Questions tagged [communism]
Questions on Communist theory and the politics of Communist states
82
questions
14
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8answers
2k views
What is a simple concise way to explain the difference between socialism and communism to others
I've seen many people refer to communism and socialism as if they are the same thing, when they clearly are not. I'm aware of the difference and know there are many sources that explain it, so I'm ...
44
votes
18answers
9k views
Is Communism intrinsically authoritarian?
As a consequence of the recent developments in China, I’ve heard a lot of commentary which characterises authoritarianism as an inevitable consequence of a Communist state.
How true is this statement?...
12
votes
1answer
1k views
Is the Chinese system becoming more Fascist than Capitalist?
PREFACE
Over the past 30 years, the economic transformation of China has greatly improved the lives of the Chinese people. However, under the reign of Xi Jinping, China has begun to assert its power ...
2
votes
0answers
91 views
Scottish Politics; History of Sectarianism, Communism, Nationalism
Somewhat inspired by "Peaky Blinders", and a notion I've had, I am wondering whether sectarianism in Scotland could potentially have been a divide and conquer seed from Westminster as a diversionary ...
6
votes
5answers
598 views
Have any countries established socialist democracy specifically based on Marxism?
As far as I know, there are no countries calling themselves Communist that have stayed real democracies, even though Marx wrote that he wanted democracy in Communist society. However, there are quite ...
24
votes
3answers
4k views
Did Karl Marx ever use any example that involved cotton and dollars to illustrate the way capital and surplus value were generated?
I live in country with a communist ideology, and Marxism-Leninism courses are mandatory in college. As much as I appreciate some basics on dialectical materialism, I can't help but disdain the way ...
1
vote
1answer
200 views
Full Communism & rare items/collectibles
In a fully automated communist system with post scarcity no money and goods distributed from each according to his abilities to each according to his need, how would this system address items that ...
7
votes
7answers
1k views
What are the modern arguments for Communism?
If this is too broad please leave suggestions and I'll try to narrow it down.
Although I don't always agree, I feel like I can follow the arguments for and from most facets of the political spectrum ...
8
votes
4answers
629 views
Why doesn't the Chinese Communist Party induct everyone into the party?
As far as I'm aware Communism is supposed to be a "dictatorship of the proletariat" and something that is by and for the people. So why doesn't the Chinese Communist Party, and similar ruling parties ...
4
votes
0answers
247 views
Is the GUE-NGL unwilling to advise against Brexit? If so, why?
130 of the eighth and current European Parliament's 751 members have signed a letter urging the UK to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the EU. All are members of EPP, S&D, ALDE or Greens-...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How can communism be totalitarian?
I'm quite a newbie to history and politics so a sentence from Huxley surprised me (it might not be surprising for you). In Brave new world revisited (1958) he writes:
It is a pretty safe bet that, ...
52
votes
4answers
18k views
Why has Venezuela's economy collapsed when Cuba's has not?
Cuba and Venezuela seem to share a lot in common. Both are effectively Socialist dictatorships. Cuba's government has been Communist for many years, while Venezuela has been socialist for much less. ...
1
vote
3answers
698 views
Defining fascism in the background of communism [duplicate]
We have an intense discussion going on between the fact of whether the Soviet Union was a fascist state or not.
Our doubt lies in fascism as an opposite to communism and we wonder if the Soviet ...
1
vote
1answer
234 views
Corruption, efficiency and economic success of the Chinese government
Chinese Government is accused of massive corruption, some critics say that the censorship does not allow the revelation of corruption in China. How did the Communist Party of China from 1976 onwards ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
How does anarcho-communism avoid turning into anarcho-capitalism?
The idea of the communist revoluton through socialism is that the socialist state was intended to eventually destroy itself and the society will live in a communist system. But that society would not ...
2
votes
1answer
849 views
Did “socialism with a human face” actually exist in practice?
NOTE: This is somewhat related (a "soft" version of) to this question (Do/did non-dictatorial Communist societies exist?)
According to Wikipedia, "Socialism with a human face" appeared in 1968 and it ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
Is the economics theory of Karl Marx regarding technological progress realistic to the end?
Marx claimed that the introduction of more and more advanced machinery would lead to unemployment of workers, which decreases the ability of the society to buy things, which is a vicious cycle. ...
9
votes
2answers
849 views
Why does Russia seem to praise USSR personalities almost three decades after the fall of communism?
The dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred on December 26, 1991, more than 26 years ago.
However, communism personalities (symbols) are still displayed in many places:
Body of Stalin was temporary ...
-1
votes
2answers
339 views
Why did the United States so aggresively attack Communism when they knew it wasn't going to work out in the long term? [closed]
Didn't USA had the foresight that any country that embraces communism would eventually fail? Why did it go around spreading anti-communist sentiment to an extent where they defied the internal ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Are capitalism and communism equivalent in attributable mass murders? [closed]
When the topic of communism comes up in the US, most automatically dismiss it due to the tens or hundreds of millions who died at the hands of communist regimes.
As a counterpoint, some say that the ...
183
votes
17answers
101k views
Why is communism considered as evil (like fascism and nazism) in the United States?
In this question, a person asks why it's so easy to ban Nazi symbols and so hard to ban communist symbols: Why is banning communism symbols so hard to achieve as opposed to banning of Nazi symbols?
...
4
votes
3answers
579 views
Did Karl Marx support taking over the means of production by using force or violence?
If the workers want to have means of production (land or factories) they can:
Put money together and buy/build them, step by step. That's how the Amish or the Mennonites are building and growing ...
22
votes
6answers
17k views
Does currency exist in communism?
I've thought about this before, but never heard any explanation as to how this works.
My understanding of communism is:
Everyone works.
Everything is rationed out equally.
Since there is no ...
14
votes
1answer
2k views
Is China really Communist?
Having read Karl Marx, and seeing the 10 tenets of Communism, I find it hard to consider China as a Communist country.
Just trying to stick to the 10 tenets.
Abolition of private property, ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
Is Fascism ideologically descended from communism?
Georges Sorel was a Marxist, who later developed Sorelianism, which later became Fascism.
To quote Benito Mussolini himself:
I owe most to Georges Sorel. This master of syndicalism by his rough ...
8
votes
1answer
284 views
Why was Moldova the only post-Soviet country to elect a communist government?
For much of the period following the collapse of the USSR, Moldova was governed by an elected Communist government, uniquely among post-Soviet states. What factors were at work in Moldova which led ...
24
votes
3answers
4k views
For what stated reasons (not opinion) is classical communism antagonistic towards the bourgeoisie more than the aristocracy?
I am not extremely familiar with the intricacies of Marxist ideology but many of these articles seem to suggest that classical Communist ideology perceives the bourgeoisie as the 'real enemy of the ...
9
votes
4answers
3k views
Which redesigned policies have enabled China to survive the 1989-91 global communist crisis and prosper even while remaining a 'Communist State'?
According to Wikipedia there are only 5 Communist States at present: China, Laos, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba. In the past there have been a large number of Communist States existing at the same ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
In Communism, what happens to property rights?
Picking up on a question that was posted here, it said that in Communism
a home that one built could be reapportioned to someone by the vote of a majority
It seems to me that this isn't a fair ...
2
votes
4answers
9k views
Are all communist countries run by dictators?
The primary examples of communism (USSR, China, Cuba, Venezuela) have at their head a very strong central authority which approaches if not is in fact a dictatorship. Are there any examples showing ...
3
votes
3answers
436 views
How would a non-dictatorial communist state stop an individual from owning means of production they made themselves?
A formal definition of communist economy, among other important attributes, posits that tools of production are owned by the state/community, NOT by individual. Even if that individual built said tool ...
0
votes
1answer
293 views
Anarcho-Communism distribution of wealth
How would a society based on anarcho-communism, or even communism without state, distribute the wealth so people could buy food, leisure products and other varied items. Who would distribute the ...
1
vote
0answers
37 views
Is christian communism a real political system? [duplicate]
Is christian communism a real political system? If so, what are the main points defended by it?
15
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6answers
5k views
Why was homosexuality unacceptable in USSR?
USSR was all about fighting for the working class rights against capitalism being inherently multicultural - so there seems to be nothing in its ideology that would go directly against homosexuality. ...
3
votes
3answers
489 views
Is it possible to separate “Marxism Non-Leninism” from Marxim-Leninism?
I'd like to know in simple terms, if possible - because my background isn't very rock solid -, if it's possible to separate Marxism Non-Leninism from Marxism-Leninism and what are the main differences,...
2
votes
1answer
966 views
Does communism propose also “forced” labor for people who are ill?
Communism (in Marxism) proposes everyone should work. Does it propose people who are ill to work if they cannot?
3
votes
1answer
465 views
Why does the leader of Vietnam (General Secretary of the Communist Party) hold no state positions?
Generally, the leaders of communist countries hold both state & party positions,
making them both de facto and de jure leaders (e.g. Raúl Castro is both President of Cuba and First Secretary of ...
3
votes
2answers
557 views
Is there an equivalent of the horseshoe theory for economic systems stating that monopolized capitalism = communism?
The horseshoe theory states that societies organised by the extreme right and the extreme left would look alike. It is also applied to various other opposed groups (religious, nationalists, ...).
Is ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Does Putin support the ideas of Communism and/or Socialism? [closed]
I know he's no lefty on social issues and foreign policy, but coming from the Soviet Union, is Vladimir Putin known to support economic concepts that are more inline with the left?
Has Putin been ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Is communism rising in the west? [closed]
I was wondering today if Fascism and communism are rising or not. I quite easily found the answer about Fascism but didn't find any convincing information about communism. A quick google search lead ...
1
vote
0answers
289 views
What is the difference between Marxism and Leninism? [duplicate]
I am really intrigued by the idea of communism, especially Marxism and Leninism. But I am struggling to find the differences between these two communist ideologies. Both of them seem to try to ...
12
votes
1answer
378 views
Why won't the two main French far-left parties unite and present a single candidate?
Lutte ouvrière (LO) and Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA) are both French far-left communist parties and they are both represented by a candidate during the French 2017 presidential elections, why ...
33
votes
12answers
10k views
Why is banning communism symbols so hard to achieve as opposed to banning of Nazi symbols?
NOTE: to narrow down the question, I will make the following narrowing:
Nazi symbols: salute and the swastika used in clear connection to Nazi (i.e. not this one)
Communist symbols: hammer and sickle ...
15
votes
2answers
5k views
Why have the Venona materials not yet vindicated McCarthyism?
Even though, Joseph McCarthy's efforts were perfectly in line with Truman's "Loyalty Order" -- Executive Order 9835 -- as well as the public disclosures of the Venona project (in 1995).
Why has the ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Can communism be effective in a post scarcity economy?
Recently following the discussion by politicians in US elections of "getting jobs back", it seemed clear to me that this phase of losing jobs can't be stopped or even slowed: it's the natural and ...
3
votes
1answer
6k views
How free are Cuban citizens to leave the country these days?
I know that it used to be the case that the Cuban authorities prevented people from leaving the country that they deemed useful - similar to Eastern Germany.
I heard that this was lifted a couple of ...
5
votes
1answer
289 views
Do Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch or others) in US own their means of production?
For Amish community members in USA, are their means of production (land, tools, possibly cattle) owned by individual community members/families; or by the whole community?
By "owned", I mean "...
0
votes
1answer
240 views
Would a communist society work? [closed]
I'm pretty sure it would not work immediately after transforming from our current state, but surely over time we should see change, right?
Are there any examples of when it has/hasn't worked?
4
votes
0answers
830 views
Why there is so much neglect and even the hate of socialism/communism as the postcapitalism? [closed]
Marxism teaches that the development of technology leads to the new forms of social and economic orders. There have been already primitive communism, slavery, feudalism and now the capitalism is the ...
5
votes
5answers
848 views
How do one party governments say that they represent everyone even though they aren't democracies?
In China, for example, the communist party says that they are the worker's party and that they represent the workers of the world and equality, even though they manage a one-party state that blocks ...
