-George Carlin. Do you think communism can thrive under certain circumstances, or will it inherent in the design of communism that it should fail as it goes against human nature? P.S. I graduated school a long time ago. So I'm not looking for easy answers, and I'm not looking for pat answers or beaten-path observations. Please just tell me what you think.
2006-06-18 04:19:10 · 9 answers · asked by Strange Design 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Not quite. Communism doesn't work because people like to get the fruits of their own labor. If I work very hard at what I do, and do it very well, and my neighbor is mediocre and doesn't work hard at all, why should I not be rewarded more than he is?
Communism rewards the slipshod, stupid, and lazy, while the bright, disciplined and dedicated are punished. When the bright, disciplined and dedicated get fed up and say forget it, the whole system falls apart.
2006-06-18 04:24:48 · answer #1 · answered by cliffinutah 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Disagree. It's a form of control. Communism doesn't work not because people want to own stuff but to live as you wish. It falls apart when you have different cultures, religions, education, desires, morals etc in a community - the present world is getting too small for such a thing. A classless society/state ownership/collectivism sounds cute on paper for that person in charge but I think it is a false sense of community under dictatorship.
Communism could be a good thing if we were a different type of animal. A good thing in a world where community is our basic instinct, more important then our identity, liberty, needs, accomplishments and self. It can't work where humans seem to not need community for community sake but for how it makes "us" feel, a sense of belonging and most importantly - survival.
Not saying it's a bad thing..might work perfectly somewhere. It just doesn't make any sense to me? I don't think we'd come this far in art, literature, medicine, agriculture, technology...
2006-06-18 15:04:07 · answer #2 · answered by ninja_girl_kicking_some_ass 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Communism could actually work, but only if people were perfect and cared as much for others as for themselves. As long as you try to implement it with imperfect people it will fail.
As an applied system, it destroys the incentive to achieve. When all you produce is going to the State, you soon don't care how well you produce it, or if at all. On the Soviet farming collectives they allowed the farm families to have a small plot of land just to grow food for themselves. The production levels soared on those small plots and languished on the Collective's land. When you are working for yourself you are more motivated to aspire to greater heights.
Communism only survives, and in name only, where the governments have all the guns and enforce their will on the people. Of course that is not actually communism, it is totalitarianism masquerading as communism. That is what you have in Cuba, Soviet Union (for 70+ years,) North Korea, and China.
And Carlin is right, people do like to own stuff, just one of our imperfections.
2006-06-18 12:08:03 · answer #3 · answered by bigrob 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Communism doesn't work not merely because of greed, but because there will always be more capable, and less capable members of a society. There will always be those who can lead and those who need to follow.
Human nature also seems to have a huge thirst for power and always had.
So yes, I do believe communism and socialism are impossible to accomplish on a large scale and still have a successful society.
2006-06-18 11:23:56 · answer #4 · answered by Lori A 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't work because the system requires discipline, which is typically handed down by the state. Those in power tend to have more stuff than others, and those that have no way of getting more stuff tend to be demoralized to the point where the work they do is not productive.
2006-06-18 11:23:15 · answer #5 · answered by crutnacker 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People in Communist countries still own stuff, and can buy and sell quite openly, and China is one of the most successful countries in the world.
I went there last year. Well worth the visit. Real eye opener.
2006-06-18 11:25:53 · answer #6 · answered by smelly pete 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Communism doesn't work because it doesn't take into account basic human nature. People are as invested in the "common good" as they are in their own good. And they are much more motivated to invest in their own good rather than others.
2006-06-18 11:34:28 · answer #7 · answered by binta3rab 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Communism doesn't work because it cannot react to changes fast enough. A free-market economy always works because it's dynamic and reactive and not artificially controlled.
2006-06-18 11:23:16 · answer #8 · answered by WindowLicker 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People are inherintly LAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! And our creeping Socialism is moving closer to its mother-communism every day!
2006-06-18 11:24:09 · answer #9 · answered by whynotaskdon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋