democracy or communism which is better?

Answer 1

It's got to be Democracy. While Communism in its purest meaning would be a good thing it is something we have never seen or experienced. Power corrupts and absolute power is wielded by individuals for their own or their party's gain not in the interests of the people. Cuba probably has the nearest thing to good communism in that they do have an excellent health and education system but their people are still oppressed. It would have been interesting to see how they would have done but for the embargo but the US was not prepared to find out.

Answer 2

Democracy.

In Tom Stoppard's new play "Rock 'n' Roll" about Czechoslovakia's recent history - spanning the period between the 1968 Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution - he looks at this question from two different perspectives. In Prague, a rock 'n' roll band symbolises the resistance to the regime, where Jan is a disillusioned Czech ex-Communist, while in England, Max, his friend, a die-hard Communist philosopher and don at Cambridge University represents the British left.

Max in a discussion with friend Jan and Stephen, a young student, quotes Karl Marx:

"From Each according to his Ability,
To Each according to his Need."

Max says: "What a Beautiful Philosophical Truth."
"What could be more NOBLE than that?"
"That is what we have been working for since 1917."
"Where did the Revolution go WRONG?"

Jan says: The people live under oppression in Czechoslovakia, and want REAL Freedom.

You in the West have "Freedom" (Democracy), and what do people want - to go shopping, watch TV and read Rupert Murdoch papers.

People are only interested in Freedom when they live under Oppression.

When people have Freedom, they are not interested in NOBLE ideas.

Stephen, a deep thinking student says: "I'll tell you where the Revolution went Wrong. 1917."

Max deeply offended: "HOW DARE YOU!"

Stephen: "The Dictatorship of the Proletariat, thats where it went wrong. When the leaders of the Revolution and the Party didn't trust the workers to run things themselves in the factories, and instead put workers committees under the supervision of the Party in 1917."

"The Party didn't trust the workers and the proletariat, and never has. The Party has never trusted them to make the right choices. And that is why Communism FAILED"

"What did we end up with in the Soviet Union an oligarchy of the Party - STATE CAPITALISM."

Jan: "Communism is a GREAT theory, but it FAILED in practice."

"The system is such that selfish opportunists will always attain positions of power in a Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Without an opposition there is no one to stop them."

"Maybe, the Human race is not spiritually ready for it"

YOU ALL MUST SEE THE PLAY THAN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.

PS Bozo the Clown and Protagonist you say "I pick democracy. It's been around since Ancient Greece."

You sure are a Bozo. What you refer to as Democracy in Ancient Greece would by totally unrecognizable by todays standards. Only FREE Men were allowed to vote at best. In many cases it was just FREE men from the ruling classes, the rich and the privlileged. Women and Slaves were excluded.

The nearest Modern comparison to Ancient Greek Democracy would be Apartheid South Africa or the Confederate States of America. Read The Republic by Plato and he sounds like a Fascist.

Bozo the Clown and Protagonist read any decent book on the subject and they will not say Ancient Greece was the birth place of Democracy. Ancient Israel has more claim than Greece. Just look at our concept of law, a lot of which stems from Mosaic Law - The Ten Commandments. Please do some research.

Answer 3

You are comparing apples and oranges.

Democracy is a political system for where governmental authority lies: with the people who choose their leaders. Its opposite would be dictatorship.

Communism is an economic system for where wealth and the means of production (industrial capacity) lies: in the collective hands of the people through their governmental leaders. Its opposite would be capitalism.

It is possible to have democratic communism and to a limited extent this has occurred in Europe where communist parties have been part of governing coalitions. Most communists countries have been dictatorships though.

It is also possible to have capitalist dictatorships, and these have occurred and still exist all over the world. Some capitalist countries are nominal democracies, though the extent to which the "will of the people" is actually carried out by government is always questionable.

Answer 4

Look at each one. First off, in a democracy, you have individual freedoms and the system promotes hard work because your rewards are more money and material wealth can be yours with this hard work. (until the liberals tax it all away)

In communism, everyone works for the good of everyone else. There is nothing to work hard and streive to acheive, because there is no reward system. If you have land, the state can take it and give it to someone else. All freedoms are gone so dont think of speaking out. Look at the old USSR and all the criminals they sent to prison and disappeared.
the only good thing is that everyone is suppose to be equal, except the ruling class.

I think that a democracy is still the best route to follow because when you get a leader, like Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, or the Ayatollah, the other forms of government can and are often brutal to their people.

Answer 5

Given those two choices, I'd have to say democracy. At least under democracy I have a chance of living an independent life. Under communism, even the "benevolent" versions, I'm going to have to jump in with the dreaded collective.

Answer 6

Well, there are many versions of communism that have existed, both on paper and in practice. Communism is hugely misunderstood, mostly because attempts at it in the last few centuries have failed miserably to achieve what was theorized on paper.

Democracy has changed dramatically since its birth in Ancient Greece.

The problem with both is the power given to officials. Communism isn't supposed to have any officials, but people took the lead to start the movement and once in power, it's difficult to seperate from it. Democracy's problem is also with the power given to officials. Power corrupts. People aren't perfect and selfless and there will never be a selfless, perfect government.

Answer 7

That depends on who you are !! If you are a hard worker, independent, always trying to better yourself and make a great life for you and your family....Democracy....If you want a communist government to handle everything, make your decisions and make sure you have just what you need to exist( unless they decide you should no longer exist), tell you when and where you will go and how to get there, then communism would be good for you !

Answer 8

I don't believe in Communism. It stifles creativity and iniative.
Nevertheless, there has never been a Communist country.
Communism has the state take all a country's resources and distribute them equally among the people.
There have only been Totalitarian countries. A phoney
government backed by the military, which is a type of
dictatorship, in that they tell everyone what to do, and kill them
if they don't like it. And the ones in power steal everything from
the people.

Answer 9

They're not mutually exclusive. It's just that all attempts at communism end up under dictatorships.

That said, there is a reason Communism eventually always fails and that it's inherently flawed. If it worked, it could easily pair with democracy because people would vote for communist leaders. As it is, all communist nations are one-party nations because they know that their people wouldn't vote for them if given true options.

Answer 10

Depends on what you mean by Communism. Oh and the one who said Anarchy, technically TRUE Communism requires anarchy. Now actually I say TRUE Communism is the best. It is also not attainable. So if you go by what we call communism, which is Leninism and Stalism, then Democracy.