Signs of Progress

From Berlin, some encouraging signs of humanity's progress.

Not so long ago, the radical German Left used to labor day and night to justify the Berlin Wall (under construction in the photo), the guard towers, the fences, and the shoot-to-kill orders of the East German worker's paradise.

Now it is reduced to just complaining about the trains.

According to the Financial Times, the radical Left is blaming capitalism for the shutdown of the Berliner S-Bahn commuter railway. Last week, the company that runs the railway withdrew about two-thirds of its cars from service, after a derailment and safety checks showed about 4,000 wheels needed to be replaced.

Ulrich Maurer, the party's chief whip, complained, "The chaos in the Berliner S-Bahn is a lesson in the consequences of capitalism. It is a graphic depiction of where subservience to financial markets' greedy pursuit of profit ultimately leads."

Regretfully, Comrade Maurer missed a superb opportunity to trot out that old chestnut of authoritarian self-justification, "We caused death and suffering when we ran the country, but at least the trains ran on time."