1. Politics and the Individual

2. Every nation can be placed somewhere: Social, Political, and Economic Spectrums
Communism______________________ Capitalism
Social:
Collectivism ______________________ Individualism
Political:
Totalitarianism ____________________Democracy

3. Nations have (at least) three dimensions
Economic: Degree of Communism vs. Capitalism
How wealth is distributed by the government or controlled/owned by individuals
Social: Degree of collectivism vs. individualism
How much the group matters versus how much the individual matters
Political: Degree of totalitarianism vs. democracy
How much the group’s ideals are valued versus how much individual opinions and innovations are considered

4. Collectivism: Valuing the group
Collective goals are more important than individual goals
Individual rights are sacrificed for the good of the majority
Communism is an example of this system, but it often becomes totalitarianism:
Totalitarianism is governmental regulation of nearly every aspect of public and private behavior
Often this emerges because individuals don’t want to sacrifice for the common good and have to be made to do so

5. Communism
Communism is a socioeconomic structure that promotes establishment of a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production (goods and services that people need to exist)
The Communist Manifesto, which was first published in 1848 by Karl Marx, and Principles of Communism, by Friedrich Engels, are the defining communist texts

6. According to The Communist Manifesto, Communism has eleven essential ideals:
Abolition of Private Property
Heavy Progressive Income Tax
Atheism
Abolition of Rights of Inheritance
Confiscation of Property Rights
Central Bank

7. According to The Communist Manifesto, Communism has eleven essential ideals:
Government Ownership of Communication and Transportation
Government Ownership of Factories and Agriculture.
Government Control of Labor
Corporate Farms and Regional Planning
Government Control of Education