Why do people hate communism so much? Why do some people I know from Russia say that their country?

Question

was better befor communism ended? if its such a bad thing?

Answer 1

Nobody knows unless they have lived there. If that is what your friend said maybe she meant for some people. I have seen documentries on Russia and there is so much poverty there, it is sad.,

Answer 2

Communism sounds like a great idea on paper. Basically, no one is higher than anyone else (as far as status), and everyone works together for the greater good of the community. For communism to work, everyone has to agree to it. For example, if your town were to become communist, every rich person would have to share their wealth with poorer people, and everyone would have the same house/clothing/food (some variances can exist depending on health/religion). People would be educated, learning many valuable skills in college/university to help their society become a utopian place to live. And everyone would be happy.

But then you throw human nature into the mix, and it just falls apart terribly. Communism was "born" rather violently in 1917, and it was only because the Russians were taking such a beating during World War 1, both on the battlefield and at home, that those ideas were able to be implemented.

While communism claims everyone is equal, you can still see differences, and it doesn't really amount to much more than a dictatorship. Yes, they do try to help people, but they often do it brutally (for example, more people died under Stalin than Hitler, but to be fair, World War 2 was a major factor in it). Even in China, where it's slowly reverting back to capitalism, the government will take people's houses if businesses want to build a buliding there (I saw a link somewhere before, but I forgot where, but it's on the internet if you google it).

Then not everyone wants to be equal. Let's say you and I worked at a burger place, flipping burgers for 7 dollars an hour. You can make 60 burgers in an hour, while I can only make 45. But despite that, you will never get paid more than I would. Wouldn't that make you upset after a while, that you're working harder than I am, yet you don't get rewarded for it?

Let's say you were as rich as Bill Gates, with over $50 billion dollars. Imagine if the government suddenly came in, and said "we're taking your money, so that we can help society out. If you refuse, you'll go to jail, or be executed". And then all that hard earned money you made suddenly gets taken away from you, for the "betterment of society", nevermind the fact that most of the money may not be actually going to help people (and instead may be used to pay for military equipment). I'm sure anyone without much money would love this, while everyone else who had money they earned would hate this idea.

And then look at communist governments. Just about every single one of them have people who have pretty much been in power ever since they became communist. Maybe they're a good leader, or more likely, they don't want to give up that power to other people who may be better qualified to lead. Look at North Korea, their country is in shambles, yet they still have the same guy leading it (well, his son, but they haven't had any elections or anything like that), and using propaganda, they're relatively well content with their life (probably miserable in reality, but they can't say anything about it, unless they want to go to jail or be killed. And notice how they won't allow media other than their own government to tell the world what it's like most of the time). Yes, in the United States, the President does some pretty stupid stuff sometimes, but he's not always in power either. He will always be replaced after 8 years (4 if another candidate wins), and the new guy may decide to do things differently.

The reason why communism largely failed in the 1990's was because people living in the communist countries saw how well off their non-communist neighbors (i.e. Western Europe) were, while they were suffering and didn't have much to show for it (people will generally put up with sacrifices as long as it means that they'll get something better in the long run. Well, they've been living almost like that ever since the end of WW2, and yet their livelyhood didn't improve much, which is why they decided to stop being communist).

Yes, communism COULD work. But, you have to have everyone agree to it (and not many people "agreed" to become communist), and the people have to work towards the betterment of everyone, not just a select few. Otherwise, it'll never work. Capitalism is far from perfect (what with many jobs in the US going overseas and all due to the cheaper labor), but for the most part, people are pretty happy with it.

Answer 3

Communism doesn't work (at least that which was practiced in former USSR didn't).

Those who liked it were most likely those who did well under that condition -- either were privledged or got paid to do little/no work.

Changes in Russia over the past 10-20 years has yield quite a bit of good (and some measure of bad too). You should note that there are quite a few of new rich folks in Russia given market changes and opportunity to advance. On the bad side, there has also been quite a bit of growth in the russian mafia etc.

Life for the average person was not all that great-- we've all heard stories of shoddy products, huge shortages of all kinds of things many of us take for granted, little political and other freedoms.

If it was so good, why did it crumble???

Answer 4

Communism is a wonderful idea where as Marx said "from each according to their means to each according to their needs"

Unfortunately with very few exceptions communism has brought out the very worst in people and in society in general, with the people in power becoming more powerful and generally corrupt and the poorest getting poorer.

More people have died as a result of communism than ever as a result of Hitler and his fascist chums. Stalin bumped off 20 million of his own people before the second world war even started.

Communism can probably never work when you have human beings with human nature enforcing it.

Answer 5

Rusia was so economically bankrupt as a result of communism it may take a generation or two for the shift to a market economy to show any improvement. Karl Marx simply did not lend enough weight to the notion that people work harder for themselves than they do for somebody else. It makes a big difference if you get to keep the results of your labor or if someone else does. Marx thought this was unimportant and instead stressed "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". Simply does not work.

Karl Marx, by the way, did not like to work and would have starved to death had he not received handouts from his rich capitalist running dog father.

Answer 6

I think that people are brainwashed into thinking that democracy is the only way to go. If its applied as it should do, communism should work however human nature tends to get in the way. Power crazed dictators for a start. Personally I dont hate communism, it can work.

Answer 7

The reason communism tends not to work is because greed is human nature, and absolute power corrupts absolutlely...
A perfect example of this is Fidel Castro, who started out as a rebel taking out a corrupt dictator, after about a year, his "communism" became a fascism, and he himself became a corrupt dictator.

Answer 8

It's never worked whenever it's been tried. Dismal failure that has ruined nations and the lives of many millions over the years. That's why.