The Theory and Practice of Communism - Coursework Example

Communism is a social, political, economic system that was has been in practice since the bulk of the part of the 20th century. However this system has been subject to failure. The failure has led to the questions being asked with regard to its nature, its legitimacy, its theoretical existence, its practical outlook and the flaws based on which it was implemented. Despite the implementation of this system and political order, Communism has not been achieved in totality; rather Socialism has been adopted as a step towards complete implementation of the system. Socialism failed in U.S.S.R(Anton & Schmitt, 2007, 3). This paper looks into the real form of communism, the practical examples across the world where communism has been implemented, along with the reasons why it failed and the possible factor that may be introduced or thought over with regard to its re implementation in true form. To some the system of socialism so implemented was not what was promised initially as a economic social and political system. It must be noticed that the socialist introduced formula of socialism came about as a response to the capitalist system. Capitalist system was considered to be an exploiting system which had led to the gulf development (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, 8). According to the proponents of the socialist system, the capitalist system had led to the establishment of two distinct classes. The haves against the have nots, the proletariats against the bourgeois with the bourgeois being the dominant bunch and taking over the resources and rights of the proletariats. Communism as the brain child of Karl Marx: The concept of Communism came about for the first time when Karl Marx along with his contemporary thinkers and philosophers came along to study and understand the actual system of capitalism. They undertook the study of capitalism in a critical way, aiming to find the areas and reasons for which this system had flawed. This system was in action for couple of centuries across major parts of Europe and America, however the discontent within and social gap buildup led to the questions about the ineffective outlook of capitalist system. This in turn brought about questions for the establishment and introduction of a new moral, political, social, economic system. In consequence of this action, Karl Marx came about with the idea of Communism. Communism was a multi step process which would be adopted and incorporated through step wise introduction and adoption of intermediate systems. Socialism was the door step and foundation towards Communism. Karl Marx devoted considerable amount of research and study towards this topic and came along with the different theoretical, experimental works. One of these books and works so presented was “Critique of Political Economy”. Other book which he wrote was that of “Das Kapital” written in 1867 (Wheen, 2008, 28). Karl Marx was accompanied by Fredrick Engels in his work. Socialism was implemented in number of parts of world throughout the 20th century. The notable states that adopted this included the likes of U.S.S.R, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and other states (Lamazares, 2008, 87). The first foundation was laid by the Soviet Union towards the end of the First World War, when a formal revolution came about in the form of Bolshevik Revolution. Bolshevik Revolution came about as a reaction to the authoritarian and monarchic system that was in place in Russia for last few centuries. The Tsarists were in rule and family rule was intact and broad line of separation was intact between the commoners and the high ups. As a result there was desire for establishment of a system that would bring about relief to the masses. Originally Communism came about as a cry against property which led to the monopoly establishment between those who had means and sources to possessions, some critics of the capitalist even went to the extent that property is a theft and that it should be abolished. Only the government would hold the property and would administer over it, the people would be equal within the ranks and equal social standing would prevail. The reason for original concept behind communism: Communism as an alternative against other social system: Communism came about at a time when the society was divided between two distinct forces, the commoners and the industrialists. The industrialists had established their power, authority and control through different phases. The first phase was that of the master slave partnership within the society. This was soon transformed into the Serf and Lord relationship. The Serf and lord relationship came about at a time when industrial growth came about. The serfs saw it as exploitation. According to Karl Marx and his subsequent principles and doctrine of Communism, the labors were kept from the original purpose and they were only given a very minor share of their wages, their works and their contribution, in turn this led to the exploitation, hatred and distancing of the labors from the lords. The lords at the same time gained momentum and ground and kept on building their resources, their capital and other power means. The third stage of the capitalist system grew further and turned into the proletariat and bourgeois within the society. This in turn led to the further gulf establishment within the societies and structural foundation. The Lords, as a result gained more and more power and authority. The workers living standards grew further low and they had to resort to the remains that were there. According to Karl Marx, all these factors characterized the existence of a capitalist system, in such scenarios, the exploited ones needed a more unified and organized system of ruling over them that would give them more protection and more right to defense and more right to their duties. Each individual would be gifted according to his capabilities, their work and their hardships and there would be no influential few against the few who are exploited in the name of industry, resources desires and resources shown to them and in actual they only get a very small share of the entire worth. Although Karl Marx introduced his concepts and philosophy towards the later part of the 19th century, the first and formal implementation of the theory and doctrine came about towards the early part of the 20th century. The end of First World war brought about the social and political change in Russia. In the name of Bolshevik Revolution the world saw first implemented model of Karl Marx’s doctrine, much later after Karl Marx had passed away. The proponents of this system were Vladimir Lenin. Lenin came about with hopes of giving the people hope, relief and comfort against the flawed system of tyranny that was enforced upon the people in the name of capitalism. Lenin and his contemporaries aimed at bringing about a system that would provide relief to them in totality. Lenin and the Russian revolutionaries abolished the system of classes within (Lansford, 2007, 14), it also aimed at abolishing the system of possessions, and it further abolished the system of private ownership and property. In response to it, the government came about with the offers of introducing the systems such as equal shares, equal distribution and justice within the system of ruling and governance. This was the first step and the aim was to establish the system of communism through step wise processes. As a result it was further aimed that a universal moral social and political order would be established. This would be done so for the purpose of introducing the ideas of communism and socialism on mass level. The reasons to its failures: Many experts and historians have taken a look at the reasons why this system never succeeded in the manner it should have. They managed understanding this through the study of the places and nations where this system has been incorporated. The most common example and case study that is available for everyone to study comes in the form of the failure of the Socialist system in Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. It would be handled through the critical areas and critical assessment of the overall factors of the socialist agenda set forth in U.S.S.R. While the socialist agenda was introduced as a reformist idea, it soon started to deviate from its core agendas. The first and foremost point that started to show deviation was that of the political intentions. While the Karl’s Marx agenda never advocated the usage of force and brutality, the socialist system so incorporated in the U.S.S.R, soon started to show traces of violence and oppression of the rivals groups and the opponents in the political spectrum. Soon the system progress, by the middle of the 1920s, U.S.S.R was freed of any other political party. It could have been done so through the step wise legal process, however the manner in which Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin undertook this agenda and action, it was totally contrary to the basic principles and doctrine set forth by Karl Marx. Use of excessively repressive means by U.S.S.R and the military in place made up for a critical point deviant from the core function and core purpose advised and suggested by Karl Marx. Lenin and his contemporaries took the means of oppression. In order to silence the rebellions within, and to kill the voice of opinion and contrast, people were killed. The Stalin’s regime saw over a million people killed through the course of his power and authority which came as a conflicting point against the original agendas set forth by Karl Marx. Karl Marx’s set forth manifesto did not advocate or suggest use of power or brutal force towards enforcing the ideas and agendas, the Russian form of socialism was relatively hostile in its nature. The same can be said in the other parts of the world where socialism has been implemented. While Socialism has been implemented in Cuba and other parts of the South American continent, one major flaw that has been seen in this regard is that is of alienation of the states from outside community. While Karl Marx’s communist manifesto advocated for a new moral, social, political and economic system and order, yet it did not advise a system that would lead to alienation from the outside world. Cuba, Russia and other similar nations who have undertaken the system, have suffered from alienation and hostility towards other nations. In the practically implemented form of Communism and socialism, the class equality could not be maintained. Instances of corruption came forth time and again in the course of U.S.S.R’s existence. The people who were in the power making seats had larger access to the resources, they had their approach to the different commodities of life which were not available to the other people at that time. Karl Marx’s communism aimed at bringing about a system where the ruler and ruled would be treated equally, such instances were found missing in U.S.S.R, the same can be said about the Cuban revolutionaries. They enjoyed relatively easier access to the resources as compared to the commoners. Fidel Castro as an example of the lapses in the true implementation has been subjected to criticism with regard to the overall wealth and possession he possesses. This comes in total contrast to the actual doctrine. Use of force: While Karl Marx advocated the spread of socialism, he did not advocate the brutal use of force, in the case of U.S.S.R and Cuba; we see usage of brutality against the weaker states and the weaker segments within the society. This marks up for the major conflicts between the actual form of communism set forth by Karl Marx and the adopted form of socialism in the different parts of the world. Political shape rather than social: The practical socialist movement that was adopted by the Bolsheviks soon adopted an outlook that was aligned along the lines of political motives. This in turn led to the compromise over the originally set forth principles for the welfare of the people of the land. For example, the U.S.S.R, got engaged in a conflict with the Capitalist state United States of America and engaged itself in a five decades long war in the form of the Cold War. By the end of the war, the regions that were under the influence of the U.S.S.R and socialist agenda were found to have lacked behind socially, economically and were kept deprived in the many areas (Juraga & Booker, 2002, 1). If the true form of socialism and communism aimed agenda was implemented, perhaps the outcome of these regions and these nations may not had been as worrisome as it stands in the present times. Cuba itself is in the shackles and throes of economic difficulties based on the fact that the overall agenda undertook the shape of political phenomena. The fact that the practical form of socialist followers adopted a course that was tilted towards the political ambitions, and leaving behind the economic and social factor, made up for a serious flaw in the implementation of the actual doctrine that had been set forth by Karl Marx. A hypothetical set of rules? After its failure over a decade long implementation, it drew the theorists towards exploring the angles which would help knowing the fact why communism failed in actual. It has been time and again echoed that the overall system of communism was a superfluous one, hypothetical one and distant from reality. It therefore would never stand fulfilled. The fact that every society has classes, segregation and division within, cannot be eliminated and Communism aimed at eliminating it which made its work entirely difficult and relatively less probable to come true, hence the difference between the actual form of communism and the realistically acquired social and political socialist agenda. Some have even termed it a utopian phenomenon (Levitas, 2010, 47) that is hard to come by in the actual world and actual circumstances. The moral flaws may be termed as a factor that have led to the failure of the system incorporation since the states that have implemented them have been far from a moral state in terms of the protection towards the people’s lives, liberty and other freedoms that are promised towards an individual in a welfare society. Absolute solidarity and removal of element of competition within: Communism drives away the factor of competition within the society, while it is an established fact that the society runs along the principles of struggle, continuous hard work and aims towards acquiring success in the different domains, eliminating the element of competition would lead to a crippled and weaker society, and this may well be attributed to the societies that have been embarked along the lines of socialist mindset. Conclusion: Deviations in the form of implementation, difficulty in the form of inability to implement it, and the relatively subjective nature of communism are few of the factors that have led to the debate and the consideration with regard to the flawed outcome of the Communism as a moral, social, economic and political system. The collapse of Soviet Union, and its subsequent retreat from the original point towards Communism, puts more doubts over the question if the world would ever get to see the complete form of Communism being implemented. References: Anton, A., & Schmitt, R. (2007). Toward a New Socialism. Lexington Books Hodson, R., & Sullivan, T. A. (2008). The Social Organization of Work. Cengage Learning Juraga, D., & Booker, M. K. (2002). Rereading Global Socialist Cultures After the Cold War: The Reassessment of a Tradition. Greenwood Publishing Group Lamazares, A. (2008). Cuban Art Under Late Socialism: Contested Spaces, Revolutionary Aesthetics, and the Creation of a New Art Market. ProQuest Lansford, T. (2007). Communism. Marshall Cavendish Levitas, R. (2010). The Concept of Utopia. Peter Lang Wheen, F. (2008). Marxs Das Kapital: A Biography. Grove Press. Read More