austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil

52 THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL
extermination policies, but instead by poor living conditions that can
be attributed to the capitalist system which put a positive value on the
slaves' lives but not high enough to provide them with adequate food,
water, quarters, medicine, and sanitary conditions (Miller, 1988). To
provide perspective here, it should be mentioned that there is some evidence
that the death rate of the "free" white crew members who transported
the slaves was about as high as that of the slaves (Curtin, 1969),
providing an indication of the relative value (and the kill rate) of workers
in general under capitalism (but not implying a general intent to kill
them).9
From a legal perspective, the primary reason for not including deaths
related to pure economic exploitation in the atrocity count is the fact
that deliberately killing workers (even one's own slaves), was generally
against the law, even though such murder was only a misdemeanor in
the USA when the victim was a slave (Nicholson, 1994). Thus, under
this legal framework, the massive deaths resulting from capitalist economic
exploitation are not considered intentional killings. However, the
executions of runaway slaves are (although the numbers are too small
relative to the other USA mass murders to be listed separately in Table I
and are instead essentially incorporated into the "Other" account), just
as the mass slaughter of civilians of specific countries with bombings
and embargoes is counted as deliberate murder because it was not only
allowed but even ordered by the USA (and killing Indians in any fa shion
was obviously even more deliberate insofar as it was not only legal
but also encouraged by the USA with rewards of money and land).
CAVEATS ON THE REPUTATION OF COMMUNIST ATROCITIES
Given the distorted reputation of communist countries in the capitalist
press (Herman and Chomsky, 1988), some may find it surprising that
no communist countries made the top ten, especially since even many
skeptics of the mainstream media (and left-wing critics of the USA)
often recite the anticommunist propaganda they hear in the mainstream
press, such as by referring to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) as "one of the twentieth century's most bloody dictatorships"
(Str � bel and Peterson, 2000). However, the widespread belief that com-
. mumst governments have killed millions is largely a myth that is spread
by th � capi�list press, which is heavily influenced by the CIA and its
fanatical anticommunist allies (Blum, 1995).'0
INTRODUCTION 53
For example, many blame Pol Pot for the deaths of millions of his
own people during his rule of Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, with
some being executed for collaborating in the USA's murder of a half
million Cambodian civilians through aerial bombardments, and with
many more being killed for attempting a coup against him in reaction to
his military attacks on Vietnam revolving around a border dispute (Kiernan,
1996). However, the neutral Finnish Inquiry Commission investigated
and fo und that the number executed by Pol Pot was only between
75,000 and 150,000 (Herman and Chomsky, 1988).
While it is true that hundreds of thousands of Cambodians died of
starvation and disease under Pol Pot's regime, these deaths do not
appear to be any more deliberate than the poor who die of similar causes
under capitalism. In fact, many of these deaths were the result of the
USA bombings themselves, which had destroyed Cambodian agriculture
(via the destruction of 75% of its draft animals and substantial
amounts of rural housing, as well as the depopulation of the countryside
that resulted from millions fleeing to the cities to escape the USA
bombings). Despite a forecast by sources close to the USA government
that a million people would die in 1975 if Cambodia were deprived
of USA aid (which had been partially feeding the starving, refugeeswollen
cities before Pol Pot seized power), the USA not only stopped
aid after Pol Pot became ruler but also imposed an embargo against the
country it had so terribly bombed (Herman and Chomsky, 1988). Some
imports of food from communist China and Pol Pot's forcing of the city
dwellers to the farms shortly after his takeover in 1975 prevented the
disaster from being any worse (Kiernan, 1996).
It should also be mentioned that, subsequent to Pol Pot's removal
from power (which occurred after the Vietnamese army counterattacked
and occupied Cambodia in 1979), the USA supported Pol Pot in his
guerrilla war against the occupying Vietnamese troops (Blum, 1995). In
addition, given the USA history of using diplomacy, bribes, and extor­
tion to stir up tensions between communist countries (Griswold, 1972),
it is possible that the USA itself had played a part in promoting the
deadly rivalry between Cambodia and Vietnam that motivated many of
Pol Pot's killings (Klinghoffer, 1998). Regardless, Pol Pot's execution
of 75,000- 150,000 people is a horrible crime, although it is not enough
to make the top ten. 11