The leading cause of untimely death during the 20th Century was death by government. Of all of humanity’s inventions, government is clearly the most lethal. For most of the century, of course, government was not nearly as technologically advanced as it is today, nor was it as sophisticated in the sciences of psychology and persuasion. Could it be that the massive death caused by government during the 20th Century was merely a warm-up for the 21st?
“Among all the democide estimates appearing in this book, some have been revised upward. I have changed that for Mao’s famine, 1958-1962, from zero to 38,000,000. And thus I have had to change the overall democide for the PRC (1928-1987) from 38,702,000 to 76,702,000. Details here.
“I have changed my estimate for colonial democide from 870,000 to an additional 50,000,000. Details here.
“Thus, the new world total: old total 1900-1999 = 174,000,000. New World total = 174,000,000 + 38,000,000 (new for China) + 50,000,000 (new for Colonies) = 262,000,000.
“Just to give perspective on this incredible murder by government, if all these bodies were laid head to toe, with the average height being 5′, then they would circle the earth ten times. Also, this democide murdered 6 times more people than died in combat in all the foreign and internal wars of the century. Finally, given popular estimates of the dead in a major nuclear war, this total democide is as though such a war did occur, but with its dead spread over a century.”
Read more by researcher R.J. Rummel.
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