Is really interesting the perspective we have about World's History. It doesn't matter how important an historical process is, what really matters is how much it means to you, to the time you are living in and how affects your personal life. For an average citizen is difficult to imagine what does 300 or 3000 years means, if it is related to you 10 years will mean much more than 100.This little introduction is to talk about Communism, something that is a really big deal for the baby boomers and even for younger people, something that influenced the life of almost every single person on earth, something than now, in 2010 looks so important for history but that some day will be resumed in 2 lines or in a single paragraph in some history book.
Why I'm saying this, that is so difficult to understand for someone who has suffered the Vietnam War, the military governments in Latin America or simply the fear of a final nuclear war between the US and de USSR?
I'm saying this because I have been thinking about the perspective and the size and influence of former Empires. The first example I will use is something that concerns directly to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America but that it has also influenced the entire western hemisphere and some regions of Africa and Asia. This first example is the Spanish Empire, Spain successfully controlled Latin America since the first quarter of the XVII Century until the first quarter of the XIX Century, 300 years of domination of a surface of nearly 18 millons square kilometers and the aniquilation of several languages and religions. Is hard to understand what did this Empire meant for generations and generations of native americans or europeans that were sent to the new world.
All latin american nations will celebrate during the next years the Bicentennial of their independence, countries that during this last 200 years has built its own identity and history. This 200 years period is still a century shorter than the Spanish domination of this part of the world and it seems to be much more relevant to latin american societies than the colonial times. So, if the 300 years that the Spanish's exerted sovereignty in Latin America are despised over the 200 yeras of independence of the american spanish speaking countries what can we say about Communism that influenced people life for only 74 years?
Yes 74 years, since the 1917 russian revolution until de dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Probably you will ask about China, Cuba and North Korea, in my defense I say that the "real socialism" threat ended with the Perestroika. These other Countries will, latter or sooner migrate to a market economy system.
If we think about older historical processes the size of Communism becomes almost insignificant, the Roman Empire controlled Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East for 400 years, and the Egyptian civilization developed for more than 3 millenniums.
We could continue with more examples, and we will always arrive to the same conclusion, the relevance of a certain Empire, civilization or historical process depends on the perspective of the observer, that's why I say that Communism is a big deal for us, but some day will be explained in 2 lines, because 74 years in world's history is only that, 2 lines.
Why I'm saying this, that is so difficult to understand for someone who has suffered the Vietnam War, the military governments in Latin America or simply the fear of a final nuclear war between the US and de USSR?
I'm saying this because I have been thinking about the perspective and the size and influence of former Empires. The first example I will use is something that concerns directly to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America but that it has also influenced the entire western hemisphere and some regions of Africa and Asia. This first example is the Spanish Empire, Spain successfully controlled Latin America since the first quarter of the XVII Century until the first quarter of the XIX Century, 300 years of domination of a surface of nearly 18 millons square kilometers and the aniquilation of several languages and religions. Is hard to understand what did this Empire meant for generations and generations of native americans or europeans that were sent to the new world.
All latin american nations will celebrate during the next years the Bicentennial of their independence, countries that during this last 200 years has built its own identity and history. This 200 years period is still a century shorter than the Spanish domination of this part of the world and it seems to be much more relevant to latin american societies than the colonial times. So, if the 300 years that the Spanish's exerted sovereignty in Latin America are despised over the 200 yeras of independence of the american spanish speaking countries what can we say about Communism that influenced people life for only 74 years?
Yes 74 years, since the 1917 russian revolution until de dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Probably you will ask about China, Cuba and North Korea, in my defense I say that the "real socialism" threat ended with the Perestroika. These other Countries will, latter or sooner migrate to a market economy system.
If we think about older historical processes the size of Communism becomes almost insignificant, the Roman Empire controlled Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East for 400 years, and the Egyptian civilization developed for more than 3 millenniums.
We could continue with more examples, and we will always arrive to the same conclusion, the relevance of a certain Empire, civilization or historical process depends on the perspective of the observer, that's why I say that Communism is a big deal for us, but some day will be explained in 2 lines, because 74 years in world's history is only that, 2 lines.
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