Books & Arts

83. Dead end, Communism
Jul 2nd 2009 From The Economist print edition

Mankind's biggest mistake

83-1-401
WHY did communism take root? Given its sorrowful harvest, why did it keep spreading? And what ever enabled it to last so long? Archie Brown's new history of communism identifies three big questions, perhaps even the biggest, of the past century.
At first sight, all seem puzzling. Communism was an impractical mishmash of ideas, imposed by squabbling zealots that promised much, delivered little and cost millions of lives. It is striking that 36 countries at one time or another adopted this system and that fiveCuba, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam and the biggest of them all, Chinastill pay lip service to it.
Communism's first big advantage was that it played on two human appetitesthe noble desire for justice and the baser hunger for vengeance. Mr Brown, emeritus professor of politics at Oxford University, traces communism's idealistic roots in the struggle against feudal oppression and beastly working conditions. The moral weight of Karl Marx's criticisms of 19th-century capitalism even won him praise from the high priest of Western liberalism, Karl Popper, a Viennese-born philosopher who emigrated to London. But the intoxicating excitement of revolutionary shortcuts attracted the ruthless and dogmatic, who saw the chance to put into practice Marx's muddled Utopian notionsand settle some scores on the way. "The more representatives of the reactionary clergy and reactionary bourgeoisie we succeed in killing, the better," wrote Lenin in 1922. Even so, many still resist the idea that the founding fathers of communism were murderous maniacs. Revolutions against corrupt and ossified regimes in countries such as Russia and China stoked a steamy enthusiasm that took decades to dissipate.

A. 어휘
dead end 막다른 곳, 막다른 골목, 궁지. harvest 결과, 수확량, 收穫(수확).
identify 확인하다. puzzling 혼란시키는, 困惑(곤혹)케 하는.
mishmash 뒤범벅, 잡동사니, 혼란상태. impose 강요하다, 떠맡기다.
squabble 다투다, 입씨름하다. zealot 열광자, 광신자. deliver 산출하다, 배달하다.
adopt 採擇(채택)하다. pay lip service to ...이게 입에 발린 말을 하다.
play on 자극하다, 이용하다, 허점을 노리다. appetite 욕망, 욕구, 식욕.
base 비열한, 천박한, 低劣(저열)한, 이기적인. hunger 열망, 갈망, 굶주림.
vengeance 復讐(복수), 앙갚음. emeritus professor 명예교수.
trace 거슬러 올라 조사하다, 追跡(추적)하다. idealistic roots 이념적 뿌리.
feudal 봉건적인, 봉건시대의. beastly 열악한, 비천한, 잔인한, 야만적인.
priest 禮讚者(예찬자), 옹호자, 성직자.
emigrate (타국에) 이주하다, 이민 가다. intoxicating 陶醉(도취)시키는.
revolutionary 혁명의. shortcut 理想鄕(이상향)에 도달하는 지름길.
the ruthless and dogmatic 무자비하고 敎條的(교조적)인 사람들.
muddle 뒤섞다, 혼란시키다, 망쳐 놓다, 몽롱하게 하다. notion 개념, 觀念(관념).
representatives 대표자, 국회의원. reactionary 반동적인. clergy 성직자들.
founding fathers 창업자들. murderous 살인의, 잔인한, 흉악한 maniacs 미치광이.
corrupt 부패한. ossified 骨化(골화)된, 硬化(경화)된. regime 정권.
stoke 불을 때다. dissipate 구름-안개를 흩어지게 하다, 가시게 하다.


83-2-402
The communist block also had two bits of good fortune. The economic slump of the 1930s discredited democracy and capitalism. Then came Hitler's disastrous attack on the Soviet Union. The victory over fascism in Europe gave the Soviet Union, an ally of America and Britain, renewed moral weight. Given what had happened in Russia under Stalin in the 1930s, that hardly seemed deserved. As Mr Brown notes, Stalin trusted the Nazi leader more than he trusted his own generals. The Soviet Union killed more top German communists than Hitler's regime did. Yet in some countries, Czechoslovakia for example, Soviet forces were initially welcomed as liberators, and Stalinist regimes took power with a degree of popular consent. In other countries, such as Poland and the Baltic states, it looked different: one occupation gave way to another.
The promised communist nirvana brought a mixture of mass murder, lies and latterly the grey reality of self-interested rule by authoritarian bureaucrats. But it was a bit late for second thoughts. Communist regimes proved remarkably durable, partly thanks to the use of privileges for the docile and intimidation of the independent-minded. Another source of strength was tight control of language and information that deemed most criticism unpatriotic. Cracks came as information spread, especially about the system's bogus history and economic failings. Nationalism was a potent solvent too, particularly in places such as the Baltic states, that felt they were captive nations of a foreign empire.

A. 어휘
the Communist block 共産陣營(공산진영).
discredit 신용을 떨어뜨리다, 믿지 않게 하다. disastrous 災害(재해)의, 파멸적인.
ally 동맹국. deserved ...을 받을 만한 자격이 있는. general 장군. regime 政權(정권).
Soviet forces 蘇聯軍(소련군). initially 처음에는. liberator 解放者(해방자).
a degree of 어느 정도의. consent 동의, 黙認(묵인). occupation 占領(점령).
nirvana 지상낙원, 涅槃(열반), 解脫(해탈). mass murder 대량학살.
latterly 말기에는, 최근에. self-interested 私利私慾(사리사욕)의.
authoritarian 독재주의의, 권위주의의. bureaucrat 관료. remarkably 주목할만하게.
durable 질긴, 耐久力(내구력)이 있는. thanks to ...때문에. privilege 특권.
the docile 유순한(순종적인) 사람들. cf. the+형용사→복수보통명사.
intimidation 위협, 협박. deem 생각하다, 간주하다. criticism 비판.
unpatriotic 非愛國的(비애국적)인. crack 째진 틈(금). bogus 가짜의, 위조의.
nationalism 민족주의. potent 강력한. solvent 해결사, 溶媒(용매).
the Baltic states 발트 諸國(제국). empire 帝國(제국).