Marxism And Communism

Communism is a type of government founded by Marx and Engles in 2nd half of the 19th century. Ruven Chu states that “Communism was an economic political philosophy founded by Karl Marx and Frederick Engles…”. Because they did not like the idea of capitalism, they invented communism. According to Ruven Chu, “Marx and Engles met in 1844 and discovered they had similar principles.” Because they both liked the idea of communism, they wrote “The Communist Manifesto”. That is how Karl Marx and Frederick Engels invented communism in the second half of the 1800s.

The success of communism had an immense impact on the world, especially in Western countries. The United States considered communism to be a real threat to democracy. Historically, critics point out that most communistic societies have faced periods of famine, and nearly all severely repress their citizens. Censorship is rampant, and any political opposition is strictly stopped. Anti-communists also argue that communism essentially causes a worse form of the class struggle in capitalist societies. This is because communist societies involve a ruling class which have all of the power, which is inevitably used to treat ordinary citizens poorly. These ruling classes have more privilege and power than the upper classes of the capitalist societies they strove to abolish.

Communist had a long history during the 20th century, and communism was very influential. Almost all of Asia and East Europe became Communist. From the start of the theory then many civil wars in Russia affected the whole world. Communist defined the idea of itself in many different ways, it helps many nations came together formed a party fought wars, but it also made many countries became really poor, and the economy in most of the countries got pushed back about 10 years. Communism is an economic and political system that sought to create an egalitarian society; it collapsed because of personal interest and government’s corruption.

The word ‘communism’ originated from ‘commun’, a French term meaning ‘belonging to all’. Before the actual foundation of communist parties and countries, there were people who had desired the theory of shared ownership and equal wealth among society for centuries. The earliest notable people to endorse this theoretical societal system included Greek philosopher Plato and religious leader

This created a society in which everyone felt deprived and longed for something different. Drakulić phrases it as “longing for the indefinite other” (A Doll that Grew Old, 59). People began forming groups where everyone could express their viewpoints. Communism fell because people began to eradicate censorship and deprivation. There were illegal exchanges and acquisition of luxury items in large quantities. Engaging in these activities made people feel like they had choices. They differentiated themselves with radical thoughts and ideas. In an effort to make everyone equal, communism rejected people’s identities. It eventually fell because citizens looked for ways to oppose the party that took away their

AQA AS/A SOCIOLOGY ESSAY: CRITICALLY EXAMINE MARXIST PERSPECTIVES ON TODAY’S SOCIETY Classical Marxism is a conflict structural theory which argues that, rather than society being based on value consensus as functionalists would contend, there is a conflict of interest between different groups (social classes) because of the unequal distribution of power and wealth. Marxists are also interested in the way in which social change can occur, particularly in sudden and revolutionary ways. However, there are differences between Marxists especially over the way which social change can come about. For example, humanistic Marxists like Gramsci give a greater role to the conscious decisions and actions of human beings than do structural Marxists

What is communism? Communism is a term used broadly to designate a ‘theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.’ It refers to the doctrine which underlines the revolutionary movement which aims to abolish capitalism and ultimately to establish a society in which all goods will be socially owned, all economic activates socially planned and controlled, and in which all distributions will be in accordance with the maxim. German author Emil Ludwig described the maxim as “for each according to his capacity, to each according to his need.”(1) It is to be distinguished from socialism which aims by constitutional and democratic

The most powerful and influential form of communism to this date called Marxism-Leninism. The origin of this newly developed philosophy is Russia, which made a great impact. The main ways that Marxism-Leninism effected the Russian society was through the Communist party, the role of working class people, and the perception of modern capitalism as imperialism. After the integration of Marxism-Leninism in Russia, the people fell into order in the beginning but later fell into chaos at the fall of the USSR similar to the Communist revolution in China. The Chinese Communist revolution was similar to the fall of the USSR as China made the mistake of pressuring the the people into Marxism which resulted in Communist revolutions and fell during the Cold

After World War II, a majority of Americans would say that communism was the world’s biggest threat. Because America is the known as “the land of the free, and the home of the brave” they were worried that communist wanted to destroy their freedom and corrupt them. Communism is a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

The 20th century began with a tumult of wars rocking throughout the world. These conflicts led to rise of philosophical thinkings, of which one of the most popular ones was Marxism. Its popularity with the working class spiraled into the act of Communism, defined as “A theory or system of social organization in which all property is owned by the community and each person contributes and receives according to their ability and needs”. Of which, in Asia, China and North Korea became Communist.

One of the disadvantages is the lack of freedom to own. The government owns all properties of the citizens. They do not have the right to own businesses and the things that satisfies their wants. Second disadvantage is the lack of freedom to speech. The people cannot express their own thoughts and opinions. Third is the lack of freedom to choose. The citizens cannot choose their own religion, their own work, and their own place to live. They cannot also travel to the place where they wanted to go. These block the people’s freedom to live a life they wanted to. Because of these reasons, many countries that are under the communist government did not attain progress and equality (Antonio, 2007, par 3). Communism suppresses the rights of the people to live in a progressing nation and in a place that values the privileges of every

In Karl Marx’s book, The Communist Manifesto, he defines communism as a utopia society that exists when all resources and production facilities are the property of the people rather than individuals. Marx said that communism would consist of a classless society. Every member of society would be a member of the proletariat, or working class society. Marx envisioned that society would function on the principals of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”(Marx 60) This is the ideal form of communism, but not what came into practice in Eastern Europe and Asia.

One way that Mao Zedong negatively impacted the life of the average Chinese citizen during the Cultural Revolution was by forcing people to join the Red Guard. The government removed kids from school to educate and brainwash them to be communist and the government trained the Red Guards to torture those who did not follow Mao’s policies. A former Red Guard who left school said, “One day I went to school... and one of my classmates... reported me to the Red Guards, for he wished [for us] to join them ("Eyewitness: Cultural Revolution”).” This negativity altered the life for the Chinese people because it took away the education of the next generation and instead put in place one type of idea, communism. The kids were brainwashed with ideas and obligations of Maoism a form of communism.

     Communism had one of the greatest political impacts than any other political ideas in the 20th century around the world. What is important and interesting about communism is its background, concept, and why many countries apply to this idea. This essay will generally focus on the background, ideology, and why the countries and political parties applied to this idea.

To better understand the nature of Sino-Soviet relations in the twentieth century, one must analyze the emergence of communism in the respective nations of Russia and China. Communism was first developed by German philosopher Karl Marx in the 1800s, and is defined as a socioeconomic policy structured around the common ownership of property in the absence of any social distinctions such as class, wealth, or race. Marx saw this arrangement as the zenith of human society, the paragon of interaction where the resources of economic production are fully socialized and everything, from basic nutrition to education, is freely allocated based on necessity. These egalitarian doctrines and policies of social, economic, and political freedom greatly appeased to the working-class populations in politically oppressed regions of the world, especially in the situations of the repressed poor and peasant classes of early twentieth-century Russian and Chinese societies.