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Stalin, Mao, Communism, and their 21st-Century Aftermath (Part V)—A Commentary by Adam R. Bogart, PhD
Part V of Dr. Faria’s book discusses espionage by the KGB and CIA during the Cold War.
Dr. Faria starts by listing four seminal books essential for students of Cold War espionage. He proceeds to summarize the most important spies with examples, such as Soviet espionage student Kaarlo Tuomi dialoguing with his instructor Aleksei Galkin. The exchange is fascinating, because it sounds like something Stalin himself would say or write for general consumption. Galkin justifies Communism’s barbaric acts as unpleasant and distasteful, but ultimately not immoral. He says anything that advances the cause of socialism is moral by definition. He then gives an incomplete condemnation of capitalism, with note taken of its positive aspects; then going further by saying it had its place in history, but its time has now passed. Tuomi wants to know if America’s greatness and power is due to capitalism. At first Galkin does not deny this, but then he goes into what the real factors are behind America’s success, and says they have nothing to do with capitalism. His reasons are not incorrect, but without capitalism, the greatness of the American people could never have been reasonably expressed. That’s why his explanation is ultimately not satisfactory.
As it turns out, Tuomi was not very helpful to the USSR. He was captured almost immediately after returning to America (where he had been born). The FBI agent working on his case was able to persuasively turn him into a double agent, with a great deal of benefits for the US. Tuomi had moved back to the Soviet Union with his parents at 17. He only knew Soviet propaganda when it came to comparing and contrasting the Americans and the Soviets. Now in the United States, he could not help noticing that the USA was nothing like his handlers had described to him. The rights and privileges of the average American citizen were something he could no longer deny. Along with this must have come a realization that capitalism was indeed the superior economic system. Enough had changed in his mind that he eventually told the US government all of the KGB secrets he knew. This was noble and patriotic, but it did put him on the perpetual KGB hit list. His life was in danger, but he died in 1995 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He had beaten them.
Covered next is the DGI of Cuba, which scored many victories against the US, and received a great deal of help from the KGB. What’s interesting is the explanation given for why American leftist still believe in the superior medical care obtainable in Cuba. Tourists and foreigners to Cuba are treated in 1st tier hospitals with excellent care, but these hospitals are not accessible by ordinary Cubans, who have to use the 2nd tier hospital system. Also, non-Cuban leftists tend to conflate “free medical care” with quality medical care. That is not the case at all in Cuba. In fact, some statistics show that medical outcomes in the US are better than those in socialized Europe. It is difficult to evaluate this further, however, because this is a highly politically charged issue, and one can find just as many sources claiming that the US ranks close to last in medical care, with one even claiming we are behind China. That is ludicrous on the face of it. China executes so many thousands of people per year; even Amnesty International is forced to admit there is no way of making a more accurate estimate. Most of the convicted in China were executed for little to no discernable reason. If human life is of so little concern to them, why would the outcome of their healthcare really be a priority?
What’s interesting is the explanation given for why American homosexuals were often targeted by the KGB as potential Soviet spies. It was not for the ease of blackmail (understandable in those days, as homosexuality was most often hidden) but because of the poor mental state of many homosexuals. People with personality defects were more likely to appreciate a KGB offer of training to be a spy. During this era, many of them might have felt an urge to pay back those who repressed them, and treason against the entire US society may be very appealing to them. This is not to say homosexuality is naturally associated with personality defects, rather in that era, homosexual persecution was much more acceptable and could be brutal. If some think we have gone too far in the other direction today, that doesn’t mean everything done to hurt homosexuals in the past was morally correct. Christ said to hate the sin, but not the sinner. So, there is little justification for oppression of homosexuals, even biblically.
Stalin, Mao, Communism, and their 21st-Century Aftermath in Russia and China (January 2024) by Dr. Miguel A. Faria was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. You can order the book from Cambridge Scholars Publishing. It is a beautiful hardback book, fully illustrated with over a hundred illustrations, including an insert with glossy color prints. For a 25% discount, enter code PROMO25 to redeem during your online purchase. Or email Cambridge Scholars Publishing at orders@cambridgescholars.com.
Read Part VI of this Commentary
Reviewed by Adam Bogart, PhD
Adam Bogart, PhD, is a Behavioral Neuroscientist at the Sanders Brown Center for Aging University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Behavioral Neuroscience Kent State University Kent, OH. Post-doctoral fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center Bronx, NY. MS Immunology conjointly Adelphi University/Mount Sinai Medical Center New York City, NY.
This article may be cited as: Bogart, A.R. Stalin, Mao, Communism, and their 21st-Century Aftermath (Part V)—A Commentary by Adam R. Bogart, PhD. HaciendaPublishing.com, July 20, 2024. Available from: https://haciendapublishing.com/stalin-mao-communism-and-their-21st-century-aftermath-part-va-commentary-by-adam-r-bogart-phd/.
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