Communism

A monument to the Captive Nations stands at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation .

Communism is Karl Marx's proposed establishment of a "classless society" by means of eliminating private property. According to some sources, in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have claimed between 65 million and 110 million lives. Today, it continues to oppress one-fifth of the world's people. It is worth noting that no states of any magnitude have existed that strictly fulfilled the definition of "communist", although they have approached it with varying degrees of accuracy. Many states have, however, proclaimed themselves as communist, presumably for propaganda purposes.

Theory

The hammer and sickle, the international symbol of communism, stand for the uprising of the peasants (the sickle) and the workers (the hammer). In certain countries, it is considered to be offensive in the same manner as the swastika is.

Communism is based upon a socialist economy in which the public, whether the state or other group, owns the "means of production" and in which the wealth of the nation is rationed among the Party's beneficiaries. In many cases, members of the ruling party have special stores in which ordinary people are barred, stores which are immune to the shortages which the lower class must endure (see queuing).

Various communist or quasi-communist doctrines have evolved or been adapted to the time and place they have been implemented. Marxism, developed by Karl Marx, and its modifications under Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong, advocates the overthrow of the existing order by a revolution of the proletariat, the social group which does not control the means of production. The goal of Marxism is supposedly to create a classless society which would result in no longer the need for any government.

The most famous government to label itself "communist" is the former USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the Communist Party controlled its government from 1922 to 1991. This government was officially atheist and attempted to suppress all religion. Like many authoritarian regimes, it tried to cultivate reverence for the state as a psychological substitute for religion. Left-wing critics of the USSR charged that it was communist in name only, and had betrayed the revolution which founded it. George Orwell expressed this viewpoint eloquently in his 1945 fable Animal Farm.

Marxist theory is intended to appeal to its adherents with the phrase, "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs", which essentially states point blank a worker does not get paid according to his abilities, and there is no incentive within the economic theory. Another quote by Marx was, "The theory of the Communism may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property."

Communists cite scripture

Some Communist ideology has made its way into the Church as a Social Gospel, interpreting the Gospel as less redemptive of sin and more of a public works campaign and activism. The often cite Jesus feeding the masses and warnings to the wealthy who believed self-seeking is all this world has to offer. Communists often cite the Acts of the Apostles, as early Christians practicing some form of sharing for the common good. Many anti-communist apologists have various responses to the viewpoints, of varying validity.

Demise of Communism

Between 1989 and 1991, many communist governments fell. The Berlin Wall in Germany, which had become a symbol for the division between the West and communist states, was torn down largely in response to Ronald Reagan in 1989, and there was also a large revolution against Romanian dictator Nicolaie Ceausescu. In 1991, the USSR broke up into several countries - each which reformed to capitalism. Some of these remained under autocratic governments, but some have embraced democracy.

Although Communism's influence has decreased dramatically in Europe, it still has a strong presence in Asia, where the most famous country governed by a communist one-party system is China, but others (such as North Korea, Laos, and Vietnam) remain. There is considerable debate as to the extent to which these governments actually implement communist policies. China has not democratized (note especially the crushing of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989), but its economic policies have been called "red capitalism" by some commentators, as there is a growing sector that behaves in a less-regulated, free market style. China's economy manufactures a wide variety of products that are sold to non-communist countries, and there is quite obvious tolerance of economic inequality, with some provinces struggling with poverty while others prosper. One of the only remaining Modern communist countries, Cuba, is still kept under economic sanctions by the USA.

President Ronald Reagan speaking to the British House of Commons at the Palace of Westminster said,

“

What I am describing now is a plan and hope for the long term -- the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people.

”

Notable communists

Notable communists include Joseph Stalin, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Che Guevara, and Fidel Castro.

See also

• Capitalism
• Socialism
• Nazism
• Korean Airlines Flight 007 for the connection of the shootdown by the Soviets of KAL 007, with 269 people aboard, on Sept. 1, 1983 with the heightened U.S./Soviet confrontations of 1983-4.

External links

• Memorial to the Victims of Communism and the Resistance