AP Comparative Government Communism AP Comparative Government

About Communism The most important communist state throughout history was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) The first communist regime in Russia came to power as a result of the October revolution in 1917 After World War II, the Soviet Union imposed regimes similar communist regimes in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and east Germany These countries were known as satellites nations of the Soviet Union The majority of the countries that adopted communist governments were Asian Even today, all but one communist nation is centered in Asia

Socialism Socialism can be traced back to the Levelers of the seventeenth-century in England The Levelers advocated for social, political, and economic equality Socialism generally has four different characteristics that we can use to describe the philosophy Socialists believe that capitalism and the private ownership of means of production are flawed Most liberals are satisfied if a society can achieve equality of opportunity, which theoretically offers everyone the same chance to succeed. Socialists believe in equality of outcome Socialists are convinced that democracy as practice is too limited Socialists believe that democracy should also include popular control over ALL decisions that shape people’s lives Socialists claim that providing for public ownership and control of a substantially more egalitarian society will improve human relations in general

Marxism Socialist groups can generally be divided into two groups Those who believe socialist change can come through democracy and those who believe that social change can only be achieved through revolution Karl Marx is the founder of the belief that social revolution is needed throughout the world Marx agreed with most political theorists who stated that there are stages of human development We have moved from hunter gatherers to our current state Marx embraced the idea of industrial societies

Marxism Marx embraced the teachings of Georg Hagel who said that societies shift from one stage to another in wrenching form This process is known as a dialectic Marx thought the process of a dialectic arose because of class warfare The base of each economic society, according to Marx, is that the ruling class exploits the rest of the population who does not control the means of production The society creates a superstructure such as the state and religion that are designed to keep the low ranks in line The bureaucracy, police, and army are designed to keep order

Marxism Marx theorized that the push to make money in capitalism would eventually lead to social downfall The theory states that as capitalists tried to expand their businesses to make more money, some would fall and the business class would begin to shrink. This would lead to a growing population throughout the lower classes . It was believed that as time continued to move on, the bourgeoisie (the capitalist class) would continue to suppress the proletariat (the working class) until the proletariat grew so big that it would overthrow the bourgeoisie Marx then stated that this would lead to a communal system where all were responsible for the running all means of production Once people stopped trying to take advantage of each other, the superstructure of government and religion would no longer be needed

Marxism-Leninism While Marx had theorized that socialist revolution would happen in industrialized states, they ultimately happened in developing nations These nations had small working classes and generally developed repressive governments that stopped the uprising of dissident citizens This required a shift in the way in how Marxists thought about communism Lenin ultimately designed a system of government based on a highly disciplined, hierarchical organization termed “democratic centralism” This systematic structure was ruled from the top down with little/no input from the people Lenin was able to institute his ideals in Russia with victory in the Bolshevik revolution

Stalinism Joseph Stalin became the focal point of the communist movement in the mid 1920’s Stalin ran his government with totalitarian strength and used the media, his party, and terror to rule over his people Under Stalin, Russia was run by a very strict party state This strict party rule is in contrast to the theories put forth by Marx

Spreading Communism Shortly after the Bolshevik revolution, Lenin established a group called the Third International, or Comintern, to spread communist revolution throughout the world The most radical socialists were those that supported these groups There were multiple attempts to institute Bolshevik style revolutions in other places but all were unsuccessful Because of these failed revolution attempts, Stalin instituted a policy called “socialism in one country” This movement was supposed to, above all else, make sure that the Soviet government was able to survive and thrive After WWII communism began to take greater hold throughout the world, but not in the way that Marx had prophesized Communist revolutions in Europe were started by military leaders The rest of the worlds communist states were inspired by domestic, not international movements (China, North Korea, Indochina, Cuba)

De-Stalinization After Stalin's death, his colleagues and enforcers eventually took control of the government This lead to a movement known as de-Stalinization in which there was a relaxation in some of the oppressive institutions of Stalin In 1956 Nikita Khrushchev gave a speech that documented the many atrocities committed under Stalin This speech was the impetus for slight changes within the governmental system Universities were given more freedom and Stalin was openly criticized

De-Stalinization The changes made during de-Stalinization did not stop strong governmental control of the people and of member states of the Soviet imposed Warsaw Pact alliance The Warsaw Pact alliance is similar to that of NATO Khrushchev was eventually forced from power in Russia and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev Brezhnev was very critical of change, and this lack of change helped push the USSR to failure The lack of change that was accepted by Russian leaders flew in the face of what socialist revolution was supposed to stand for