Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A red-letter day


From the bottom of my heart, I am glad I told you all to stop reading at the Marxist-Leninist State heading on Pg. 214...re-affirming my belief that you all are of solid, hearts and minds. Good day for you, for me, not so much. So for tomorrow, to complete your Valentine's Day Quiz, blog you answers to questions 5 & 6, from the Hauss reading on the second half of Pg. 214.

(5) Explain the Cult of Personality that was prevalent in Communist systems. What type of legitimacy do these personalities have to lead? Did now President Obama have a Cult of Personality following during the 2008 campaign as some suggested?

(6) Explain nomenklatura in communistic systems. Can a comparison be made to any civic systems in the United States?

Blog your answers here (my preference) or bring me in the answer tomorrow. Enjoy Amanda's contribution of Communist valentine's above, read the rest of Hauss, Ch. 8, and cast your vote on the best valentine above in the comments section of this post. 

Happy Heart's Day!








17 comments:

James H said...

The cult of personality was the system in communist states in which there was excessive adulation of a single leader. Stalin is a great example of this idea, trying to create a god like image for his subjects. They have very strong legitimacy because they have the complete support of the people and few are questioning whether or not they should be ruling. Although Obama was very popular during his 2008 campaign, he did not have such a cult. He did have fervent supporters, but in general they were all just supporting a powerful campaigner and were hoping he would create “change.”

Nomenklatura is the system of lists that helps facilitate the CPSU’s appointments of trusted people to key positions. If a person’s name was on the Nomenklatura they had to be approved by the central committee staff to receive the job. If a comparison were to be made, it could be compared to the process by which the senate has to approve many appointees of the President. They control the fate of whoever is put forth by the president.

Oh, and as far as the valentines. Be mein ist am besten! (Be Mein! is the best)

Iman said...

Nomenklatura were a group of people in Soviet Russia and her satellite states who occupied mid-level positions such as governmetn beureaucrats, managers, teachers, et cetera. They were hired by the state and were generally members of the Communist Party. They formed a sort-of privilidged middle class in Communist
Russia, and were responsible for carrying out many of the policies of the state.

Tyler S. said...

nomenklatura: The system of patronage to senior positions in the bureaucracy of the Soviet Union and some other Communist states, controlled by committees at various levels of the Communist Party
Cult of personality: when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships, although some argue that Obama enjoyed a cult of personality during his 2008 campaign

Nick S said...

nommenklatura refers to several influentiial governmetn posts within the soveit union that were filled by members of the comunist party

Justine said...

5. The cult of personality is the adoration of a leader, usually because they are charismatic and persuasive. Their legitimacy is usually based on their claim that they act in the people's interests, after having overthrown some sort of system of oppression.
There was a sort of cult of personality for Obama during his 2008 campaign; the fact that he was young and African American generated a lot of excitement, and popular culture embraced him through paraphernalia such as songs.
6. Nomenklatura is the system of lists that facilitated the appointment of trusted people to important positions. In the U.S., there is the system of appointing people to civil service positions based on merit.

Taylor said...

5. Stalin convinced his supporters that he was the equivalent to a god. An individual will use mass media propoganda to create a flattering image of themselves. Many of Obama's supporters wanted to see him as a hero during the 2008 campaign. They wanted someone who could fix all of America's problems. Obama was unvoluntarily put in the cule of personality role by his supporters.

6. The nomenklature were a category of people who were approved by the central committee staff for key positions. All real debate withinkthe parties was forbiden.

Danielle L said...

Cult of personality was the change in culture that may communist countries experienced when strong leaders came to power where the leaders became symbols that some though were equivalent to gods and basically worshipped them. The legitimacy that they have to lead with is that the people believe in them and their power. I think President Obama did have a bit of cult of personality in his 2008 campaign because of how so many people flocked to his campaign and his whole "yes we can" schtick. He wanted to change the system (mostly welfare) and people believed that he could, which is why they elected him. He was a symbol of change himself, because he was the first black presidential candidates to gain so much momentum and to be elected.

Nomenklatura was the Soviet system of lists that facilitated the CPSU's appointment of trusted people to key positions. THis system was adopted by many other communist regimes. I suppose it could be applied to US systems in the sense that we have a clear system of hierarchy from local government to state to federal.

Ralf said...

5. Correct on quiz
6. Nomenklatura is the appointment of members with similar views to key positions in different departments in the government. This is similar to a patron system within the the US government.

Max K said...

Cult of Personality: The excessive adulation of a single leader. The leaders maintained various types of collective leadership in which a number of people shared power. This amassed power was thought to go well into the twilight of Communism. Obama would not be a Cult of Personality because he has not been put on a pedestal by the American people.
Nomenklatura: Appointments to key postions by a party and has to be apporoved by a Central Committee staff. This is like the American system where the most senior member is appointed to the committee chair in the HOR. And also how the President appoints memebers of his party to key positions.

Kyle D said...

(5) Many of the leaders in communist countries developed cult of personality into their because they wanted to limit any new ideas, political parties that would be a threat to the communist regime. Leaders assured their citizens that they were men of the people. Obama's 2008 campaign had some aspects of cult of personality as he attracted large crowds, he had his image faced on many posters, and merchandise. He gave many sppech that brough him flattery around the nation and around the globe.

6) The nomenklatura system was the way communist leaders assured thier rule as they picked close allies in hih ranking positions to maintain the polices of the regime.
it's comparsions to civic system isthe similarity of a spolis system in whci hpeople in urban cities who are supportive of head leaders as in communist countries can be on the short list for many positions.

On a another note, I felt Stalin's card was the best valentine as he dosent stall to send people to Siberia he won't stall for anybodys love.

Jibran said...

5. Correct on Quiz

6.Nomenklature was a category of people within the Soviet Union who held various high offices in all spheres of the country. They were only approved to serve in these said offices by the communist part. In the United States, members of any elite could be compared to this. This could also be compared to a version of Andrew Jackson’s spoils system in that high offices were not appointed by merit.

Chris Dickens said...

5. Cult of Personality in a Communist system is when a leader uses mass media and propaganda to transform their image in a heroic and positive way. Often these leaders have legitimacy through the support of the masses under the influence of their message.

Obama did not have a Cult of Personality in nearly the same way as Communist leaders before him, however through his iconic poster and speeches he did create a powerful image of himself.

6.Nomenklatura is a term used to describe the leaders of different apects of the country. The members were said to be of a higher class because of their elevated social position.
In the United States the system is not as clear but exists through the privelidges of politicans that have the power to appoint others.

Carolyn S said...

5. The cult of personality is where the citizens and followers worship and adore their supreme leader. In Joseph Stalin's case, he created a system where everyone was completely in love with him and his beliefs. It might have seemed like President Barack Obama had a cult of personality during his campaign, but he did not. He was a candidate that people liked because of the preceding president.

6. Nomenklatura was a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in all spheres of those countries' activity: government, industry, agriculture, education, etc., whose positions were granted only with approval by the communist party of each country or region. All the members were virtually part of the communist party. Corruption people, corruption.

Amanda Z. said...

5)A Cult of Personality is when a political figure gets a huge following based on their charisma. This popularity is often spread via propaganda and the leader is seen as a hero by the people. The government does this so that they can have complete control while keeping favor with the public. This cult of personality is similar to hero worship because the citizens of the country are so enamored with the leader that they follow what he says blindly and see him as almost God-like. This is especially common in communist or fascist countries where the government has complete authority over its people. Obama had a huge following during the 2008 election, and although some of his following fit the criteria of a cult of personality, this following was not gained via propaganda and there was still significant opposition to Obama. Therefore, I do not believe he had a cult of personality following.

6)Nomenklatura is when members of a specific group or party hold key positions in every faction of the country. For example, they are part of industry, education, agriculture, government etc. This is done on purpose so that the dominant party can control the entire country. This especially happens with Communist governments where they have the power to appoint key members in all areas of government so that they can excercise complete control over the state. The president can appoint cabinet members and recommend people for other factions of government work and has a lot of power over who heads different governmental departments which is similar to nomenklatura in Communist countries.

Angelica E. said...

5) A cult of personality is the very simple, yet powerful idea of a leader that can incite huge crowds filled with individuals that idolize this leader almost as if he was divine. I don't believe President Obama held a cult of personality because although he had emphatic supporters, they by no means worshipped President Obama as a god.

6) Nomenklatura is a list of names from which communistic leaders made appointments to key positions. An example of something like nomenkaltura in the united states is that the President may appoint people to his cabinet or the supreme court but it must be approved by congress.

Priya said...

The Cult of Personality was when mass media and propaganda were used to create an idealized hero image of leaders. This idealized image helped their legitimacy because of the popular support it garnered. The support that President Obama received during the 2008 election had similar aspects to the Cult of Personality following that was prevalent in Communist systems, however it was not on the same scale. His speeches were extremely well received by some groups but his overall support was not as massive as the popular support associated with the Cult of Personality.

Nomenklatura was a system which facilitated the appointment of a select group of people to positions of high esteem in the government. The people who held these positions generally had similar views to the people in power. This system is similar to the spoils system that was present in the United States.

Shilpa S. said...

#5 was correct on the quiz.

6. Nomenklatura is the system of patronage to senior positions in the bureaucracy of the Soviet Union and some other Communist states, controlled by committees at various levels of the Communist Party.
It is similar to the spoils system that was once employed in the US.