Franco 'did alright'? He is to Spain what Mugabe is to Zimbabwe.

Ah well, we all have our political preferences. Some admire Mugabe for his succesful policy of land reform and driving out the minorities. Some will admire Franco for his torture of political opponents and his turning Spain into a backward hellhole of extreme Catholic conservatism.

War, destitution and backwardness. That is what Franco wrought. It only took Spain thirty years to turn Franco's hellhole into a flowering liberal, wealthy and democratic country. Spain is where's it's at for art, architecture and gastronomy. The hippest place in Europe. I've got a long standing bet running, to expire in 2015, that Spain will overtake Italy, France and Germany for GDP per capita within a decade. They're well on their way.

I can understand bitter, spiteful old Spanish Catholic creeps still lamenting old Spain. Back when you could simply report those of different opinion to somebody in some uniform, and that was that. Franco is for those born before 1930. And for those stuck in a perennial mental 1930's.



Quote Originally Posted by SwedishFish View Post
Communism is a radical liberal ideology, yet still a liberal ideology.
Indeed it is. The roots of some of communist's core ideas can be traced to a radicalisation of liberal ideas.

No matter what dilettantes of the history of ideas say on wiki.