Aspects of Communism That Posed a Challenge to Liberal Capitalism - Essay Example

Which aspects of Communism posed a challenge to liberal capitalism in the first half of the Twentieth Century? Introduction The present day world-system has its origin around 1500 whereby a long term feudalism crisis enhanced technological creativity and innovation alongside market institutions. This type of system later came to be known as capitalism according to a German Philosopher cum economist who founded it. Before the foundation of the capitalist system, the system in use was the Communism system. The Communism system utilized the totalitarian system of government whereby property was owned by the state, and free enterprise was not allowed as the society was classless. Furthermore, in the communist system of Government basic needs such as health care and education are provided by the state since wealth was also equally distributed. The press was also owned and controlled by the state. The central focus of the communist system was on communal progression. On the other hand, the capitalist system was driven by the democratic system of Government and allowed for private ownership of property as well as press freedom. Furthermore in the capitalist system wealth was not evenly distributed since free enterprise was allowed, and its central focus was on individual progression1. Since the shift from communism to capitalism system was preferred towards the first half of the twentieth century, several aspects of communism posed different challenges to liberal capitalism. This academic paper shall focus on the different aspects of communism that posed challenges to liberal capitalism in the first half of the twentieth Century. This paper shall also address other related features such as the relationship between communism and coercion as well as how communism was understood in different parts of Europe2. The Old Order Observed before Capitalisation Before the shift from Socialism to Capitalism in parts of Europe such as Russia, empires were under monarchs. The Russian society was composed into four groups namely the noble who were the ruling class, the upper class who were the clergy, the middle class and the masses. By that period, the ruling emperor was known as Tsar Nicholas the second and had unlimited political power. The noble and upper class owned majority of the land while the majority of the population entailed peasants who were poverty stricken and powerless. When the Russian system shifted from Communism to Capitalism, serfs could not own property hence market forces were not driven by free enterprise. Furthermore, the serfs were not completely free hence the Government was not democratic in any way3. Manipulation of the Labourers Since theculture in severalcountriesincluding Russia requiredthatlabourershad to be purchasedin order to be freed, statesfreedlabourers from their mastersandinsteaddemandedpayment. Since theyweretoopoor to meetthestate’s demand as theyearnedverymeagre, theystillworkedfor others in order to surviveandcontinuedliving in abjectpoverty. Thismadethemove from socialism to capitalismmuch harder as theystill relied on their masters, and there wasno availability of freemarketforces4. Since themajority of serfswerestillbound to theland, theywereworking, industrialisation was not able to be carried out in Russia andotherparts of Europe. Thiswasattributed to thelack of labour to be offered in urbancentreswhere industrialization wascarried out hencemakingtheeconomies of therespectivecountrieslagfarbehind in comparison to othercountries5. Theothersmallgroup of freedlabourersprovidedverycheaplabourandwerepaidverylittlehencelived in very poor conditions. This made it very difficult for the serfs to acquire property hence the market lacked operation of free forces6. Inability to provide social amenities Poverty is also one of the aspects of communism which has posed challenges to capitalism. In order to eradicate poverty in a society, a nation is supposed to produce adequate basic supplies in terms of shelter, clothing and food to the population. Almost all the countries previously associated with communism have been unable to provide the basic needs effectively and efficiently7. High levels of famine, homelessness and poverty have been experienced in East Germany, Russia and China. This makes the respective states intervene through provision of social amenities and market policies to curtail free market forces. The interference of free market forces is a challenge to capitalism as a result of communism aspects8. Industrialization Industrialization in Russia greatly lagged behind as a result of communism. This was attributed to the previously used communism system which had killed the incentive to work hard as well as the creativity and innovation required. As a result of free market forces, entrepreneurs can identify market needs and respond to them appropriately hence high motivation and ambition9. On the other hand, Russia had depended on a command economy. The communism system relied on Government’s coercion in order to produce for a very long time, and this has reduced the economic levels as well as wealth production of Russia. Other countries such as Poland and East Germany failed to be innovative since the state was responsible for the provision of basic needs. As a result of the Government’s responsibility for the provision of basic needs, the drive, zeal and ambition fades and in its place remains laziness. Due to slowed economic growth and development that the communist countries have been forced to shift to capitalism10. Religion Religion has been one of the major negative aspects of communism that has challenged capitalism. Since the majority of the communist nations are religious, communism religions such as Christianity in Russia and Buddhism in China advocate poverty as a noble way of life. This has made people content with poverty since it is in line with their relative religious virtues. Most religions hold on equality as a way of life and the ultimate goal which is to seek eternal nourishment as opposed to hard work, zeal and entrepreneurial tendencies hence promoting laziness. Although other Christian denominations such as Anglicans hold the belief for hard work through some gospel scriptures such Paul’s epistles11. Corruption Corruption is also another significant aspect of capitalism that has greatly posed challenges to capitalism. In communist countries such as Russia and China, individual liberty, freedom of expression, press and politics are curtailed in a dictatorial manner. In extreme cases, the opposition was inhumanely killed so as to serve as precedence for any such cases in the future. Furthermore, communism encouraged collective theft and bias in the resource allocation process since there was nobody to keep it in check12. On the other hand, any form of private property was sized so as to act as deterrence to others with similar motives in future. As a result of the above forms of corruption, economic progression in some parts has been significantly impaired. This was so since the majority of a nation’s resources are held by a noble class. The noble class inherits the wealth upon the collapse of the communism system hence the noble class controls the market. This is attributed to discrimination in resource allocation. The above could be attributed to favouritism in resource allocation or lack of checks in the working of the Governments by the opposition or the media. This comes in due to the restriction of the relevant freedoms13. Revolutions Several countries that proposed the communism forms of Government faced revolutions and divisions due to varying views. In Russia between the years 1904-1905 and 1914 respectively were characterized with disastrous innocent killings. In 1905, a Christian led recession requesting for political prisoners amnesty were shot at leading to the death of hundreds of innocent civilians. Following that incident, civil unrest and strikes erupted continuously leading to political instability14. The political instability has continuously developed in Russia over the years leading to the rise of militant groups. Reformist groups such as the ‘Duma’ have been in the forefront in precipitating revolutions such as the 1914 revolt. In the event of civil unrest, the forces of a free market are unable to operate freely hence posed challenges to capitalism since reform groups controlled trade in their respective regions. Both social and peasant revolutionaries wanted power to be transferred to peasants while Democrats wanted power to be left to urban labourers. Other reformers also called liberals had wanted the emperors powers curtailed through a constitution and an election15. Conclusion Through an analysis of the former Soviet Union which is present-day Russia and other communist countries, this paper has established several aspects of communism which posed challenges to capitalism. This research paper views the different impacts of the cause-effect relationship between aspects of communism and the working mechanisms of capitalism. The capitalism mechanisms referred to in this paper are the free market forces of entrepreneurship as defined by Karl Marx and Engel16. Although in the current world communism is no longer practised, even countries that term themselves communists are not communists but a mix of communism and capitalism. 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