Revolutions are contagious.
David manages to put his finger on the reason why even leftist governments did not like the social revolutionaries that they found themselves pitted against. Citizenry with the potential to rise up against unpopular leadership is never an attractive prospect to a government, whether they are left or right leaning. David could never understand why the Soviets did not support the social revolution, instead going up against them with as much force as the Spanish fascist government.
He is also correct in his observation in that once one revolution starts, others seem to follow suit. This is partly because it is inspirational for one set of people to see the revolution occurring in a country similar to their own, and partly because the same revolutionaries seem to travel from country to country, instigating the trouble.
We elect the officers and everything. It's socialism in action, not like the army back home.
David is so blinkered about communism and socialism that he cannot see instances where it might not actually work. The army does not elect officers because it promotes them based on skill, experience and suitability to lead the men and women under them. David believes that is the army was run on socialist lines then the troops would all vote in their officers, without paying any attention to whether or not they are actually cut out for military leadership or possess the skills to be successful in a combat situation. David believes that everyone should be voted to their position so that the most popular person always wins the job, or the position, but he is unable to see past his dogma to understand why this would be absolutely disastrous in almost every circumstance or situation.
