Communism - An In Depth Review & Critique of it's Origin & Goals
Uploaded by tlivingspvamu on Dec 04, 2005
The purpose of this research is to investigate the meaning of communism while exploring the ideology in depth and to give a plausible critique of communism. Throughout the history of the modern world, man has sought out the perfect government. An invincible system of order. And in our search for this ideal system, the idea of holding property in common has been a reoccurring thought. From early Christian communities to modern Marxist states, socialism and more specifically, communism has had an important role in the development of this ideal system.
The original goals of communism, a perfect proletariat society, transformed
over time; from the revolutionary thinking of Karl Marx to the murderous communist dictatorships of V.I. Lenin and Joseph Stalin. In the original Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, the original idea of communism and socialism was to form a perfect proletariat society, where there were no classes and all people lived as equals together. (Marx, Engels, 42) Over the years, the original idea of peace and equality for all was transformed and molded to fit a certain person or groups personal interests. The peaceful society idea never worked out at all in a country like Russia. Rulers like Stalin and Lenin not only did not carry out the original goal of peace and living in harmony, they carried out bloody purges of people who did not fit “their plan” for a perfect communist society. They carried out the liquidation of the Kulak class. Instead of having a gradual change from a society with classes to a classless one.
In the mid-1830’s, the term “Communism” was introduced to the world of French politics. First used to describe Saint-Simon and Fourier’s egalitarian slant on socialist ideas, Louis Blanc built on the ideals of Fourier to establish an important point of modern-day communism. He stated the principle, “...from each according to his capacities, to each according to his needs”, where as the old principle stated, “...from each according to his capacities, to each according to his works.” (Blanc, Loubere, 194) This would prove necessary to later philosophers such as Marx and Engels whose fundamental ideas were largely based on such principles.
Even more influential, though, was German thinker George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel introduced “radical” ideas to European politics in the early 1800’s, but they would not be fully realized by others until after his death in 1831. He was convinced that...