Adolf Hitler vs Joseph Stalin vs Mao Zedong vs Pol Pot

[phk]

Mao Zedong    

[minionofmidas]

Pol Pot has a curious distinction on that list.  For better or worse (hint: worse), the other three leaders on that list strengthened and united their countries, all three of which were in chaotic states of distress before their leaders arrived, and made them a force to be reckoned with on the international stage.  Pol Pot, on the other hand, destroyed his own country to the point where even VIETNAM said "enough is enough."  Pol Pot stands with Enver Hoxha and a few others as leaders who (intentionally?) sabotaged their own countries and ran them into the ground.

That is flat out incorrect. Pol Pot was as much a result of the preceding chaos and distress as Mao and Stalin. The differences are largely due to the very different - almost incomparable - countries involved (and of course that Pol Pot wasn't the final winner of the Cambodian civil war). If you want to finger one of these as the odd man out on that count, Hitler is a better choice than Pol Pot.

(Full disclosure: I voted for Pol Pot in this poll, on the somewhat whimsical basis that, unlike Mao and Stalin, he actually believed in the crap definition of socialism he practiced.)

[Sewer]

Bump.

[useful idiot]

I'd rather live in Hitler's Germany than under any of the others, and I'd like to live in Pol Pot's Cambodia the least....

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Stalin

[k-onmmunist]

Worst to "Best":
Mao
Stalin
Hitler
Pol Pot

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I look like an "intellectual" who has been on occasions mistaken for being Jewish (and has friends who are Jewish) so....

I'll write in Ali Soilih thank you very much.

[DownWithTheLeft]

As I voted in the past, among maniac murderous dictators I always take Hitler

[7,052,770]

Worst

Stalin
Pol Pot
Mao
Hitler

"Best"

[© tweed]

I've taken to disliking Stalin more than any figure in history

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I've taken to disliking Stalin more than any figure in history

Why?

(Not that I would necessarily disagree.)

[Alexander Hamilton]

Stalin
Mao
Pol Pot
Adolf

Of course, people don't like that I argue this, but it's completely true. Only idiots like constine disagree.

[You kip if you want to...]

Stalin - Best
Mao
Pot
Hitler - Worst

[useful idiot]

Stalin - Best
Mao
Pot
Hitler - Worst

What standard are you judging by? Would you rather live as a Russian under Stalin than a German under Hitler(I don't think standards of living are comparable at all)? If you're going by numbers killed then Mao is the worst, with Stalin in second place. I guess I just don't get your logic...

[Хahar 🤔]

Hitler's Germany would be by far the most pleasant to live in.

[Eraserhead]

I've taken to disliking Stalin more than any figure in history

Why?

(Not that I would necessarily disagree.)

Because he wasn't Trotsky, obviously.

[Gustaf]

Looking at this from the proper perspective (which, imo, is what leader would I like to have as my leader) Pol Pot is clearly the worse.

After that comes Stalin, since he killed people randomly and constantly. There was no way to safe-guard yourself from that.

Even though I do have some Jewish ancestry myself I know, partly because of that, that it was possible to survive Nazi-Germany even with that given. For me Hitler takes it over Mao on sheer competence.

[Hash]

It is a scary thought to see that Hitler is the least 'dangerous' of these maniacs. Ugh.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

It is a scary thought to see that Hitler is the least 'dangerous' of these maniacs. Ugh.

Not really (this is adressed to Gustaf too). Just that Hitler had better(? - perhaps the word should be "less incompetent") advisors.

[Boris]

what's mildly interesting is that you can play as Stalin/Mao in numerous video games, but not as Hitler. For example, in the Civilization IV World War II scenario, you can play as Stalin on the Soviet side, but only as Vice Chancellor Franz Von Pappen on the German side. I mean, I see why this is the case (one being that the game couldn't be sold in Germany, and Stalin/Mao didn't kill Westerners, the target audience of video games), hence the "mildy interesting" tag.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm a Socialist, an intellectual (I guess) and have a surname that looks more than slightly Jewish. I don't think that things work out well for me, either way.

[DownWithTheLeft]

This forum is getting much wiser from the days when a vote for Hitler over Stalin was seen as being anti-semetic

[© tweed]

I've taken to disliking Stalin more than any figure in history

Why?

(Not that I would necessarily disagree.)

at the forefront of the tragic history of the left wing.  a less narcissistic man in his position would have had the capability to do so much good.  I'd elaborate but I don't care to.

[© tweed]

take Spain for example.  any leftist with half a heart, three quarters of a brain, and sight further than the tip of his nose would have poured the guts of the movement into protecting what had been established.

[War on Want]

I voted for Stalin quite a long time ago but I'd go with Hitler now.