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Communism and socialism are a subset of Marxist political philosophy--
Socialism calls for government control of the means of production (ie nationalization of key industries) and the distribution of resources in an egalitarian manner to citizens seeking to ensure that everyone can meet basic needs. Socialism is called the lower-stage of communism in Marxist theory. A socialist state is supposed to mature into full-fledged communism by the withering away of the state.
Most first world countries (the US included) have at least some socialist features such as nationalized institutes of education and health systems, government pensions for old people, unemployment insurance and so on, though western economies as a whole tend to be mostly private (ie liberal). Socialism is even used as a dirty word in American politics.
Communism (and Marxism) is essentially a hard core form of socialism where the entire economy is controlled by the government, there is little or no private property, etc. In theory it is supposed to be a perfect society with no exploitation, no inequality, no class conflicts and is guided by the famous words of Marx "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
In practice communist states have tended to be police states (whomever runs the government runs, well, everything) with more emphasis on society and nation than individual liberty and pursuit of happiness. True Marxist communism has never existed in any country, it has been Leninist-Stalinist communism that has been tried and been found unsustainable in USSR and Eastern Europe. Chinese communism is another perverted form of communism which leans towards liberal economic policies and repressive social policies.
@Stardust1901 : Off topic, but had an old unanswered question - Could the Star Trek universe be considered "Communist?" I mean, Piccard had said that they work only to better themselves and not for personal profit. If it sounds looney, you can skip it.
@Stardust1901 How does totalitarianism compare to communism, if one compares North Korea with China?
Only difference I can see is the free economy in China and some social benefits , otherwise, isn't it mostly same? Both countries say they adopt socialism and communism, of course that not being the case.
@Stardust1901 : Off topic, but had an old unanswered question - Could the Star Trek universe be considered "Communist?" I mean, Piccard had said that they work only to better themselves and not for personal profit. If it sounds looney, you can skip it.
I have watched too much Star Trek to not take a stab at this question!
In one of the movies the Starfleet goes back in time to present-day Earth and they are completely surprised by the very concept of money. I googled your question and apparently this is a big conspiracy theory that the creators were communist sympathisers who wanted to indoctrinate the youth of America in their evil philosophy.
A more reasonable conclusion would be that the world of Star Trek is in a utopian future where there is abundance of resources and the technological developments are no longer a constraint on anything. In such a world, people will be free to do whatever they wish in life and pursue happiness in whatever way they see fit.
It's hard to imagine one having capitalist greed in such a society. And besides: It's not all that odd. If we had replicators that could make almost anything from food to tools and these things existed in almost any home, our entire capitalist society would become redundant and hopefully replaced with something utopian. What would be left then? The answer: the pursuit of "self betterment" which is pretty much what Star Trek envisions.
@Stardust1901 How does totalitarianism compare to communism, if one compares North Korea with China? Only difference I can see is the free economy in China and some social benefits , otherwise, isn't it mostly same? Both countries say they adopt socialism and communism, of course that not being the case.
Totalitarianism and communism are very different politically. Totalitarianism is on the far right of the political spectrum while communism is mid-way on the left side. While the society is all-powerful in communism, it is the state that is powerful in totalitarianism. In Totalitarianism, the state controls everything and there is no value for an individual’s thoughts or opinions. On the other hand, Communism is a political ideology that believes in a state-less or class-less society. Examples of totalitarian states include Stalinist Italy, Fascist Germany.
Communism is a structurally flawed political ideology that is unsustainable over the long-term and make several wrong assumptions about importance of individuality and economic freedom. To sustain such a type of government, most communist states have to become totalitarian in nature. All totalitarian states have some communist elements in their structure and vice-versa.
Both China and North Korea refer to themselves as communist states. But China has been fortuitous in choosing a one-party state and allowing for controlled capitalism which has led to strong growth and even some personal freedoms, in its present conception it cannot be called a proper totalitarian state. While North Korea devolved into a complete totalitarian state while retaining government control of resources and absolutely no individual freedoms or social security.
@Stardust1901 Thanks dude for your long and informative write-up. Can you please share any source e.g. book/link where I can understand and learn all these ideologies ? TIA.
@Stardust1901 Thanks dude for your long and informative write-up. Can you please share any source e.g. book/link where I can understand and learn all these ideologies ? TIA.
Since the syllabus explicitly mentions "political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the society" it would be worthwhile to put some effort into studying them instead of just details of wars and treaties as part of world history.
For this I would recommend Andrew Heywood's Political ideologies which is a standard book for Political Science. The language is simple and you don't need to study the entire book but definitely go through the chapters on liberalism, socialism, fascism, feminism and religious fundamentalism.
Communism is a structurally flawed political ideology that is unsustainable over the long-term and make several wrong assumptions about importance of individuality and economic freedom.
In my opinion, it would be unjust to term communism as "structurally" flawed. However, it has flaws in its implementation in present world. At best, you can say that it is idealism and optimism to its extreme limits, since it asks for societal control over resources where everyone is equal and has equal potential. In real, it is almost impossible since every individual in a society differs w.r.t his contribution and productivity to economy. It would be unfair to share resources between two individuals - X and Y equally, if X is willing to put more effort and Y is lazy. This is where communism has its flaws and capitalism gets its nose ahead.
Communism can be structurally sustained if we can have every individual develop to his/her potential (i.e. to provide every individual same standard of education, health, moral values etc.. and contribute equally to society but then it'll always remains a dream.
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Comments
Socialism calls for government control of the means of production (ie nationalization of key industries) and the distribution of resources in an egalitarian manner to citizens seeking to ensure that everyone can meet basic needs. Socialism is called the lower-stage of communism in Marxist theory. A socialist state is supposed to mature into full-fledged communism by the withering away of the state.
Most first world countries (the US included) have at least some socialist features such as nationalized institutes of education and health systems, government pensions for old people, unemployment insurance and so on, though western economies as a whole tend to be mostly private (ie liberal). Socialism is even used as a dirty word in American politics.
Communism (and Marxism) is essentially a hard core form of socialism where the entire economy is controlled by the government, there is little or no private property, etc. In theory it is supposed to be a perfect society with no exploitation, no inequality, no class conflicts and is guided by the famous words of Marx "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
In practice communist states have tended to be police states (whomever runs the government runs, well, everything) with more emphasis on society and nation than individual liberty and pursuit of happiness. True Marxist communism has never existed in any country, it has been Leninist-Stalinist communism that has been tried and been found unsustainable in USSR and Eastern Europe. Chinese communism is another perverted form of communism which leans towards liberal economic policies and repressive social policies.
Only difference I can see is the free economy in China and some social benefits , otherwise, isn't it mostly same? Both countries say they adopt socialism and communism, of course that not being the case.
In one of the movies the Starfleet goes back in time to present-day Earth and they are completely surprised by the very concept of money. I googled your question and apparently this is a big conspiracy theory that the creators were communist sympathisers who wanted to indoctrinate the youth of America in their evil philosophy.
A more reasonable conclusion would be that the world of Star Trek is in a utopian future where there is abundance of resources and the technological developments are no longer a constraint on anything. In such a world, people will be free to do whatever they wish in life and pursue happiness in whatever way they see fit.
It's hard to imagine one having capitalist greed in such a society. And besides: It's not all that odd. If we had replicators that could make almost anything from food to tools and these things existed in almost any home, our entire capitalist society would become redundant and hopefully replaced with something utopian. What would be left then? The answer: the pursuit of "self betterment" which is pretty much what Star Trek envisions.
In Totalitarianism, the state controls everything and there is no value for an individual’s thoughts or opinions. On the other hand, Communism is a political ideology that believes in a state-less or class-less society.
Examples of totalitarian states include Stalinist Italy, Fascist Germany.
Communism is a structurally flawed political ideology that is unsustainable over the long-term and make several wrong assumptions about importance of individuality and economic freedom. To sustain such a type of government, most communist states have to become totalitarian in nature. All totalitarian states have some communist elements in their structure and vice-versa.
Both China and North Korea refer to themselves as communist states. But China has been fortuitous in choosing a one-party state and allowing for controlled capitalism which has led to strong growth and even some personal freedoms, in its present conception it cannot be called a proper totalitarian state. While North Korea devolved into a complete totalitarian state while retaining government control of resources and absolutely no individual freedoms or social security.
Thanks dude for your long and informative write-up.
Can you please share any source e.g. book/link where I can understand and learn all these ideologies ?
TIA.
For this I would recommend Andrew Heywood's Political ideologies which is a standard book for Political Science. The language is simple and you don't need to study the entire book but definitely go through the chapters on liberalism, socialism, fascism, feminism and religious fundamentalism.
Communism can be structurally sustained if we can have every individual develop to his/her potential (i.e. to provide every individual same standard of education, health, moral values etc.. and contribute equally to society but then it'll always remains a dream.
Is this book the one which you are talking about ?
http://www.infibeam.com/Books/political-ideologies-andrew-heywood/9780230367258.html