Why have communism and socialism never been viewed in positive aspects?

Question

In order to comprehend idealism, there is a need of affirmative understanding so that there is highly reception of external knowledge that is revolutionary.

Answer 1

Because we live in a country where kids are taught that capitalism is the only way and that Russia is the only and best example of what socialism or communism is. It's almost like a sense of McCarthyism still exists to this day, just in minor cases in the school system, I once meantioned to a friend that I liked the idea of socialism, and he thought that that meant an oppressive government that takes away the peoples rights, I assume he got this idea from his teacher. I had to explain in detail what it really ment. People fear the word socialism only because of what we are taught, I wish we were more socialist, as long as that entitles keeping some of our democratic principles.

I'm all for workers rights, but I do fear an extreme socialism, only because it leads to way to much government in personal rights, just as extreme capitalism leads to corporate control of our lives, so does extreme socialism with government.

Answer 2

Mostly because, though they sound nice, they don't work in real life. Really, you could get a lot of people behind the slogans of communism but not the reality of it--it almost sounds like the way you'd expect God to run heaven, but here on earth people are too worried about what the next guy is doing to work hard on the community pie, just so that their slice is a little sweeter. People will always be looking at the next guy who worked half as hard and got the same sized slice.

Answer 3

Because communism has led to some of the worst abuses by government on its citizens. Every communist regime has been totalitarian. Stalin, Castro, and Mao have murdered many of their citizens. Socialism gets treated as synonymous with communism in America, which I think is a mistake as they are quite different. Every Western country including America has some socialist policies, and some of these have succeeded in improving quality of life. I also think our culture (our founding fathers believed in a free market economy) and propaganda also plays into the negative opinion of socialism. I believe in the free market, but am also aware of its abuses and believe carefully planned social policies can be a good thing. Communism is always bad.

Answer 4

Lots of people spoke well of Communism. What have you been smoking? Of course, it is true that it is just like NAZIsm. Communism is actually a particularly horrible form of fascism.

See "The Lives of Others" 2007 German film, A. Solzhenitsyn, "The Gulag Archipelago".

Remember Jean Paul Sartre was a collaborator with the Germans in France, as was Simone de Beavoir.

Answer 5

Because Communism just doesn't work. The USSR fell apart because its communist government could not provide food for its own people. It created and overly expanded a cruel empire which gave to too little and took from too few. This happens in all communistic governments. There is no incentive for anyone to do any extra work, and because of that, the incentive to do the assigned work diminishes. Pretty soon you have lots of people who are just tired to working and something happens. What country do you live in? go live in China and experience communism before you start supporting it.

Answer 6

Because they are based on erroneous premises -- specifically, that value is created by labor alone. But value is also created by trade, so the entire rationale for communism collapses. Since they are based on faulty premises, it is hardly surprising to learn that they don't work. The USSR collapsed, and China started to prosper only after it dumped its philosophical underpinnings and started being capitalist.

Answer 7

That's not true. Socialism was quite popular after WWI. Socialists thought the USSR was going to be a workers' paradise. Oops.

Answer 8

communism has been seen in very romantic terms, just not inside the US. but globally things are different. most of western europe is socialist today, just look at france, spain, italy, germany, and scandanavia. latin america and asia had been dominated by communist dictators for years until recently and it had a small foothold in africa too.

Answer 9

Limited socialism does have positive press, and makes gains all the time. Mostly, they have negative connotations because they earn them when tried.

Answer 10

Because, thanks to those countries that have practiced those forms of government, they are synonymous with corruption. I guess the rest of the world just can't understand how government entities supposedly so concerned for the general well-being of their populace could have such poor human rights practices.