Ah, but I do: You could take Communist (or a more particular ist like Leninist, Stalinist, Maoist, etc.) rhetoric and reshape it into something a silver-tongued cannibal would say, no? Cannibalism and Communism do have this quality of self-consumption which always makes me think of Ouroboros, which is traditionally a cyclical system, but if you look at the creature itself, a snake or a dragon (drake?) it becomes clear that it can't really be cyclical, since it will eventually eat itself. Also, if it lays eggs, it will eventually do so into its own stomach. Prions are a problem and I think that metaphorically they are present in many ideologies. For example, I lived in a Communist country for a while and it became clear shortly after moving there that very, very few people had read The Communist Manifesto. Instead, they were told things about Marx and his work by people who were also told about the work, but had never read it and that this had been repeated several times. Thus, their beliefs and ideas about what Communism should be in theory and in practice were formed by an (most likely intentionally) imperfect transmission of the the original ideas.part of the play in it is that it's taking Communism to a crazy extreme level, where it's like "Oh your body should go to feed everyone, it's selfish to keep your limbs to yourself" but I'm not sure how successfully that comes through here honestly. You don't mention it in your comment which makes me think maybe it doesn't.
but what if the two people in the poem were to discuss it further, if the one suggesting that they eat the arm actually convinced the other one that it was the thing to do?
Ah okay! To be frank I'm not familiar with Communism and certainly not the more particular ists but Wikipedia could help me with that. This would become an interesting dramatic monologue if I took it in that direction I think! Maybe the Ouroboros survives by eating its own eggs :) | Instead, they were told things about Marx and his work by people who were also told about the work, but had never read it and that this had been repeated several times. Thus, their beliefs and ideas about what Communism should be in theory and in practice were formed by an (most likely intentionally) imperfect transmission of the the original ideas.| I've been listening to a history podcast about Martin Luther and the printing press and how monumental all of that was at the time. What you are saying makes me think of that; it's like a modern-day version in a way, just with of course The Communist Manifesto instead of the Bible. Don't trust people to interpret words for you. Eventually, someone will twist them to their advantage. (This is not pointed specifically at you, more of a general 'you.') I'd try not to trust anyone who told me I was too dumb to understand a book, too...which I think was a tactic used by the Catholic church back before Martin Luther and the translation of the Bible into common tongues. Wasn't it Orwell - All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others?