Failure of Communism

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Recommended: Communism in Russia 1990-1940

In theory, communism is a fantastic idea for society. According to Collin’s English Dictionary, communism is “a classless society in which private ownership has been abolished and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community” (Dictionary.com). While communism is most often erroneously associated with the Soviet Union and China, they are in fact a totalitarian deviation of the philosophical ideal. In a true communistic society, no government would be found. In a true communistic society, no government would be found. In practice, communism is doomed to fail due to the flaws of human nature. Two flaws in particular contribute to this collapse more than any other-- greed and pride. Greed is the man who needs what is not necessary for survival. Greed instills in men a thirst for power and wipes all charity from their thoughts. Pride is the man who looks down upon his peers, feeling that he is better than any other, or the man who seeks to rule over them and guide them through his apparent wisdom.

The governments of the former Soviet-Union and Romania, as well as present day North Korea, China and Cuba, are considered to be Marxist-Leninist states (a form of communism). These countries are ruled by a single, all-powerful government body, with a single individual as the head of that government. All people of the state are said to be equal, with no one above the other. Yet the ruler, advisors, and military live in better conditions than the commoners, already contradicting the basic ideals of communism. These governments take their hypocrisy one step farther by using the majority of the earnings of the citizens to support lavish lifestyles of the royal families or rulers, as well as the army of the nation...

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...ny things, both good and bad. For pride and greed to be found, one must think of themselves and only themselves. Of course, ants can not do that. One could argue that we, as a species, need our flaws to survive.

The failure of communism rests solely on our flaws as humans with greed and pride being at the forefront. Our inadequacies can be traced across every attempt at communism or form of communism. Until we evolve to the point of perfection, communism will not be able to exist without corruption and inevitable collapse.

Works Cited

Dictionay.com. n. p. Web. 20 Sept 2010.

Conover, Adele. “To Fathom a Colony’s Talk and Toil, Studying Insects One by One.” The New York Times. 27 April 2009. n. pag. Web. 21 Sept. 2010.

Rich, G.J. “A biochemical approach to the study of personality.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 23.2 (1928): 158-175. Print.

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