
Alvin Toffler Investigated by FBI for Communist Activities - rbanffy
https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/alvin-toffler-investigated-by-fbi-for-communist-activit-1828034656
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DoctorOetker
regarding the DETCOM list (the list of people to round up and imprison in an
"emergency" situation), I think it is safe to assume every modern nation has
such a list (or even multiple lists of different gradation/priority, probably
some traveling "sales"-man for swift round up involved too):

consider how quickly Turkey rounded up critics etc after the failed coup
attempt.

technology has only made tracking citizens much easier and more detailed

I wonder what would happen if such a list got leaked? would it automatically
prompt the listed people to be rounded up? or would it be too transparent,
such that the targeted people start collaborating?

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baybal2
I think, the prime majority of people arrested in Turkey were detained simply
based on the high school they graduated

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shams93
It didn't take much to get on the list back then just checking out a copy of
the Communist Manifesto from the public library was all it took to get on the
list. A lot of writers who were simply voracious readers with no
organizational connections to communists landed on the lists for their reading
habits alone.

~~~
e12e
Related:

"Pete Seeger on being Black Listed in America, 1965: CBC Archives":

[https://youtu.be/Y0_IME9WsHQ](https://youtu.be/Y0_IME9WsHQ)

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gfiorav
Not entirely related, but always amazes me:

In the US, the word “socialism” seems to be confused with ”communism” like
they were exchangeable. Mostly like people think vegan and vegetarian are the
same thing. Nazis and Soviets were both socialists, despite being classified
as right and left wing respectively.

There’s a lot of things the US could do so much better if it understood that
even hardcore republicans can be socialist and remain ideologically intact.

I guess we’ll have to find another word for it, since this one seems to have
been tainted during the Cold War.

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james1071
The Nazis were not Socialists. They came to power by opposing Communists and
Socialists, who were seen as a threat to middle class Germans and their
property. The Nazis and facists in Italy operated a dictatorship for the
benefit of corporations.

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gaius
_for the benefit of corporations._

It’s true that some corporations did very well under those regimes, but it’s
not accurate to say that enriching corporations is why they did what they did.
Hitler never thought “starting a war is the perfect cover for making my
buddies in the private sector rich”, he wasn’t angling for a lucrative post-
political career as a board member or a lobbyist or after-dinner speaker.

~~~
james1071
I did not say that every action was done for the benefit of corporations.

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gaius
_every action was done for the benefit of corporations_

Corporate interests were pretty low down the priority list in those regimes.
German corporations would certainly have been more competitive and profitable
if they had kept their Jewish workers and been permitted to use "Jewish
science". The Nazis merrily hamstrung the corporations in their territory for
the sake of their overarching ideology, they totally subordinated economic
interests to serve the State.

~~~
james1071
Here is a good reference.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_fascism)

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socceroos
The title alone invokes laughter. "Man investigated for links to communist
activity" like it's the bogey man. I feel a sense that old media is ratcheting
up the rhetoric like good doggys

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atemerev
OK, but it is no secret that Toffler indeed was a Communist and later a
committed Marxist. It is also known that the Soviets ran numerous spy rings
and infiltrated unions and worker organizations throughout the US; the Red
Scare was perhaps an overreaction, but it was not completely unfounded. So it
is no surprise that he was heavily watched by FBI and others.

(I am Russian, libertarian, and keep some interest in Cold War history. By the
way, Toffler authored amazing books; if you haven’t read “Third Wave” yet, you
totally should. It was finished in 1980 and it completely describes the future
of today: from societal anxiety from Silicon Valley automation to the rise of
Trumpism. I was really impressed.)

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collyw
Do people still take Gizmodo seriously after the dishonest reporting they did
of the Damore memo (i.e removing all links /references and calling it the full
memo)?

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klez
Well, they linked to the source in this instance. If you don't trust them you
can go and read the FBI reports directly and form your own opinion about it.

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collyw
I decided to write them off at that point (having read the fully referenced
version a few days before).

Thats why I ask the question.

