Hallmarks of Communist Regimes
First Communist regime came to power as a result of the October 1917 revolution and the civil war that followed (Soviet Union or USSR) After WWII the Soviet Union imposed regimes that were all but carbon copies of its own Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and the eastern part of Germany (satellites of the USSR) Other Communist states arose from the aftermath of WWII (North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, China) Cuba became a communist state after the Cuban Revolution (1959), led by Fidel Castro, overthrew Fulgencio Batista Cuba became a Soviet ally and adopted their style of communism in 1961
Communist Party completely controlled political life In a few countries, other parties were allowed to exist, however they were only pawns of the Communists. Party dominated the government, the media, the economy, the educational system, and most social and leisure activities Parties were run according to democratic socialism-- rule by a tiny group of party officials at the top of the hierarchy
Until the late 1950s, the Soviet Union controlled the entire Communist world New Communist regimes not only adopted Marxism- Leninism but submitted to Moscow’s leadership in determining how their parties would be run But by the 1950s, the Communist world began to splinter China and the Soviet Union became bitter enemies
Until late 1980s, Communist countries relied on a command economy, in which government owns almost all industrial enterprises and retail sales outlets Economies were managed by a party dominated state planning committee Devised detailed blueprints for what was to be produced, exported and sold (typically in a five year period) Early on, central planning helped to produce rapid results, but in the long, run the benefits went away
SOCIALISM Four Characteristics Capitalism and the private ownership of the means of production are flawed Demand substantial equality of outcome Free from hunger, disease and poverty Democracy as practiced in liberal, capitalist society is too limited Providing for public ownership and control of a substantially more egalitarian society will improve human relations
Belief that significant political and economic progress can only occur through revolution, based on key principles Societies pass through stages, evolving from primitive groups of hunters and gatherers to an industrial society Societies shift from stage to stage in a wrenching process that Marx called the dialectic Progress occurs when the distribution of economic power is changed
Conflict between classes is inevitable; Marx believed that the ruling class had to exploit the rest of the population who did not control the means of production Eventually, the rest of the population will not accept being exploited and will rise up; so those in charge create a superstructure of other institutions The state Religion
Marx believed that despite these institutions, workers (the proletariat) would still resent their exploitation The spread of mass education and political freedoms that came with a liberal democracy would allow them to recognize their exploitation Marx believed that a revolution would occur through a wave of strikes and demonstrations that would lead to an overthrow of the bourgeoisie (capitalist class)
The revolution would be followed by a transitional period, the “dictatorship of the proletariat” The means of production would be taken over and run collectively and the resources would be redistributed equally Afterward, the society would move into communism; at this point, there would be no need for government because people would work freely and efficiently because they were freed of “ownership”
Marx believed that socialist revolutions would first occur in industrialized countries However, they came to power in countries in which industrialization and capitalism had not developed very far To adapt, Marxists had to adopt a very different strategy “democratic centralism”–highly disciplined, hierarchical organization of professional revolutionaries Resulted in too much power in too few hands