Student in my class debates Marxist professor

My English professor was discussing Marxism and essentially said that it's up to you do determine whether or not Marxism is good.

One of the students, who I presume may be a Sup Forums user, challenged the professor's assertions, saying that Marxism is objectively evil. A debate ensued.

The student said that Marxism has led to the deaths of millions. The professor countered the claim by saying that capitalism has led to the deaths of millions. He specifically noted America bombing Japan, the Vietnam war, and Cambodia conflicts.

The student became a stuttering mess. I felt bad for him, but I didn't want to challenge the professor because I didn't want to be graded more harshly for having conflicting view points.

The debate ended with the professor saying that capitalism is essentially on par with Marxism in terms of brutality and morality. He cited that true capitalism allows poor people to die off which is no worse than killing them deliberately because you are systematically killing the poor people under capitalism.

What would you guys have said to this professor?

I would say: American death toll is nothing compared to Soviet + Chinese death tolls

Soviets killed 60+ million
Add The Great Leap Forward and it's easily 100+ million. It's empirically proven that marxism is evil on a whole higher tier than you could possibly argue for capitalism.

I used to go to that shit hole of a university

Leave as fast as you can brother

What did capitalism have to do with Cambodia, I thought those were all commie death mobs

Those are not comparable. The deaths "caused" by capitalism were caused by wars and would probably have happened regardless of the system in place (geopolitics). The deaths caused by communism were directly caused by communism, were not the result of war, and were the communist country's own fucking people.

Capitalism and communism are two sides of the same coin. Read Evola and understand we are in history.

*understand where we are in history*

Same here

Protip: Bill Ayers literally taught there with full tenure and honors. Look up who he is if you don't know already

He's probably counter by saying there is no empirical evidence of that statistic being true.

I wish I could, but the alternatives are Loyola and DePaul. They're just as bad and twice as expensive.

He was saying that capitalism perpetuates itself by exploiting resources from third world countries.

He would have said that capitalist greed lead to the wars because it is based on the exploitation of other people.

>I would say: American death toll is nothing compared to Soviet + Chinese death tolls


but "death tolls" isnt really an objective measure as both Capitalism and Marxism were so badly implemented, bastardized and divorced from their theoretical premise that any discussion of each paradigm's relevant merits should not be based number of deaths supposedly that were a result.

Both C/M are theories. The only "evil" associated by them is on the hands of the users.

>The professor countered the claim by saying that capitalism has led to the deaths of millions. He specifically noted America bombing Japan, the Vietnam war, and Cambodia conflicts.
I'd point out how capitalism causes massive economic wealth, communism leads to starvation and collapse. Tens of millions starved to death in communist China and Russia because of communism. Furthermore, all of the conflicts he references are conflicts between communist and capitalist factions - so you can't attribute the deaths purely to any ideology. Communism has a much higher deaths per year rate than capitalism.

Why would we want to promote an ideology that has never succeeded, results in failure and economic collapse, has killed a hundred million in living history, and is morally preposterous?

>japan and vietnam
>having to do with capitalism

what the hell are your ((proffessors)) smoking.

You were at war with russia through proxy wars to stop the spreading of communistic influence.
That has nothing to do with capitalism

The idea that governments use of violence is obviously caused by a system of voluntary exchange is about as oxymoronical as Marxism itself.

Furthermore not helping someone is simply not the same as actively hurting them. Any claim to the country is further dismantled when one highlighted that it is self interest that has brought about the very goods and services said "professor" claims poor people are entitled to.

>He would have said that capitalist greed lead to the wars because it is based on the exploitation of other people.

And he would be wrong. The vast majority of the time the cause is geopolitics.

So cringe worthy when students do this. Just ignore the bullshit and come out the class passing. I promise you aren't changing anyone's views.

>America bombing Japan, the Vietnam war, and Cambodia conflicts.


Isn't he conflating capitalism, a system of economics, with statesmanship?

He is blurring the line and making it seem like capitalism is fascism or that a bunch of "capitalist's" (very abstract) made all the political decisions.

Basically, he thinks a government is capitalism which is absurd, as the last US president shows. This is becoming common - they always say capitalism but mean some type of abstract corporatism.

Circumventing evolution and social darwinism is the only crime. Let the poors die; flowers will grow on their bodies.

>le Sup Forums got BTFO by 101 basic retarded commie phrases that totally never have been debunked over 6 million times
>let pretend its up to debate that capitalism is just as bad as one of the most retarded delusional disfunctional idea retards ever fell for
>discuss
Tell more more about shit that never happend /leftypol/ while I sage and ignore your thread

He's right and no ideological system is inherently evil, including fascism, what's evil is when humans use said system to exploit those that aren't as powerful as they are

>objectively evil
Retard detected

>No empirical evidence
kek
This is indisputable by historians. Mass graves, the great famine in china, gulags, confessions from former soviet officials, etc there's more than enough evidence for any reasonable person.

I agree it's not the best measure, but in that situation the prof was basically saying "Both systems killed millions so it's a wash, you just don't know!"

>this copypasta again

Don't reply

I've been wondering what's the best plan if I encounter something like this. One idea is just pretend to be good little leftist and write everything with a extreme left wing slant and don't ever show power level or thoughtcrimes or wrongthink, etc but one worry about that is if later when the pendulum swings back I get judged harshly for the things I wrote in uni.
>didn't want to challenge the professor because I didn't want to be graded more harshly for having conflicting view points.
>So cringe worthy when students do this. Just ignore the bullshit and come out the class passing. I promise you aren't changing anyone's views.