COMMUNISM

Latin word communis, “common, universal”

- Communism is a political and economic system in which the major productive

resources in a society—such as mines, factories, and farms—are owned by the public
or the state, and wealth is divided among citizens equally or according to individual
need.

- A social system in which all (or nearly all) property and resources are collectively
owned by a classless society and not by individual citizens.

History of Communism
1. Pre-Marxist Communism

Primitive communism - Marx, himself, saw primitive communism as the original, hunter-
gatherer state of humankind.

Pythagoras and Plato - or instance, it is argued that Plato's The Republic described in
great detail a communist-dominated society wherein power is delegated in the hands of
intelligent philosopher or military guardian class and rejected the concept of family and
private property.

2. Karl Marx

Communism is the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution

- Marx, 1844

- He claimed the idea that human society moved through a series of progressive stages
from primitive communism through to slavery, feudalism, and then capitalism – and that
this in turn would be replaced by communism. Therefore, for Marx communism was
seen as inevitable, as well as desirable.

Marxism - focuses on the exploitation of the worker. It is based on the

idea that any profit generated by the worker but instead goes to business owner,
is a form of inequality and should be abolished.

3. The early communist states

The Russian Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union

By 1917 the bond between the tsar and most of the Russian people had been
broken. Governmental corruption and inefficiency were rampant. The tsar’s reactionary
policies, including the occasional dissolution of the Duma, or Russian parliament, the
chief fruit of the 1905 revolution, had spread dissatisfaction even to moderate elements.
The Russian Empire’s many ethnic minorities grew increasingly restive under Russian
domination. Vladimir Lenin rose to power and formed a Marxist group called the
Bolsheviks. They became the central government, assassinated the royal family and
formed the USSR.

4. Spreading Communism

• Warsaw Pact Nations: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland and

Hungary

• Yugoslavia (1945 - 1992)

• North Vietnam (1954 - 1976, although still technically communist following the
unification of Vietnam)

• Yemen (1969 - 1990)

• Somalia (1969 - 1991)

• Cambodia (1975 -1989)

5. Contemporary communism

These countries claim to be a communist country.

• China, since 1949

• Cuba, since 1959

• Vietnam, since 1976

• North Korea, since 1948

• Laos, since 1975

• Socialism

- Equal share in profit and property

• Communism
 - Absence of money and ownership to establish social order

Pros of Communism

1. It can do away with all class systems.

2. It can dramatically decrease unemployment rates.

5. It paves the way for a strong and safe country.

4. It puts dictators in power.

5. It provides citizens with all their basic needs.

Cons of Communism

1. It does not shed much light on its rulers.

2. It is anti-ambition.

3. It can fuel poverty.

4. It can be just as corrupt as capitalism.

5. It constrains the voice of the people.

** Unfortunately, attempts to achieve this political philosophy have led to lower

standards of living, government corruption, and in the case of the USSR, total collapse
and failure. Communism is described as being great in theory but disastrous in practice.