Should communists be capitalists?

Question

Obviously there isn't enough industrialization around for an impromptu revolution in the "Western" world. So communists should advance capitalism until it becomes unbearable, and revolution logical...

Or is technology such that Capitalist systems will always be able to sufficiently justify inequity? For instance, with robotics and automation the need for physical labor/toil decreases and so does outrage.

Communism is a political party, not a theory, Ken.

I suppose the question is more: if you believe in dialectical materialism, and you want to advance history, shouldn't you play hardball with the devil? I'm assuming communists don't believe in pandering to capitalist interests. If they compromise, they pretty much cease to be communists. But if they intentionally change their strategy to counter-revolutionary acceleration.. I can see how they'd be better off than pamphleting the street.

Answer 1

Communism is merely a theory -- and a flawed one.

Answer 2

Communism is a theory where people democratically control the industries, there is no need for a monetary unit, and all people are equal. Communists cannot advance capitalism, since to do so would loose the trust of the people (who believe in communism) in their ideology. The core concepts of capitalism are based on the idea that people are not equal (it came from a time when people were very Euro-centric, or believed that the ideas of Europe were greater than other groups), so the idea of capitalism comes with the idea of inequality. Capitalists argue that those who work hard will be rewarded, but do not see that the little wages prevent many hard workers from making ends meet. With robotics comes a new dilemma: lack of employment. If people are unable to find jobs, they will begin to loose faith in capitalism. Also, communism is not a party, it is an idea. There is a party in the US that calls itself the "communist party," but the ideas it advocates are state capitalist in that the production is still for profit, there is no democracy, people are not equal, and money is still the basic means of the society. Since capitalism is an entirely different set of ideas, it would be impossible for a communist to be a capitalist. Hope this helps

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. They don't should be capitalists

Answer 4

How about we just use a mix of capitalism with generous social programs? Seams to work fine for USA.
Also a mix of Socialism with generous free enterprise seems to work just fine for China.
The trick is to avoid pure "communism" and "laissez fair" capitalism these tend to fail dramatic dramatically and lead to revolutions.


P.S.
I guess what i am saying is that the effects of dialectics lead to a synthesis, i.e. "mixed" systems that is neither communism nor capitalism, both in China and in US although they came to it from different directions.

Answer 5

You're right on that. Communism was supposed to be the antidote of extreme capitalism but communists gave it to healthy countries making then sick.
Who wants to try it again now?