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Introduction
| Communism | Liberalism CommunismCommunism is based on Marxism, the left-wing political ideas of Karl Marx (1818-83), a German revolutionary who spent most of his life in exile in London. It became the ideology of the Soviet Union after the successful revolution of 1917, and then spread across Europe. After World War II, Communism became important in the Third World, and succeeded most notably in China, Indochina and the Caribbean island of Cuba. Struggle Marx saw history as a struggle between classes, in which the bourgeoisie (or middle and upper classes) exploited the proletariat (or lower and working classes). They did this by owning the means of production (land, factories, banks) and paying the lowest possible wages while pocketing the most profit. Marx believed that capitalism – which had gradually replaced medieval feudalism as the main economic, social and political system in Europe and the United States – contained the seeds of its own destruction because of the contradiction between its relentless drive for profits and the obvious social injustice of a rich few ruling over an impoverished many. Dictatorship of the proletariat According to Marx, it was inevitable that the industrial working class would rise up and overthrow the ruling class, and that it would then redistribute the wealth of society on a fairer and more equal basis. He imagined that such a revolution would result in the creation of a dictatorship of the proletariat, which would pass laws and create a socialist society. However, this would be only transitional, as society would slowly develop into a utopian Communist world in which common ownership of the earth's riches and social justice both would increase human happiness and self-development. Need for revolution Many of the specific reforms that Marx advocated – the nationalisation of industries and transport, a state bank, a graded income tax, universal state education and the abolition of child labour – were, during the 20th century, gradually achieved in many Western democracies through agitation and struggle, but without the need for revolution. But Marx's radical ideas about redistributing land and abolishing private property were only attempted in countries that experienced successful revolutions, such as Russia and China. In the 20th century, Marxists were split into social democrats, who believed that it was possible to reform the capitalist system, and Communists – such as Lenin and Mao Zedong – who advocated revolution as the only way to achieve first socialism and then Communism. Adapting Marx's ideas The Communists elaborated on Marx's ideas, especially adapting them to
countries – such as Russia and China – where conditions were
different to those in the highly industrialised ones in Europe and the
US. For example, Lenin's ideas about the importance of the Communist party
– with its rigid hierarchy and extreme centralisation of power –
were known as 'Marxist-Leninism', which became the state ideology of the
Soviet Union. At their worst, under Stalin,
such ideas became known as 'Stalinism', which justified tyranny, terror
and a complete lack of civil liberties. The Soviet Union became a totalitarian
state in which personal freedoms were subordinated to the orders of the
party bureaucracy.
Similarly, Maoism adapted Marxist ideas to China, a country in which
the huge majority of the population were poor peasants and in which industry
was very underdeveloped. Instead of waiting for the then embryonic industrial
working class to make a revolution, Mao organised the peasants into soviets
(local communities led by the Communist party) and took power in the countryside.
In such cases, the left-wing liberality of Marxism soon became subordinate
to the right-wing conservatism of practical politics.
Communism under attack After the October Revolution in 1917, Russian Communists found themselves under attack by counter-revolutionaries. The latter were assisted by Western powers such as Britain who were afraid that Communist ideas – which were a powerful criticism of social injustice in the capitalist world – would provoke strikes, riots or revolution elsewhere in Europe. Indeed, there were several uprisings, such as the Spartacist revolt in Germany in 1919, that suggested that Marxist ideas were a potent force. At the same time, some politicians, such as Britain's Winston Churchill, were violently anti-Communist and even supported Fascist politicians, such as Italy's Mussolini, because of their virulent anti-socialism. |
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