Can someone please tell me very simply what communism is and why everyone hates it so much?

Question

I don't want long socio-political spiels just the basic facts. No more than a paragraph.

Answer 1

Had to respond to those who keep mentioning government ownership of everything.

That was the Soviet (corrupted) version. Marx envisioned "a withering away of the state" -- hence anarchy (the second reason everyone hates it; most people strongly resist anarchy -- the other big reason is godlessness or atheism).

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" -- which is to say each person contributes to society in a variety of ways -- can't remember the exact quote but something like "a fisherman in the morning, an artist at noon, a poet at night" -- meaning we don't have only one "job" but contribute in a variety of ways -- doing the things we like doing, giving the results to our fellow humans.

For these various contributions, we get food, shelter, health-care, etc. (Thus, the person who grows your carrots also teaches sociology, and designs bridges.)

Communism means that all together own "the means of production" -- such as factories -- communally. Compared to capitalism, where the many are as slaves to the few who own everything.

Communism is the political side of socialism.

Marx, developer of communism, wrote gazillion of pages; you want "no more than a paragraph" which is hardly fair.

Answer 2

Communism is the philosophy that says, someday, the workers will rise up and kill the upper class. After that, they will create a classless society in which the means of production are controlled by the state, which, theoretically would be controlled by the people.

It's so hated in the US because the USSR's leaders used communism to create their dictatorship. Everyone, in both countries, then seemed to misconstrue the bit in Marx where he talks about the workers rising up (the revolution was supposed to come from within countries, not from invading armies). Then, for various reasons, the Cold War and the arms race happened. For several decades in the US, communism and nuclear annihilation were linked together. Then there were the McCarthy hearings and the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which various people were accused of being communists plotting the overthrowing of the US, which just made communism hatred even worse. That's it in a very brief nutshell. It's all a bit more complicated, of course, but that's the general idea.

Nowadays, there are still communists, but there's still lots of bad feeling left over even after the Berlin Wall fell. This is why socialism hasn't taken hold in the US like it has in Europe and Canada; you can blame McCarthy and Lenin if you don't have health insurance right now. Socialism and communism aren't the same; socialists like myself can often view communism as a flawed system, but now I'm typing way more than I needed to or you wanted to read.

Answer 3

Communism is the ideology behind the principle
'From everyone according to their abilities, to everyone according to their needs.' As you can see, this concept attacks the idea of private property and it advocates the redistribution of wealth within society. Exploitation of human by human leads to the accumulation of capital in a few hands. Over time, the gap between the haves and have-nots widens to the point where the have-nots revolt, and often blood is shed on both sides.
The ruling class, through its propaganda arm, will attempt to dissuade the have-nots from revolting. One way of doing this is by fear-mongering, using scare tactics.

Obviously, not everyone hates communism. Communists do not hate communism.

It is almost impossible to achieve a communist society that stands the test of time. Because of the complexity of society and the inherent traits of men and women, communism may only be a utopian dream.

On small scale, communism works well for small, homogenuous societies where members are likely to cooperate towards a common goal rather than compete among themselves - monks in a monastery would be a good example.

Answer 4

Well, as I understand it, communism is where the government controls most of what goes on in a country, including property, sort of the whole 'common goal, common land' thing. It's not the idea that's bad; everyone hates it because most of the communist countries have fallen to dictatorships, and the dictators abused their power, like Saddam. Sorry if it's not what you're looking for.

Answer 5

From the word commune ... group of people ,all equal , at same level , no rich no poor, basically a stile of utopia . And is hated by the affluent, because can not gain riches and also loose it , and hated by the poor because their life stile has not improved ,and middle class can't look forward for better life . And the religion hates it because their source of income has bee stopped .

Answer 6

I would add that communism breeds black markets and corruption. No one in a capitalist economy likes communism because it's not fair and we live with the dream or idea that riches are available to anyone, including me, if I work hard enough or invent something everyone wants. In a communist country, what would be the point of trying to invent something or to work hard?

Answer 7

socialism gone wrong.
its very much like capitalism with a black market..
one group of a few control all rights and access and bog down all. have all the $ and power.

this is from the official definition:
However, the term 'Communism', especially when it is capitalized, is often used to refer to the political and economic regimes under communist parties that claimed to embody the dictatorship of the proletariat.

oops it was two

Answer 8

Communism in its purist form was created by Karl Marx. Basically it is so there is no elite and everyone is equal, for things such as wealth ect... in theory it could work, but it has always been corrupted by the power hungry and taken away from its purest form.

Answer 9

everything is owned by the state. freedoms are not allowed like speech. speaking against the state is forbidden and usually costs you your life. i had a friend that defected from Russia while it was still in the communist stronghold. she showed me pictures of their stores. the shelves were basically empty with one item. no jobs. very little food and you basically worship the government.

Answer 10

communism is a form of government where the upper and lower class are supposed to not exist. everyone is supposed to be equal b/c the government owns the businesses. vs. capitalism where it is more a form of social Darwinism.
I am not sure why everyone hates it, except that it is a atheist system.