Communism and Democracy
Communism, a concept or system of society in which the major resources and means of production are owned by the community rather than by individuals. In theory, such societies provide for equal sharing of all work, according to ability, and all benefits, according to need. Some conceptions of communist societies assume that, ultimately, coercive government would be unnecessary and therefore that such a society would be without rulers. Until the ultimate stages are reached, however, communism involves the abolition of private property by a revolutionary movement; responsibility for meeting public needs is then vested in the state (Daniels 177).
As a concept of an ideal society, communism is derived from ancient sources, including Plato's Republic and the earliest Christian communes. In the early 19th century, the idea of a communist society was a response of the poor and the dislocated to the beginnings of modern capitalism. At that time communism was the basis for a number of Utopian settlements; most communistic experiments, however, eventually failed. Most of these small-scale private experiments involved voluntary cooperation, with everyone participating in the governing process (Daniels).
Later the term communism was reserved for the philosophy advanced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their Communist Manifesto and the movement they helped create in Central Europe. Since 1917 the term has denoted those who regard the Russian Revolution as a model that all Marxists should follow. Beginning with the Russian Revolution, moreover, the center of gravity of global communism has shifted away from Central and Western Europe; from the late 1940s through the 1980s, communist movements were often linked with Third World strivings for national independence and social change(Pious 24).
In their writings, Marx and Engels tried to analyze contemporary society, which they described as capitalistic. They pointed out the discrepancies between ideals and reality in modern society: Rights granted to all had not done away with injustices; constitutional self-government had not abolished mismanagement and corruption; science had provided mastery over nature but not over the fluctuations of the business cycle; and the efficiency of modern production methods had produced slums in the midst of abundance (Pious).
They described all human history as the attempt of men and women to develop and apply their potential for creativity for the purpose of controlling the forces of nature so as to improve the human condition. In this ongoing effort to develop its productive forces, humanity has been remarkably successful; history has been the march of progress.
Communism is an economic and social system where all property and resources are owned by the government, and not by individuals. In the book How We Survived Communism and Even Laugh by Slavenka Drakulic she discusses how it was like for women living under communist regimes. Things such as goods, and items were created by the communist party and were limited to the people living under this regime. Communism affected the lives of Russian citizens who had to face many hardships living under this government.
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 today has no copyright laws, no private property laws, and the government owns the economy in its entirety. Communism stresses the ending of both religion and the entire morality established upon religion. Communism theoretically tries to improve respect within society, but instead it abolishes all concepts of entire morality (Communism and Amorality). The structure of communism encourages the establishment of classless and stateless society based on the common title of the means of production (Structure of Communism).It tries to offer an alternative to the problems assumed to be inherent with capitalist economies and the heritage of imperialism and nationalism. Communism states that the only way to resolve these difficulties would be for the working class to replace the ruling class in order to create a diplomatic, free society without a government (Structure of Communism). Communism prevents anything to overcome another establishment. It allows everything to be intact and it allows everything to be equal. Communism in its most influential days was ...
Communism is the study of how everyone is at peace and works together. There is no need for competition or armies because no wars are going on. The gap between the rich and the poor is eliminated and everyone has the same wealth to make everything perfect and fair. All human activity goes towards benefiting each other. Private property and all private businesses are eliminated. Instead of working for yourself to make a living for yourself, you are making a living for the country or society that you live in. In document 3: Friedrich Engels says that “ above all, (the government)... will have to take control of industry and all branches of production out of the hands of… competing individuals, and instead institute a system as whole, that is for the common account, according to a common plant, and with the participation of all members of the society. It will… abolish competition...Private property must therefore be abolished.” This creates an equality in the economic system. There are economic equalities now, because equality in the amount of work will get you an equality in pay. This eliminates the amount of money between the rich and poor closing the gap between the two. All of this equality meets the needs of the proletariats. The Proletariats were the working people in the lowest class. The workers worked and then the bourgeoisie took the money from the products and the proletariats got nothing from their
At the time of Marx, communism stiff fell under the category of socialism. During the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century, there was a split in the Socialist Party, and communism began to be recognized as a movement of its own. The original Communists were small extremist grou...
The intrinsic values of communism rely on the basic tenet that all citizens will sacrifice individualistic ideals for the greater good of Society. Each member of society must sacrifice himself for the sake of others, resulting in a country where each citizen is effectively the same as others in terms of wealth, property, and class. Effectively, each member of society is but one part used to build an impressive machine: taken independently, each cog seems worthless, but in the context of the ...
The word “communism” is generally linked with “Marxism”. Since Marx along with Friedrich Engels published the cutting-edge thesis, The Communist Manifesto in the middle of the 19th century, it conceived the new dimension for both politics and economics. Before turning to the principles of the Manifesto, it is useful to present the brief historical background of the era, and understand why it affected the ideology. Predominantly the Industrial Revolution (IR) and the Great Revolution in France (FR) transformed the society as follows; creation of conditions for capitalism by destroying feudalism. Period between 1820 -1840 marks the beginning of the IR, which altered the whole meantime s...
Communism was the ideology followed by the Soviet Union. Originally founded by Karl Marx, it said that everything should be owned by the government and then divided up equally among the people who would then all work for it. For the communist party in Russia, their political system was always in danger. From the start of the Russian Revolution there have been dangers to communism. Before World War II most of the western nations ignored Russia simply because it was a communist state and the western nations actually supported Hitler because they believed that Germany would provided a buffer against Communism. The permanent threat against Russia gave the incentive to expand and spread communist influence as much as possible to keep their way of life intact, it was very much Russia against the world. However not only was the Soviet Union communist, they were totalitarian, meaning all the power was with the rulers. While this was effective for keeping the standard average of living the same for everyone and preventing poverty, it also led to a poor work ethic among the working population...
Communism is a system of government, a political ideology that rejects private ownership and promotes a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of all property and the means of production, where all work is shared and all proceeds are commonly owned. Communism is practised in China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. However, most of the world’s communist governments have been disbanded since the end of World War II. Soon after the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, Communist forces began a war against the Kuomintang in China. The Communists gradually gained control of the country and on the 1st October, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the victory of the Communist party and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
Selsam, Howard, and Harry Martel. Reader in Marxist Philosophy: From the Writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. New York: International, 1963. Print.
Common misperceptions have convinced Americans over the years that communism is corrupt form of government. In reality, the leaders of so called communist countries are corrupt. Communism is an economic system derived by Karl Marx, which in theory is composed of publicly owned property and wealth spread equally among the population. According to Merino in his preface to What Are Some Concerns About Capitalism?, “Communism’s defining feature is the public, or communal, ownership of capital” in which “the means of production owned and utilized by all for the common good” where there is no difference in the wealth between the people. Communism and capitalism have opposite values, while communism is beneficial for society as a whole, capitalism
Marxism and Leninism According to most historians, “history is told by the victors”, which would explain why most people equate communism with Vladimir Lenin. He was the backbone of Russia’s communist revolution, and the first leader of history’s largest communist government. It is not known, or discussed by most, that Lenin made many reforms to the original ideals possessed by many communists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He revised Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles’ theories to fit the so-called ‘backwardness’ of the Russian Empire.
The Manifesto of the Communist Party is a call to political action by the working class. German philosopher Karl Marx (May 5, 1818-March 14,1883) advocates a revolution of the working class, which involves a turn to communism in order for the working class to gain their financial and political freedom from the hands of the bourgeoisie. Karl Marx, in the Manifesto of the Communist Party, criticizes capitalism and places a deeper focus on class struggle. He offers suggestions that the working class should make in rebellion against the bourgeoisie class. In order for the proletariats to gain their financial freedom, Karl Marx asserts that the workers of the world must adopt a society of communism.
No one having control over the means of production implies that everything is shared by all in communism. There are equal wages for all, and no one is richer or poorer than others are. Capitalism is a political system where private ownership of resources is accepted and even encouraged. Certain individuals have the ownership for the means of production while some have none other than their own labor.
Communism is an original system of society, quite different from Democracy in many ways. While total democracy is not widely spread, many forms of it are prosperous throughout the world today.