Why Did Communism Collapse So Suddenly in 1991 - Coursework Example

Why did Communism collapse so suddenly in 1991? Explain your answer Communism refers to the system of government in which the plans and controls the economy and a single authoritarian party holds power, with claims that progress has been made towards a higher social class, in the scope of which, the goods and services are distributed and shared on equal grounds by individuals and the masses. Its opposite form, known as capitalism, is based on individual rights and individual wealth. Communists however, believe in equality through force. In such a form of government, there are no individual rights exercised, instead there is absolute government control. Communism seeks to establish a classless society for all. It endeavors to erase all differences of class and creed and bring all the citizens at the same forefront with the government leading them all. However, the communist theory has failed miserably in the past. It is believed that the communist theory includes some connotations that are bound to fail. Capitalists mock the communist theory by saying that if there will always be the poor then there will always be the rich. There would be classification and divisions with the dos and donts, and any effort to create a society that does not have classes, this side of heaven, mainly by means of the aggressive and godless means of Communism, is bound to lead towards frustration and failure1. Before moving on to discussing why this theory failed so miserably and what was inherently wrong with the idea of having a classless state with absolute government power, one needs to know what lead to this concept. The concept of communism belongs to the Marxist school of thought. Since the late 19th century the ideas of socialism were quite popular among the working class citizens around the world and they began to show their true color when in the early 20th century several countries formed their own Communist parties. While the ruling classes reprimanded the concept of communism or socialism since it brought their power at stake, it was very much appreciated by the working class. In the interwar period, however, since different classes began to fight for or against communism, its image tarnished. It wasn’t all good and now everyone knew that. The socialist activists stepped up their campaigns against their oppressor regimes and resorted to violence to achieve their goals2. These ruthless activities, instead of promoting communism amongst the masses, lead to previously pro-communist populace to lose their interest in the movement. Therefore the number of those who favored communism shrunk. After World War 2, the Soviet Union established Communism in all the states that it had occupied thus giving rise to communism globally. However, from 1989 onwards, communism began to see its decline and by 1991 it was erased from the world’s history. Why did this sudden decline happen was a question that intrigued a lot of contemporary historians. Many different interpretations were made and different theories formulated to explain the decline. It is very important to first know what historical events led to the decline and then analyze what exactly went wrong. In late 1989, the Berlin War came down. This was the most potent symbol of the Cold War division of Europe. Also, communist authorities of the German Democratic Republic announced the removal of travel restrictions to Western Berlin3. This led to the immigration of thousands of Germans to and from either sides. The collapse of the Berlin Wall was the culminating point of the revolutionary changes in eastern, central Europe. Throughout the Soviet bloc, reformers assumed power and ended the 40 years of communist rule. After changing east central Europe to rule by dictators, Poland was the next target of the reform. Being under severe pressure from Moscow, the communist authorities of Poland, announced the initiation of martial law with the arrest of the Solidaritys leaders; they also imposed a ban on the democratic trade union, but this ban did not end the Solidarity. This notion just disappeared from the scenario for certain time, while the rebellious Poles structured their own civil society, detach from the communist administration and its laws4. The 1989 revolution denoted the end of communism in Europe. Consequently, not just that Germany was reunified in 1990s, but also quick to follow was the fact that revolution stretched to the Soviet Union as well. In the year 1991, after Gorbachev survived a hard-line coup attempt, he was forced to surrender to Russia to Boris Yeltsin, who managed the termination of the Soviet Union. The disintegration of communism in east central Europe and the Soviet Union denoted the final end for the Cold War. US had a strategic policy, as it contained the Soviet expansion and at the same time encouraged autonomous restructuring in the eastern and central Europe by means of cultural and scientific exchanges, information policy and the US own example, gave priceless support to the public of east central Europe during their struggle for the cause of freedom. Besides historical events piling up to mark the end of the communist era, there were other events that led to its downfall; the economic reasons being very significant. The Russian economy was in hysteria, and the standard of living for the average citizen was deplorably low. This eventually moved towards a number social issues. Religious and ethnic animosity and the lack of proper education lead to public discontent and a rise in the drug problem. There existed no entrepreneurial spirit among the citizens since there was no concept of individual hand. All the power vested in the hands of the government. For a number of years it was printed that all the things must be owned by the publicl. Majority of this can be accredited to the Communist custom of not communicating with the masses. Communism holds all power in the hands of the government and does not allow individuals to own resources. Since they do not have the urge to progress, the nation sees little progress. Unless the individuals are encouraged to participate in the progress and well being of the nation, the individuals will not be keen to work. If one knows that no matter how much one works, there will be no distinction amongst the hard workers and those who live on crumbs provided by the grace of the bread makers, the progress shall be stagnated. No one will work and hence the country will never be able to make its mark in the world. This drawback of communism was realized by Hegel also. And he thought that communism was meant to fail because of this, no matter how and what countries do. USSR was the biggest example of a purely communist state. After the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev gained power and emerged as the first secretary of the communist party. However, Stalins death marked the end of autonomy for the head of the state, and Khrushchev defamed Stalins actions as being pointless and detrimental to the process of moving the Socialist government to its goal of pure Communism5. Khrushchev during his reign gave the public some say in the government. Although the public was still not allowed to take big decisions and make influential reforms, but they were at least made a part of the formal hearings. The public now started to know what was happening and that was a relief for most. The judicial system also eased and Khrushchev worked earnestly in improving the conditions of the individuals. He didn’t see that as being the turning point for communism but surely, he was headed in that direction. He increased the supply of food and made home appliances and everyday use things accessible and cheaper for the community. A new policy of efficiency and quality control was introduced. His power was no longer omnipotent rather managers and directors were assigned. They also had some power and they were made responsible for running the production units that were designated to them. This was seen as an outright denunciation of Stalin’s policies. Stalin was named the war hero and Khrushchev was driven out of power. After Khrushchev, Brezhnev became the secretary general of the Soviet Communist Party in 1964. Under his government the majority of the decentralization of power was destroyed bringing a centralized form of control back into effect. All of Khruschev’s efforts were drained out and Stalin’s form of rule was restored. There initiated an absolute assault on dissidents from the literary and scientific society. This was a proof that the learned members of the society at least were now aware of their rights and they knew what they wanted out of the government6. They could no longer be suppressed and they had to be granted their rights now. This was a difficult thing for the government to gulp in which had been assuming that the members of their society will never voice against autonomy which they had been brought up under. In this time what was supposed to at first be an egalitarian society became classed as bureaucrats were paid for loyalty with substance wealth, giving them an improved standard of living, and following the same, personal gains were kept secondary to the public interests. This was a grand step towards capitalism where personal interests and gains were given more importance. It was thought that the people would never realize what their rights were but eventually that was proven wrong. During this time, there were strikes and public outcries against the administration. The people revolted against the government because they felt that they were not delivered what they were promised. This lead to a lot of public discrepancies and upheavals. Finally in 1985, Gorbachev, Mikhail was brought into power and that marked the turning point in the Communist rule. He tried his best to restore Communism in a way that was more acceptable to the informed people of Russia now. He started a program called Perestroika in which he worked on the organizational restructuring of the Soviet economy and government7. He believed that autonomous form of government will now never be acceptable to the public and so he proposed a more open and flexible political environment. He also began a policy called Glasnost which was a forum to discuss social problems and shortcomings. He realized that the people of Russia could no longer be suppressed. They needed some place to vent out their suggestions and feelings about the government and so he provided them Glasnost. State control was loosened and individual initiatives were encouraged. . He prolonged the power of the Soviet government and transferred the authority from the Communist party to popularly elected legislatures in the union republics. This marked the end of the communist rule. There was nothing left in the hands of the government. Slowly the power was being transferred to the individuals. This was the time that the Russians realized that they could no longer be dominated by their governments. They realized that they were not subservient to their leaders rather they had the full right to critique the government policies and work against them. They realized that they had an identity of their own and now they wanted to work for it. It was the industrial revolution that marked the start of communism and it was the end of world war 2 that saw its full bloom. Finally, by 1991 there was nothing left to be saved in communism itself. It was evident that communism was a flawed concept in itself. It was largely criticized and world never saw communism again. Communism seemed to be an ideal form of government. The promise of the elimination of classes and of guaranteed employment seemed to make it look like the best possible solution for all generations to come. However, this did not consider the fact that the public might like some autonomy too. After all working without the invisible hand is almost impossible. Thus communism itself was a failed concept. It was therefore destined to fail as Hegel states8. 1. No comments References 1. Brown, Archie (2009). The rise and fall of Communism. Ecco 2. Priestland, David (2009). The red flag: A history of communism. Grove Press. 3. Sebestyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The fall of the Soviet Empire. Pantheon. 4. Pleshakov, Constantine (2009). There is no freedom without bread! 1989 and the Civil War that brought down Communism. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 5. Engel, Jeffery (2009). The fall of the Berlin Wall: the revolutionary legacy of 1989. Oxford University Press. 6. Meyer, Michael (2009). The year that changed the world: The untold story behind the fall of the Berlin Wall. Scribner. 7. Carter, James (2009).1989: End of the twentieth century. W. W. Norton and Company. 8. Kotkin, Stephen and Gross, Jan (2009). Uncivil Society: 1989 and the implosion of Communist Establishment. Modern Library. 9. Judt, Tony (2006).Post War: A history of Europe since 1945. Penguin Read More