Throughout the course of history there have been numerous ideas and designs for the structure of a community. Democracies and dictatorships are two examples of designs for the structure of a community. There are many political structures that are very successful, as well as other political structures that fail due to lack of support or the way the political system is structured. There also exist community structures that only exist theoretically. One type of community structure that is theoretical is Socrates idea of a just society. Socrates' design is referred to as Socratic communism. Socrates' claims that in order for a society to be successful; every aspect of the society must work in harmony with all other parts of the society. Socrates' puts a heavy emphasis on a censored education, the abolishment of family, class divisions and the use of lies. Socratic communism is advantageous because it creates a society that is fully functional and one that has no tolerance for discontent among its members.
One of the most important aspects of Socratic communism is education. Socrates says that the "just city" thrives on every member of the society being well educated. This education must also be heavily censored. A censored education is very advantageous because it improves the quality of life for everyone and also puts an end to corruption. A non-censored education can lead to people believing in unjust causes. A censored education causes total uniformity and equality within the society. People would be unable to form their own opinions, which would mean that in most cases there is only way of doing things. Human emotions would be very limited, which would put an end to many everyday problems that can occur in a community. Although this aspect of Socratic communism eliminates the uniqueness and individuality of a person, it is necessary to do so in order to have an efficient and just society.
Another important feature of Socratic communism is the abolishment of the family. Abolishment of the family is advantageous because it gets rid of people's natural affection towards one's own. In order for a society to progress, there must be people or groups of people that are better and more accomplished than others. In a Socratic communist society there is an incentive for progression. This incentive is sex
Socratic communism uses something called the noble lie. The noble lie ensures that every member of the society is happy.
Communism versus Capitalism is a debate that has raged on for over two centuries. Whether to allow everyone equal opportunities and to do with those opportunities as they please or to mandate class equality in order to keep peace has in itself been the cause of wars. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels saw the working class of the world--the proletariat--being squashed by the greedy business owners--the bourgeoisie. In their view, the bourgeoisie owned too much and the proletariat had no chance to make their own fortunes. In Marx and Engels Communist Manifesto, they propose doing away with private property, nationality, and even countries in order to take power away from the bourgeoisie. However, according to Samuel Smiles, it is the laziness of the working class and the poor that put them in that position. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels would adamantly disagree.
Communism, as Karl Marx puts it, is a world where everyone is equal, where there are no social class, where there are no private ownership, where work is used only to produce the necessities, the people are under a control in which allows them to be on the same level as everyone else. What Stalin wanted to do was create and fulfill the governmental system of Karl Marx and create and envision the utopia that Karl Marx was led to believe. Under Stalin’s rule we come to see that his vision of a utopia quickly warps into a dystopia.
...equality. While it is a nice notion that there should be a society free of jealousy, war, and inequality, it is not accomplished by a government imposing laws which regulates its citizens’ success (even if that law if from the people). This type of social structure, where everyone is treated equally discourages work because minimal effort will reap the same results. Rather, the ideal government is a limited one; one where commerce and capitalism is encouraged.
Karl Marx was an idealist. He observed the cruelties and injustices that the poor working class endured during the period of industrial revolution, and was inspired to write of a society in which no oppression existed for any class of people. Marx believed in a revolution that would end socialism and capitalism, and focus on communist principles. The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx, describes the goals of the communist party for ending exploitation of the working class and creating a society in which there is equality without social classes. As a historian, philosopher, and revolutionary, Marx has helped shaped the society of the past, present and future. He is known for being a liberal reformist who believed that capitalism could be reformed and inequality of the working classes could be addressed and abolished. I agree with Marx?s view points and feel he is a man that has achieved many great experiences throughout his lifetime for which he is remembered.
Throughout history the world has experienced several types of socio-economies, from Mussolini’s fascism to Mao’s communism. All of those economies have its weaknesses and strengths and most have countries that can validate its effectiveness. However, to decide which economy is truly better for society, there has to be criteria on which to judge the economy’s effectiveness. So what is a society? In essence, it is a network of bonds we as human beings forged under the assumption, that working together we can all be happier than if we were only looking out for ourselves. With society, everyone is able to concentrate on what they do best, reap the benefits from the skills of others, and avoid the conflict that would arise otherwise. Thus, it follows that the ultimate goal of society is the happiness of everyone. And currently, there is only one economy that has staved off the test of time and reached that goal. Capitalism, with its merit system, flexible cost adjustments, and by having no other economic contenders is able to achieve a better society than any other socio-economic system can.
Throughout history, there have been many systems developed in order to have a better society. Two of the most analyzed, and debated systems that have tired to change an economy for the best are communism, and capitalism. Communism, and capitalism have been compared on many levels, such as why they will or will not work, and which one works better. Throughout this essay I will concentrate on the differences, and similarities of how each operates, along with the benefits, and problems that each of them produces.
communist system could reasonably argue that, “In such a society social relations are to be
Communism: A theory that affects the economic, social, and political side of government, by bringing society to an equal. In theory, it sounds good because everyone is the same, but it brings everyone down to the same level of poverty and oppression.
Inequality is one of the major benefits to a capitalistic system because it proves to be an incredibly powerful motivator. Those that stand at the top of the system, those who have the benefits that money provides, are an endpoint that spurs the ambition of those without these benefits. Out of the few major attempts at a completely equal society we can conclude one thing about human nature and work ethic; people need an incentive to be productive. The lack of incentive to work is one of the major problems with Communism that led to its overall failure as an economic structure. This is the reason capitalism began dominating the global economy while productivity in Communist countries stagnated during the latter part of the Cold War. (Cite 2)
Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, was the originator of the political and economic theory of Scientific Socialism (modern Communism). Communism, by definition, is the complete control of major resources and the means of production by government, initially in the form of autocracy. In theory, under this system all would be equal; all would share in both work, according to their ability, and profit, according to need. According to Marx, the proletariat, or working class, would revolt against the bourgeoisie, or wealthy capitalist class, because of the stark contrast prevalent between the wealthy and poor. The new economy, run by and for the people, would produce not for profit, but for the needs of the people. Thus, abundance would rule. Marx further predicted this revolution would occur in Western Europe, the most industrialized and capitalist portion of the world.
When Karl Marx first penned his shaping works on communism, he assumed that the relationship between workers and capital would always be opposing. While most rejected his overall theories, they did not argue with the basic idea that the interests of workers would always be at odds with those of owners. This is one of Marx's only theories that has proven to be true. As a consequence, over the years, that thought has guided the marketplace in terms of deciding wages, working conditions and other worker centered benefits.
Though the rewards are pleasing to the ear, the path to obtaining the benefits of communism is a violent one. This strict governing idea was derived from Communist Manifesto, a book written by two German economists, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, who declare that many problems in society are caused by the unequal distribution of wealth. These two believe that “Communism deprives no man of the ability to appropriate the fruits of his labour. The only thing it deprives him of is the ability to enslave others by means of such appropriations.” To achieve the goal of happiness and prosperity for all, the lines that distinguish the differences between the rich and poor must be erased. Obviously, the rich will never voluntarily give up their goods or status; therefore the figureheads must force equality among the citizens. Communism places their citizens, whether they be the wealthy or the laborers, into working classes that specify their contribution to the government. With such balanced placement of the people, individuality is impossible for any single person to achieve.
Ironically, Communism has never existed anywhere. There has never been a system implemented in our entire history by which a society has been utterly classless. Communism would be a type of egalitarian society with no state, no privately owned means of production and no social class (Wikipedia). Today there is a selection of “Communist” states that exist in a variety of locations on our globe. Sadly, all of the claimed Communist states including the late Soviet Union were and are despicable and corrupted examples of the idea of Communism. By using Stalin as an example it is quite possible to portray to the reader a simple and effective example of the flip side of attempted Communism. Stalin took control of a weak government and crafted an illusionary Communist state. Ironically, Stalin had set himself up as the dictator of a completely totalitarian society. By using the people of Russia, he was able to harness the government and use it for his own needs. This is quite similar to 1984 with the concept of Big Brother. Although Big Brother is not a person, the inner society that controls “him” creates a Stalinist nation; this was quite purposefully included by Orwell.
...leads to change. Marx certainly believed and documented this and based his theory of communism upon it. However, the gaps left in his theory have resulted in varying interpretation to what he originally envisioned. A society without class or state may very well have been achieved if his theory had given more direction as to the details for its establishment. Instead, Marx's theory has been twisted and rewritten to suit the interests of others. Perhaps the greatest problem with his theory "is that no one has tried it".
Different forms of government have existed through the ages, including capitalism, monarchy, socialism, dictatorship, and theocracy. Communism is a government that developed in the early nineteen hundreds. The theory of communism is to create a government under which all people are equal. Communism hasn't achieved its goal to make all people equal.