Questions tagged [communism]
Questions on Communist theory and the politics of Communist states
93
questions
14
votes
5answers
3k views
What is the relationship between communism and 'a classless system'?
The definition of communism:
Communism is a political and economic ideology that positions itself in opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism, advocating instead a classless system in which the ...
-9
votes
1answer
117 views
Is communism resource based [closed]
I want to know if Communism only happens in countries like cuba that have a 10:1 ratio of oil or coal to iron production. I would like to see any such counterexamples, or countries close to that ratio ...
-8
votes
2answers
158 views
How can the nazis be socialit and anti-communist? [duplicate]
The nazi germany was a national-socialist country and as i know socialism is a stage before the communism , so how can the nazis be anti-communist ?
0
votes
2answers
206 views
Are all the companies in communism ideology nationalized?
Is it true that in the ideology of communism, the government owns all the companies and the exploitable resources ? , and what about the socialist countries and socialism as an ideology and are there ...
-2
votes
5answers
256 views
Is there any fundamental difference between communism and corporations?
I was just thinking that essentially, a communist country like Maoist China did not seem very different than a very large corporation. Both are centrally managed, tightly control their citizens/...
1
vote
3answers
385 views
Why did communism not succeed in the USA?
Did the Communist Party in the USA, or any other ideological party other than capitalism, ever gain considerable power in the USA, and why is capitalism still the leading ideology in America?
0
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0answers
32 views
What's putin point of view about the revolution of 1917? [duplicate]
After doing some research i concluded that putin sees himself as tsar of all Russia. This means that putin appreciate more the Tsars era than the sovietic era. Why do sees himself in that title as we ...
-2
votes
1answer
231 views
How communist is everyday life in China? [closed]
Answers to Is China considered to be democratic range from "theoretically yes, but..." to "No!".
Question: From a perspective of the life experience of everyday people, how much does political ...
0
votes
1answer
145 views
Is there an elaboration on Roger Martelli's conclusion that left-populism is doomed to fail?
In reading an article about Chantal Mouffe's work, some of which advocated for left-populism, I found this bit interesting:
According to Mouffe, who is also a philosopher of art, only Jean-Luc ...
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 ...
46
votes
4answers
13k views
Why do so many Russians approve of Joseph Stalin's regime?
I read about how polls suggest that 70% of Russians today support the actions Joseph Stalin's actions when he was in charge of the Soviet Union. Why is his approval rating so high in Russia despite of ...
47
votes
19answers
14k 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?...
16
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4answers
2k 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
97 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 ...
5
votes
5answers
623 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
4answers
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
216 views
Soviet or Russian equivalent of the Church Committee?
Following the Watergate scandal in 1972, the US senate created a select committee (the Church Committee) to investigate the abuse of power by US intelligence agencies.
Has there ever been a Soviet ...
1
vote
1answer
226 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 ...
6
votes
7answers
2k 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
654 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
250 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
709 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
255 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
2k 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
913 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
873 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
342 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 ...
192
votes
19answers
106k 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
612 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 ...
23
votes
6answers
20k 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 ...
15
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 ...
9
votes
1answer
292 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 ...
6
votes
4answers
2k 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
10k 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 ...
5
votes
8answers
744 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
325 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
38 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
521 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
1k 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
474 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
573 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 ...
