I was taught that communism was an undesirable system because it necessarily is corrupt and authoritarian. I learned about communism mainly through economics, although I've had my share of history lessons in McCarthyism and the Cold War as well. While the reasons I believe those things have changed since then, I still believe it is undesirable, corrupt, and authoritarian.
Communism on paper appears to eliminate or greatly reduce the economic disparity among its citizenry. But it doesn't account for power lust, greed, or the vanity of human wishes.....
I was raised to believe it was pure evil, so naturally i went through a brief communist phase in junior high. Now I simply regard it as a high ideal that would never, ever be acheivable in a community of more than 30 people because most people suck.
I was never taught that communism is evil. We were taught in school about what kind of economic system communism is, strictrly based on facts and no one ever said that communism as such is evil. Of course, we were also taught about the consequences that indeed were evil and about the greediness of people and all that. I think it's funny how people in general have such negative attitudes towards communism, when it's not really communism that created so much misery.. It was the people. So blame it all on people. People suck. Hehe. My homecountry, Finland, used to be a part of Russia and of course communism and the Cold War are a close part of our history. It would be so easy to have this biased, judgemental view about communism, but I think it's awesome how, for example, in schools children are taught the facts about what it is and what kind of effects it had and why, etc., and not some biased opinions that are obviously very distorted.
And on that note, totalitarianism never created misery...it was the people. Fundamentalist Islam never created misery...it was the people. Slavery as an institution never created misery...it was the people. The Third Reich never created misery...it was the people. So what?
When i was a little kid, i alway thought that communism is shit, till i got a radical communist with twelve years age, and joined a radical group, which always tries to get through communism through violence. I left that group two years, and than gave up communism. Now i don't mind to much about it Well, my granduncle was shot by GDR-communists, while trying to help a young man at the berlin wall, who was wounded, and tried to get over.
My husband's parents are both communist... It has really opened my eyes. He was born in communist Russia and remembers standing in a bread line. I am such an individualist, it really turned off his parents when they met me for the first time. I'm not what they had in mind for their son's wife... *giggle*
I learned that communism does not take into account the principal of self interest which states that people will make what they think is the best economic decision even if it negatively effects them. Take for example Wal Mart, you can shop at wal mart and recieve drastically reduced prices while taking business away from locals and damaging the local economy. You don't care about the local economy though, all you care about is yourself, and wal mart thrives. This, along with an asinie way of assigning the value of money are the reasons communism didn't work.
That communism is all about murdering people, that it's dangerous, that communists are evil people and that communism is an evil totalitarian system wanting to take away your rights, making people slaves, and all that crap. The opposite of what I was raised to believe.
I was never thoroughly taught about Communism in school. I learned about it on my own, and I am more than happy to say I am completely against all forms of Communism, including Bushonian Communism.
Communism was originally a plan for better, but the people made it for worse. I and that post that said everything wasnt the problem it was the people, slaver wasnt the people it was the problem..
I was actually taught that communism was good, and with a responsible government would make a perfect society. Hah, responsible government! Can't see that happening any time soon. My current opinion on communism is this- "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
What if the leaders in, let's say, USSR did not have "absolute power"? Then it would not corrupt, or...?
Despite what you imagine the theory of communism states, communism in practice simply cannot exist without a totalitarian government. SOMEONE has to redistribute the money, by force if necessary, in a communist society...the government is the obvious choice. People have no control over their own finances, the police are inherently corrupt, and no dissent is tolerated.
In a communist society, currency is abolished. To give you a correct definition of communism: Communism 1. Any philosophy advocating a classless, stateless society without money or markets organized according to the principle “from each according to ability, to each according to need” 2. In Orthodox Marxist theory it is stage of history coming after socialism (dictatorship of the proletariat) when the state has “withered away” and society is run according to the principle “from each according to ability, to each according to need” Socialism that was established in Cuba, USSR, China et al (the transitional stage to communism). Communism is something completely different than what was created in these countries. It's merely just a step in order to reach communism, because communists do not believe it would be possibly to go straight from capitalism to communism, and thus a transitional stage, socialism, is needed.
Money doesn't have to be green pieces of paper, you know...wealth redistribution includes anything with value. There's one little problem with that theory: The transition will NEVER be complete, not in a thousand years, because the "transition" governments you mentioned were totalitarian by their very nature, and thus had no desire to give up their power in the name of communism.
I grew up seeing the breadlines around the block on television and hearing about the lack of freedom of the press in the Soviet Union. I remember as a child not being able to sleep for nights on end for fear the Soviets were going to bomb us. Now I hear of foodlines around the block in the US but I don't hear about them on the major news networks... I can't sleep at night because I am afraid people from my OWN government might be knocking down the door...anything clicking? I'm not crazy, it's just when I am going to sleep at night when the fear overtakes me. But I also just can't say that it is totally impossible that that might happen anymore, which makes it worse.
of all of the philosophers studies in my philo class... i'd have to say that hegel and marx were the most fascinating. i did not even neccessarily agree with them... it was just an engaging read.
I understand your point, but to play the devil's advocate: Why so certain? Ernesto gave up his powers and left for Congo and Bolivia. Seeing it from the anti-communist perspective, the big problem is that capitalists (or at least people who wants to restore capitalism in the country) takes power after the previous leaders dies (USSR after Stalin, China after Mao, etc). I believe that there needs to be real democracy, a safety net. The leaders need to be held accountable, and should also be recalled by the people if they abuse their power.
