What is communism? Why is it a "bad" thing?

Question

Actual Definition of Communism-
The political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all the members of a community.

I have heard many people scream and rant about "those damn commies", and others say that it was a good idea but not executed properly.

Please do not submit any rantings as it will be completely overlooked, but rather an honest answer to what it is and WHY it "didn't work out" or its "such a bad thing"?

Answer 1

it fails because it doesn't correspond with reality. great in theory, impossible in practice. there are always classes of haves and have-nots, the ruling class and the ruled.

Answer 2

Great question -

Communism is a well meaning but otherwise dumb economic theory that mandates the group ownership of all material goods and means of production.

It does work in some religious groups where obedience to a Rule and much sincere devotion to Divine Authority are motivators.

However, it is totally antithetical to American society. I've known a few "lilies of the field" people who were communist and really nice folks. The idea of "strive and achieve" was totally alien to them, though, and they had no appreciation of the concept of economic risk - and being rewarded for taking risks or for any other entrepreneurial talent.

In the parts of the world where there was some form of communism, they accomplished some good things - education usually was made available to a lot more people - health care too. Ultimately, though, communism fails because it is just against human nature. Even the People's Republic of China is allowing entrepreneurship these days - and rewarding it too.

Answer 3

Communism, in a perfect world, would not be a bad thing. The problem is we don't live in a perfect world. The only way that communism would work is if everyone in the world were truly selfless and willing to act with the best interests of the entire community at heart. Our human nature makes us selfish and leads us to act for our own best interests or the best interests of those we like/love without considering the entire community. Because of this, you're going to get people in ANY form of government who are going to pursue their own selfish interests, and they will say or do whatever they need to in order to accomplish their selfish goals. Having people like that anywhere in a communist structure completely undercuts the ideology.

The system of communism in the former Soviet Union was viewed as an international evil because of their use of military might to take over other countries (mostly in Eastern Europe) and their aim of world domination. It wasn't really a true communist government, but it clearly illustrated the potential pitfalls of trying to institute a communist regime. Personal freedom and liberties were non-existent. The state ruled virtually every aspect of Vladimir Q. Citizen's life. Services that were provided by the government were mired in so much red tape it took forever to get anything done -- if it ever got done. Workers were not rewarded for working harder, doing a better job, or coming up with new innovations, and as a result the workers all did the absolute minimum necessary in order to get by. Their system of government was doomed to failure, and President Ronald Wilson Reagan figured out the best way to bring about their demise without firing a single shot -- he spent more money on defense knowing that the Soviet economy would collapse by trying to keep up.

Unfortunately, there are people in the United States who want to turn our country into a communist regime. You hear them every day whining and crying about how unfair it is that the rich have so much and they exploit the poor to get it (which is NOT true), so the rich need to pay more taxes and the wealth needs to be redistributed. They scream about equality and pressure the government to pass laws that force their views of equality on others (Affirmative Action is a perfect example). And every time they bring up a problem and you ask them "Well, what do you propose to fix it?" the answer invariably starts with "The government should (fill in the blank)." See what they're doing here? They want to penalize people who work hard, develop new products, and take risks while rewarding people who sit around and contribute nothing to our society. They want to level the playing field to such a degree that no one is allowed to be better than anyone else at anything. They are unwittingly handing over our freedom to the government when they say "Here, fix this." It didn't work in the former Soviet Union and it sure as heck won't work here.

Answer 4

The political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all the members of a community.

The above requires everybody to work and put their money in a common "kitty" from which everybody shares.

If that worked, why have money at all?

Every body works and produces different products.
If you need new shoes, go pick up a pair.
When you need food, go get it.

Every thing is free.

If one is disabled, they don't have to work, but have everything they need. Free.

HEY! I don't have any kids. You have 5.
Your getting more than I, and you don't work any longer than I do.
I'm sick of working in the sun. I want a job in AC. I refuse to work in the sun.
I'm hurt. I can't work anymore.

Tried and failed, even with Tyranny.
Now America is trying it in a Democracy.

Answer 5

Because it is a flawed ideology.

It says everyone is equal, and shares. But the real world practicality is, you need someone to organise things or else you have Anarchy. So you end up with leaders. Which is not pure communism.

So its just a theory, that doesn't work.. just like saying 1+1=3. It is flawed logic.

The 'bad thing' is the application of this ideology, where you do have leaders, but because it is flawed, they have to use oppresive means, to keep it going, when it is un-natural.

Answer 6

Fairly simple. Let us say you have two ppl, one doesn't care much one way or the other what he does in life and doesn't try and ends up becoming a ditch digger. The other cares very much about what happens to ppl and works very hard to get into medical school, becomes an expert at his craft, and becomes the man who cures cancer. Now why does the hard working genius have to live in the same style home, have access to only the same things, and have the exact same lifestyle as the man who doesn't care and doesn't contribute to the great human experiment and doesn't actually save lives?
One should be rewarded for what they do in life, not rewarded for what others did.

Answer 7

It didn't work because people had no motivation to excel. There was no reward for doing a good job and you ended up with fields full of new tractors that didn't run..No one cared

Answer 8

Well it sounds like a good idea. But what prevents communism from working is that nobody wants to share what they have worked for with someone who hasnt worked for anything. And those who havent worked for anything want to take away what someone else has worked for. So its a good idea, like peanutbutter and chocolate reeses cups, but if you dont like peanutbutter and chocolate together it wont work.

Answer 9

It didn;t work out because of corruption endemic in the system, and it tends to diminish the individual efforts one person can do, as all work can be hijacked as "serving the state".

Answer 10

it stifles creativity. no carrot at the end of the stick kind of thing.

corrution is another problem. it cannot be gotten rid of so this "classless" society will always have an "elite" element.