During my many conversations with COCAP volunteers and staff over the last week I have had to try and answer many difficult questions. Why does America undermine the ICC? What is true leadership? How do I think Nepal can develop its economy? None of these questions are easy, but perhaps the most difficult conversation I have participated in was with a young communist. Intelligent, well spoken and generally a good young man, this particular volunteer just happened to be a communist.

Our discussion started with why the State Department has the Maoists listed as a terrorist organization. This is in one sense a very easy question to answer and at the same time quite difficult. It is easy because any non-State actor using intimidation and violence to further their political goals will most likely end up on the list. At the same time each group and each political climate are so unique that the list often seems difficult to justify within the specific context of just one country. I think each of these “terrorist groups” grow from different situations and operate in different ways so they need to be considered and dealt with within that context. I have trouble believing that there is one basic set of rules that can dictate effectively how we should interact with every terrorist group on the planet.

Similarly I find myself here frustrated with our policies and attitudes towards communism. Simply stated not all communists are the same and not all of them should be treated in the same manner. I make no attempts to argue that communist states in the past have been ideal or even successful. I do however think that a communist party can contribute something to the political process. The Maoists in Nepal are no angels, and they have used violence and intimidation widely during Nepal’s civil war. Despite this Maoists do enjoy widespread support based on their ideas not their violent tactics. Nepal is a country with corruption among the political elite, huge economic disparity between the rich and the poor and a still rigid caste system that allows for pervasive discrimination. Whatever doubts you have about communism, and however wildly unsuccessful it has been once applied, communism’s basic idea revolves around equality. I think it is easy to understand why this core value would resonate with the poor and disenfranchised.

I am by no means a communist. I think that much should be clear. That being said, I think in America we tend to have a very simplistic view that democracy is good and communism is bad. It is simple, straight forward and we just do not want to develop our opinion beyond that. Writing off an entire ideology and deciding not to engage it in a constructive manner seems arrogant and irresponsible. There are certainly are communists out there who I think we should have nothing to do with, but not all communists are the same, and I really hope America policy can reflect this.

During our conversation I was impressed by this young man (who was not part of the Maoist political party) and thought the type of engaged conversation we had helped us both understand each other better despite our extremely different political leanings. At the end we still did not agree on much, but we agreed that we like talking and exchanging ideas, and that itself is an extremely positive thing.