Washington Examiner ^ | 31 Aug, 2026 | Washington Examiner

[MtnClimber]

Socialism is gaining ground, particularly among younger adults. It is sometimes modified with the word “democratic,” as in the name Democratic Socialists of America, but the modification is lipstick on a pig. Socialism and communism spring from the same desire to elevate government over family.

That makes it important for students to understand where the militant ideology has led in practice. A new public school curriculum in Florida offers a model for doing that.

Public school students in Florida will take a course this year that was approved in November 2025 by the state Board of Education: History of Communism Standards.

“With the resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world, it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes,” Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said.

Winston Churchill famously said that communism “is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy,” an ideology whose sole virtue “is the equal sharing of misery.”

Churchill predicted that communism, for all its pretensions to deliver a more equitable future, would prove ruinous. He was right, although that did not stop a generation of Western leftists and “fellow travelers” from whitewashing communism’s evils and advocating its superiority over capitalism.

It would be hard to overstate the mass suffering perpetrated by radical egalitarian ideology. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin allegedly said that while “the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is [but] a statistic.” Statistics offer a grim look at communism’s true cost.

Communism murdered no fewer than 100 million people, according to a reasonable 1997 estimate. That far exceeds the 70 million military personnel and civilians who perished in World War II, the deadliest war in history.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: leftism

[Honorary Serb]

“Noo” Socialism is really “old” communism!

Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, etc. etc.! Utterly evil!!

[Vaduz]

The main problem with communism in practice is its reliance on central economic planning, which lacks a functioning price mechanism to efficiently allocate resources, leading to severe shortages, inefficiency, and a lack of individual and economic incentives.

And a hell of a body count.

[muir_redwoods]

I was in college in 1969 working a summer job in a machine shop in Connecticut. All of the work was defense related Easily half the machinists were refugees from the East bloc.

That summer as we neared July 4th I saw more red, white and blue than in any other place I’ve ever worked. The victims of socialism knew when they had it good.

[Dick Bachert]

GREAT IDEA. PAY ATTENTION:HERE'S LESSON NUMBER ONE:

[iontheball]

If all young Americans would join Scott Walker’s Young America’s Foundation they would get the mentoring they need to become great citizens of America. Those who have college age kids need to look up their kid’s college chapter of YAF and get their child into the Foundation before their minds are corrupted. Become pro-active or run the risk of losing your child to the Communists.

[MtnClimber]

Thanks for the recommendation.

And maybe more states can FORCE their public schools to teach this important history.

[Carriage Hill]

Socialism is a 3-5yr “rest stop” on the way to full-blown communism.

[chickenlips]

Asking young tech oriented youths to read is likely you wasting your time.
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That’s a sad commentary there. The problem with most listeners is that they are rarely focused on what they are listening to. But you are right it is better for them to be exposed to this profound writing in some form than be totally ignorant of it.

We’re evolving into Eloi at an alarming rate and AI is going to finish the job. sigh

There is a version of “The Law” for children. It’s one of the Tuttle Twins books. It makes a great gift to young children that like to read or have parents that read to them.

[ProgressingAmerica]

The tuttle twins books are excellent.

You may get lucky from time to time getting people to read. But in this day and age, having it on YouTube can only increase your percentages.

Good luck.

(And even if listeners are partially disengaged, 70% of something is better than 100% of nothing???)

[wafflehouse]

there is no grimmer, more horrifying story than the story of communism’s rise, and it doesnt matter where. it all happens the same way (more or less). russia, china, cambodia, wherever.

[wafflehouse]

Stupid only learns through pain

a lot of pain, and its collective punishment

[TwelveOfTwenty]

It isn't just the young generation that needs the lesson in communism. It was the previous generations that offshored our manufacturing, technology, tax base, and money, not to mention their futures, to a communist country. This was after that same country had stolen our military technology from right under the noses of the Clinton administration.

All our kids know about capitalism is that it offshored their future career opportunities and left them with part time jobs saying "Fries with that?".

I see that we gained manufacturing jobs last month, so maybe things are finally turning around.

[jmacusa]

Went to a public junior high in the 70’s and we were taught the same thing.

I remember in particular the book we were given was a small thing, maybe five by five but it laid out the differences between the two systems.