Communism: Pro and Cons

[Boseda]

In my opinion there are no pros and all cons. It is a really bad political doctrine.

But I don't want to influence your own opinions, so feel free to share your personal thoughts about communism.

I'd like to hear mainly people who lived under a communist regime, for example Eastern Europe people, Chinese ones, North Koreans (... I guess there are no North Koreans here btw  )

[TheCoinGrabber]

I don't live in a communist country, though communists have been waging a war against us since like forever, bleeding us dry. They like to keep on pointing to China's success, forgetting it only became so when it adopted capitalist policies. Not to mention the inequality, which they can't complain about because it's not a democracy after all.

It seems it's all good in paper but is very hard to implement in reality because it goes against human drive to own and master the material.

[Kvanko]

Well, I was born a few years after Soviet Union dissolved. But my mom sometimes tells me about life back then. Maybe it's somewhat naive to judge the whole doctrine or country from the view of one person, but she was a typical representative of worker class. For some time she was living in the village, working in the factory and then she was a seller at the shop. Almost everything she tells me about USSR is pretty sad. It was very hard to earn money and even if you managed to collect any and decided to buy a car or appartment (at least take a loan), it was impossible to do legally. You had to go in a line and wait for a several years to be able to buy something like this. Especially if you weren't a member of the Party. Also everyone was stealing on their workplaces, like ALL THE TIME. Maybe its not about communism at all and more about unsuccessfull experiment of building it, but as for me, a real communism cannot exist somewhere outside from people's dreams and a real communism is always some shitty tyrany without anything it promises. In this context I don't see any reasons to talk about ideal concept of communism and it's pros or cons.

[pinkmann]

Communism doesn't work the proof is in history. The biggest con is that your country will eventually fail and you'll have to start again. The only pro would be for the people in power. They can have whatever they want at the expense of the regular folk. Kinda like Capitalism where the capitalist countries are rich and most people have more than they need. While other countries that make goods for them are poor and impoverished.

Universal income is a solution but that would require a one world government. Not too many people are keen to that idea.

[BitcoinSupremo]

Communism comes from Karl Marks and Engels both persons I would not trust their ideology. They say that the state should command everything and this often has resulted in dictatorship. Fortunately the dictatorship was overthrown in many communist countries. I know this based on reading, I never lived in a communist country thank God.

[protokol]

Communism is a great idea in theory, but history has shown it to be almost impossible to work well on a large scale. This is because organising communism with countries consisting of millions of people will lead to corruption amongst the organisers, and history has shown this to be the case.

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton

However, communism can work quite well on a small scale - there are certainly communes of people numbered in the hundreds, that function very efficiently. The important question is, what is the limit of individuals before the system collapses (or begins to degrade)?

[killgald]

In theory communism is a wonder even can be compared with heaven utopia, but as the past and every country who practices like north Korea, Cuba and how to forget the sobiet union this doctrine is not the paradise an in practice will never work.

[Lancusters]

Communism comes from Karl Marks and Engels both persons I would not trust their ideology. They say that the state should command everything and this often has resulted in dictatorship. Fortunately the dictatorship was overthrown in many communist countries. I know this based on reading, I never lived in a communist country thank God.

I lived at a communism and I can compare. Always there are good and bad parties in everything. At a communism bad more than good. In capitalist countries too there are the defects. Trouble is in that that in entire countries where built a communism there was dictatorship. Exactly on this account a communism began to be associated with repressions.

[Sithara007]

I can talk about the Cons, but where are the pros? I can't find a single positive from communism. Look at the countries where communism is prevalent, such as Cuba and North Korea. I can see only pain and suffering. China is better, but they have moved away from mainstream communism.

[merchantofzeny]

Well, I was born a few years after Soviet Union dissolved. But my mom sometimes tells me about life back then. Maybe it's somewhat naive to judge the whole doctrine or country from the view of one person, but she was a typical representative of worker class. For some time she was living in the village, working in the factory and then she was a seller at the shop. Almost everything she tells me about USSR is pretty sad. It was very hard to earn money and even if you managed to collect any and decided to buy a car or appartment (at least take a loan), it was impossible to do legally. You had to go in a line and wait for a several years to be able to buy something like this. Especially if you weren't a member of the Party. Also everyone was stealing on their workplaces, like ALL THE TIME. Maybe its not about communism at all and more about unsuccessfull experiment of building it, but as for me, a real communism cannot exist somewhere outside from people's dreams and a real communism is always some shitty tyrany without anything it promises. In this context I don't see any reasons to talk about ideal concept of communism and it's pros or cons.

I think your example made it pretty clear, it fails because it goes against human nature.

Communism is a great idea in theory, but history has shown it to be almost impossible to work well on a large scale. This is because organising communism with countries consisting of millions of people will lead to corruption amongst the organisers, and history has shown this to be the case.

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton

However, communism can work quite well on a small scale - there are certainly communes of people numbered in the hundreds, that function very efficiently. The important question is, what is the limit of individuals before the system collapses (or begins to degrade)?

We can't tell but maybe it's no bigger than the Dunbar number - 150. I think anything bigger than that would already feel impersonal.

[joebrook]

Communism and dictatorship always walk hand in hand, and am not a big fan of dictatorship because in it we have tyranny and senseless killings.in the end it's only the elite you will enjoy leaving the masses poor.

[craked5]

Communism and dictatorship always walk hand in hand, and am not a big fan of dictatorship because in it we have tyranny and senseless killings.in the end it's only the elite you will enjoy leaving the masses poor.

Nope.
They always HAVE WALKED hand in hand.
But there is no reason for them to do so.
You could have a communism system with direct democracy.
Hence there wouldn't be any political class taking all the power and the money. Production would belong to the people and be managed by the people.

[iluvpie60]

If you are looking for the pros in Communism there isn't many. In every communist uprising it has always just killed tons of people and taken their wealth.

Everyone remembers how Hitler killed 20 million people total, but no one remembers that Stalin killed 30 to 40 million, or Mao killing tens of millions also. The French revolution outright killed lots of people too and was kind of a marxist/communist thing.

Almost any country in South America has gone down the tubes. Right now Venezuela is failing and became a communist dictatorship. Who ever would have thought that if you give all of the power to the government that they would use it? rolls eyes.

[criptix]

The French revolution outright killed lots of people too and was kind of a marxist/communist thing.

Right now Venezuela is failing and became a communist dictatorship.

 

One of us definitely needs to go to school again lol

Btw. I agree with craked5 but until now every communist system was corrupted and then ruled by an higher/inner echelon. So we fore sure would need checks & balances like in a democratic system.

At the end of the day the question is: are human beins inherently corrupt?

[whaawh]

The French revolution outright killed lots of people too and was kind of a marxist/communist thing.

Right now Venezuela is failing and became a communist dictatorship.

 

One of us definitely needs to go to school again lol

You think that in such cases the school can teach something else, if it has not taught anything yet? It seems to me that only the person who really experienced this political system can tell about communism.

[criptix]

The French revolution outright killed lots of people too and was kind of a marxist/communist thing.

Right now Venezuela is failing and became a communist dictatorship.

 

One of us definitely needs to go to school again lol

You think that in such cases the school can teach something else, if it has not taught anything yet? It seems to me that only the person who really experienced this political system can tell about communism.

And i know for sure such a person is definitely not you lol

See i know you are some of the pinoys who stopped selling shabu because they found out about sig campaigns

[KoningSilk]

Communism is an economic system.
Dictatorship is an political system.

After stating that, I would like to see a democratic nation try to impliment communism (not in my country though).

[pao_de_lo]

Jewish Bolshevism, Moses Mordecai Levi Marx, Moses Hess





Genrikh Yagoda

[Proton2233]

I can talk about the Cons, but where are the pros? I can't find a single positive from communism. Look at the countries where communism is prevalent, such as Cuba and North Korea. I can see only pain and suffering. China is better, but they have moved away from mainstream communism.

Communism has a lot of advantages, but only until it's on paper. As soon as someone tries to build a Communist society have nothing but the red terror does not work. This does not mean that the idea is bad, it may just not born yet the people who can bring this idea to life.

[darkangel11]

Communism is an economic system.
Dictatorship is an political system.

After stating that, I would like to see a democratic nation try to impliment communism (not in my country though).

First of all, nowadays pure communism is almost extinct and what remains is socialism.
Unfortunately all countries are supporting socialist ideas in some way. I've seen so many right wing parties trying to cut themselves from the leftist ideology and calling them communists and socialists, while at the same time following socialist way of thinking.
Take taxes for an example. In most countries they are based on income, so that all give according to their ability, but this means that those who have more are forced to give more. It's one of the foundations of communism and socialism.