Communism?

Question

What are the basic things one must practice or believe in to be labeled a Communist?

if anyone could please give me an answer in the form of Mike B, but with the right kind of info like wmcritter, that would be great.

Thanks

Answer 1

Adam, Communism is based on three basic principles: Athiesm, Materialism, and the belief in the Perfectability of Man. I'll deal with each seperately.

Atheism:
Karl Marx was greatly influenced by the Dialectic theory of Hegel, which states (to make a very long argument short) that society is moving along preset historical lines toward a great and glorious completion. This operation of history is in man's hands and any reference to god is only deluding people into thinking their fate is in someone else's hands. To the dedicated Communist, religion is, in the words of Marx, "The Opiate of the Masses." It is a means by which the ruling class subverts the energy of the working class, and gets them to obey, by threatening them with hell, if they rock the boat, and with heaven if the tow the line. But Marxism is itself a religion that requires just as much faith that this supposed glorious, classless society will one day emerge. It never has, and never will, and yet "true believers" in the religion of communism still hold out hope that somebody wioll one day get it right.

Materialism.
The idea of Communism is also based on the failed notion that all life is explainable by material means. In other words, every single thing people think, believe, say and do -- everything is explained by their material, economic conditions, and the type of economic system they live under. This is why Marx emphasized the importance of changing the way people thought through indoctrination. Of course this is a failed notion. People have natural desires for freedom that do not correspond to their economic systems. The Communist leader of the former East Germany (Erich Honecker) built the infamous wall around his country, and exclaimed, "Give me the Wall and 25 years, and I'll give you the New German." Well, he had the wall and almost 30 years, and all he did was watch as his New Germans tore it down to get to freedom.

Perfectability of Man.
Because of the former two principles, Communism firmly believes that all evil, all "sin," all crime, in fact, all forms of anti-social behavior of all kinds are created because of economic imballances. If you get rid of those imbalances, you can re-educate people to new ways that will make them loving, giving and caring about other people. In classical Marxism, this is to be done during the period of the Dictatorship of the Proletariate. During this time, people are reeducated tobecome good socialists, and then the state withers away, and perfect people now live in a perfect classless society. In other words -- heaven on earth. The reason it never works is because human nature doesn't work the way Marx says. People are born with inate capacities for both good and evil. Their moral realities have nothing to do with economics, and everything to do with eternal principles of right and wrong, which, because they are materialists, the Marxists deny. But, if they're right, then why is it that every time Communism has been tried it has never achieved anything more than a totalitarian hell on earth that people constantly try to escape???

Answer 2

Communism is best described by the story of "The Little Red Hen". The hen is the only character NOT a Communist.

Answer 3

Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a future classless, stateless social organization based upon common ownership of the means of production and the absence of private property. It can be classified as a branch of the broader socialist movement. Communism also refers to a variety of political movements which claim the establishment of such a social organization as their ultimate goal.

Answer 4

I lived under communism, and I tell ya, sometimes I say it was a better system than today's merciless, blood-sucking globalism, I bet ya. People were collectively poor, but going hungry as is the case today!

Answer 5

Stupidity is number 1. Complete lack of logic is number 2. Mass murder is number 3. Hope that helps.

Answer 6

The inablility to think or care for oneself