Is communism so bad. I mean America can't do it, but why do people think it sucks.?

Question

The biggest issue people have with it that I've seen is that people don't wnat to give up thier personal possesions. I'm not talking about branches of communism. I'm talking about pure generic communism.

Answer 1

The problem with communism is that it removes most of the incentives for a person to excell. If there is no reward for above average or better performance, why should you push yourself? What would be the point of trying to innovate in that kind of system?

Answer 2

Communism has several major flaws:

1) No protection for minorities. If everyone is supposed to equal that usually means everyone must be the same. That doesn't work out very well for ethnic, religious, political or intellectual outsiders. Usually it means they are demonized for being against "the People."

2) Communism assumes perfect knowledge. I'm sorry, but no one knows everything, and bureaucrats in politicized positions are more influenced by the demands of the Party than the demands of the marketplace. A state-owned manufacturer will have a quota of 5,000 shoes to make, so he'll make 5,000 left shoes. Or 5,000 shoes all the same size.

3) Communism is supposed to be the precursor to anarchy. That is the People take over the government so eventually it will whither away. That never happens. No government (regardless of type) ever gets smaller or abdicates its responsibilities. Instead the government becomes all-encompassing and all-powerful.

4) Communism is more concerned with equality than efficiency, so as the old Soviet joke goes, "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us." By focusing on bringing rich people down to the same level as the poor, Communism effectively puts the kabash on any economic growth.

5) Communism considers individuals to be faceless cogs in a gigantic machine. Yeah, sure the government is for the People, but you as a Person are worthless.

Answer 3

I think the main problem is addressed in the post. People don't want to give up their personal posessions. Especially since anytime we as Americans have seen people banding together and giving over all their posessions to a single entity it has turned out to be a cult, and most always they died or ended up in jail.

I think Communism is an ok theory. I don't see how any exceptional people would become involved, because there is no incentive to excel. It is sad, but most everyone I know needs a reward to go above and beyond; it is not a natural reaction.

From my experience, those that hate communism don't understand it, and only see Russia and Stalin as examples of it.

Answer 4

At a glance communism is a lovely idea but the more you study it the more you realize it takes more work than any other governmental system. Most people who are afraid of it think all communists are Nazi's and refuse to educate themselves on it. But you have to keep in mind the gap between rich and poor in China is greater now than in 1970 so it doesn't always do what it's set into place to do. A working government has to grow and change with the society it's representing and in such a perfectly structured society that gets tricky.

Answer 5

Because communism, at least from what I've read of the Communist Manifesto, simply doesn't work. As everyone here has already stated, it's a philosophy.

Capitalism is not. It exists in every society above the hunter-gatherer level. So you can either roll with capitalism and try to put some controls on it, or let it roll right over you.

Answer 6

Pure communism is actually the only true democracy.

I am a native-born American but have always been a marxist at heart. When I discuss communism versus capitalism with ppl, they always agree that idealistically, communism is better. BUT then they gone on to say that it would never work.

That always baffles me because throughout history it is capitalism that always tends to fail and communism that has continued to thrive successfully... ie, look at China and N.Korea.

History has shown that capitalism usually ends in a revolution after the divide between the rich and poor gets enormous. The bottom line is that capitalism breeds greed, whereas, communism breeds equality.

Answer 7

It only works in nations when you use violent force to impose it. Thus, it typically leads to some of the most vicious acts of torture, mass murder, and intimidation in history. Look at any communist country's history to verify it.

Of course, if you're suggesting that we allow people to join independent communes by choice, I have no problem with that. Of course, you realize that such communes are, and have always been legal in the U.S. No one objects if you want to do that, but we do object when you suggest imposing your ideas on other people by force. The simple reality is that, once you go beyond a handful of people, it simply doesn't work.

Now, we're willing to let you try it out on your own, but I don't want to hear you come complaining to me that it isn't working the way you planned. We already know that. We're not a bunch of morons. We understand human nature. You clearly don't. Communism only works in the presence of perfect humans with purely altruistic behaviors. A free enterprise system functions well, despite the existence of selfish jerks. I prefer a system that can function in the real world. You may feel free to exist in your dream world. Just don't try to impose it on me.

A side note: one of the other reasons people tend to dislike communist GOVERNMENTS is that they tend to be belligerant and warlike. In fact, the traditional communist model has always been to promote worldwide revolution. Most countries don't like it when communists act to overthrow their governments. Funny how that works, huh?

And, no, I don't want to give up my possession, it's true. Based upon my observation, I make much better use of my possessions than my government or any other government would. So, I think I'll keep them, thank you very much.

Answer 8

Communism as taught in college as a pure system would be great, but its a flawed theory due to the influences of all men and women. There is no way to take out the greed factor in everyone. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely; and in communism you end up giving power to someone that will eventually abuse it.

Answer 9

There's more to it than possessions. Human nature itself defies communism. Instinctively we feel the urge to hoard things and to protect our own interests/families. You might call it selfishness on a natural level.

And in a communist society, who would lead? You still need direction, order, focus- you could never run a business in a communist way, so how could you run a country? Inevitably the stronger personalities would stamp their authority on the weaker ones.

ANadineR is in theory correct. On paper, communism would be a great form of government. However, his examples- China and North Korea- have not thrived. Far from it. Both countries have problems with totalitarian governments and poverty. Far more so than Western Democracies.

Answer 10

Communism is a beautiful economic system that allows for the equality of all people. However, people are greedy, which is why it always ends up in corruption. Maybe some day we'll evolve beyond the need for material possessions and be able to think about our fellow man, but I really don't see that happening any time soon.