Does Anyone Know What Communism Is?

[LewPaper]

I know what I THINK it is (well almost) but Russia was Communist and their idea of it was simply a totalitarian hard-line state. Nazi Germany was a hard-line totalitarian state but they claimed to be the extreme opposite of Communist. So what IS Communism?

[sandyRoe]

From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.

[sunny-dave]

If you go far enough 'left' or far enough 'right', they meet each other round the back of the Secret Police headquarters.

[LewPaper]

Sandy - that's what I thought it was (in theory) - no mention of thugs, secret police or brutality though; and Dave, I couldn't agree more.

[atalanta]

True communism has never existed. True communism was expected by people like Marx and Engels to be the perfect state, where government would not need to exist because the people would be so attuned to the people's own needs that they would need no government at all. The so-called "withering away" of the state. Read the "Communist Manifesto" for more information. It is really very short and quite readable, and almost certainly available in full somewhere on the internet.

[jno]

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Communism_vs_Fascism

[LewPaper]

Thanks atalanta - your opinion seems to mirror mine and I've read your article jno and I'm now more confused than before. Where it says there's no need for a political system but then goes on to talk about collective decisions, isn't that political? (not to mention freedom of religion).
It's a shame really cos Communism (in its true sense) sounds like utopia and I'm sure with a bit of tweaking the best bits of communism could sit quite comfortably with the best bits of capitalism.
Still, I'm no political animal and I think it shows. Bit too naive I s'pose.

[jno]

I think they mean political in the sense of political parties with different agendas. I have noticed similar "communist" leanings among some ABers who are irked that the Tories are limited in what they can do by the fact that they are in coalition with the LibDems and can't just make their own collective decisions. Democracy can be so irritating.

[LewPaper]

Isn't it just? Still I think it's better than all the others (OUR version of it anyway).

[Old_Geezer]

To expect no politics is comparable to expecting no weather.

Until everyone is in agreement there is always a need to have a way to enforce the collective decision.

The definition of the eventual goal has no obligation to describe the means of getting there.

The trouble with Utopian perfection is that human nature gets in the way. A wise system works with, not against, human nature. Uses it's strengths.

[mibn2cweus]

//From each according to their ability, to each according to their need./ invokes a system that promotes need while discouraging ability. When such a system is enforced by law, ability becomes a liability and need a blank check written to those who seek to avoid becoming their neighbours beast of burden. Communism is a corruption of the innate desire to seek out and realise the best within us while making the best among us slaves to our own ability.

[beso]

mibn2cweus //From each according to their ability, to each according to their need invokes a system that promotes need while discouraging ability.//

Exactly. I lived on a community for several years. It encouraged useless needy people. I have a lot of ability but he more I did the less was done by others. Among other things, I maintained the community's cars, the tractor and other machinery and collected most of the firewood.

Their attitude was what they did was for the community but what I did was simply because I wanted to.

One bloke said his major contribution was his "spirituality". In fact he was an abusive misanthropist and cheated on the whole community whenever he could.

[beso]

Marx had a dream of a classless, cashless society.

Communism generally succeeded at these goals as they do tend to reach a point where they have no class and no cash.

[jno]

the most heavily populated country in the world is still nominally communist and seems to be doing quite well. Widespread opinion is that our grandchildren will all have to learn to speak Chinese. So it shouldn't be written off just yet.

[BlackadderV]

Spot on, jno. China is "nominally" communist but in fact is now totalitarian capitalist. If you want to see real communism in all its glory, visit North Korea.

[jno]

it's not entirely totalitarian. Pretty well every Chinese dynasty that ever was has fallen through popular uprising, so the rulers are always nervous of public opinion and do their best to respond to it, even though the actual party structures don't exactly encourage democracy. But you'd have at least as much chance of (say) stopping an illegal war through public protest there as you would here.

[LewPaper]

Reading all these comments it's impossible to select 'the best one' as they've all contributed to a better understand of Communism. It seems not only is Communism an ideology but an idealistic ideology open to abuse and lethargy, human nature in fact and where there's little or no self-discipline it has to be enforced.
Thanks to every one of you.

[naomi24]

I'm late on parade, but I nominate mibn2cweus for best answer. Spot on.