Changes

The '''dictatorship of the proletariat''' is a concept in [[Marxist]] theory. It refers to the post-revolutionary [[socialist]] phase of society, when the working class will rule society, prior to the development of a classless, fully-[[Communist]] society. In reality, the term was used to justify appalling crimes carried out by Communist parties against their perceived enemies. It was also a gross and intentional misnomer, as the proletariat had no say in the government of Communist countries. All power was concentrated in the hands of the Communist political elite.

The '''dictatorship of the proletariat''' is a concept in [[Marxist]] theory. It refers to the post-revolutionary [[socialist]] phase of society, when the working class will rule society, prior to the development of a classless, fully-[[Communist]] society. In reality, the term was used to justify appalling crimes carried out by Communist parties against their perceived enemies. It was also a gross and intentional misnomer, as the [[proletariat]] had no say in the government of Communist countries. All power was concentrated in the hands of the Communist political elite.

[[Karl Marx]] believed in the need for such a dictatorship during the transition to Communism following the assumption of political power by the working class, and they envisaged the original term as meaning a form of absolute sovereignty of the people in a radical democratic state that through universal and equal suffrage would allow the proletariat to attack and eventually abolish bureaucracy and private ownership of the means of production, using force and repressive or dictatorial methods to overcome the inevitable resistance by the bourgeoisie.

[[Karl Marx]] believed in the need for such a dictatorship during the transition to Communism following the assumption of political power by the working class, and they envisaged the original term as meaning a form of absolute sovereignty of the people in a radical democratic state that through universal and equal suffrage would allow the proletariat to attack and eventually abolish bureaucracy and private ownership of the means of production, using force and repressive or dictatorial methods to overcome the inevitable resistance by the bourgeoisie.