Wildflower panorama

 

From March 13th along US 183 south of Interstate 10 comes this floral panorama of sandyland bluebonnets (Lupinus subcarnosus), Indian paintbrushes (Castilleja indivisa), and phlox (Phlox drummondii).

 

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There’s a saying that goes at least as far back as 1742: “On ne saurait faire d’omelette sans casser des oeufs.” Attributed to François de Charette, it means “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” You’ll often find the adage attributed to Lenin or Stalin, who may have quoted it as a rationalization of the fact that to bring about the “glories” of communism there will have to be some “collateral damage,” as we’ve now taken to calling it.

I was reminded of the quotation because in reading Superabundance, a new book by Marian L. Tupy and Gale L. Pooley, I came to this passage:

Marx, as is well known, wanted to replace “exploitative” capitalism (i.e., commercial society so beloved by many “enlightened” thinkers) with classless, stateless, and moneyless communal living. Communist revolutionaries from the Soviet Union and China to Cambodia and North Korea consequently set out to create a Marxist utopia by eliminating capitalism. Communism brought about the destruction of the last vestiges of feudalism in the former Russian empire, parts of China, and some other places, but it came at the steep price of some 100 million lives.

That’s a whole lot of eggs for a few rotten omelets.

 

© 2023 Steven Schwartzman

 

 

 

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