Pros & Cons of Communism
Posted In: Political Ideology.
Communism is a political theory which advocates the communal ownership of the means of production. Unlike capitalism, the main aim is not to generate a profit, but to ensure that everyone has the same kind of access to education, employment and health provision.
Chairman Mao and his propaganda machine talked about how great China was doing and how it provided everything the people needed. Chairman Mao always said that capitalist was dying and that Communism will rule the world. The fact is that he killed millions of Chinese and said it was a necessary loss for the greater good of the country.
Everyone is equal
Basically, under a communist system everyone should be equal. However, in countries which have embraced communism, this often turns out not to be the case. Although the ideal of everyone having the same opportunities and being equal is nice, the reality is somewhat different. Often corruption is a problem and anyone with opposing political ideas are not allowed to air their views.
Dictators in power
Communist states tend to have dictatorial leaders whose will is imposed on the population. However, they often see themselves as benevolent dictators, who put the interests of their people first. This is debatable, though, when so many dictators live in much better accommodation and have far much more in their life than the people they supposedly represent. Yet, because society ‘owns’ everything and making a profit is not the driving force behind business, more money can be invested in services that everyone has to use. Thus, the education and health systems benefit, which means ordinary people can go to school and receive medical care when they need it.
Joseph Stalin once said that Communism will hang the capitalist using the rope sold by the capitalist. Stalin did the same thing as Chairman Mao did, killed millions of its own people to protect the communist system. In the end, communism failed and capitalism was in.
Doesn’t work in reality
Thus, education levels and the health of citizens living in communist states should improve. Yet, it is argued that because the state owns the means of production, business is less competitive, as there is no incentive for business leaders to innovate. There is too much bureaucracy involved and everything is far too inefficient, which is why it is so easy for corruption to take place. There will always be individuals prepared to take more than they deserve, even though this goes against what a communist society should be. If they are in a powerful position, they are unlikely to be found and prosecuted, so they have nothing to worry about.
The people have no voice
The same can’t be said for the ordinary population, though, because if they protest against the government, for instance, they could be imprisoned for treason, and many are not given a fair trial. Freedom of speech is severely curtailed, which means that censorship is a prominent feature of life in communist countries. Individuals can’t express their dissatisfaction with the government and explore other options, because they will be punished for doing so. Consequently, with the help of the armed forces and the media, the communist party can remain in control in countries where it is the dominant force. Thus, change is often slow, and sometimes even non-existent, in communist countries.
Capitalism’s success. Capitalism is the race to the top. Communism is the race to the bottom. Laziness is rewarded in communism because the government will provide you with food, housing and job, regardless if you are good or not. In capitalism, you get rewarded for hard work, innovation, productivity and creativity. What communism failed to understand was that, humans are born lazy. It takes capitalism to push human to excel and progress.
The collapse of communist means it doesn’t work
Even though communism does have some positive points, there clearly are not enough of them for many countries to embrace this political philosophy, which is why there are so few communist countries in today’s world.