Communism Is a Political Ideology

Communism is a political ideology which has influenced the world and created division and tension among nations. As a political ideology communism is a system that counters or goes against various aspects of the capitalist system in terms of political social order and organization.

In essence the communist ideology and vision of social order is based on the desire to establish a classless society where wealth will be commonly shared and resources owned by all and not only by a ruling elite. One way of understanding communism is through its historical development as a reaction to class and other disparities and divisions that characterize capitalistic society.

The theory of communism, which was established by thinkers such as Karl Marx, saw the capitalistic model of private ownership, unequal wealth distribution and class prejudice in modern capitalistic societies as aspects that had negative consequences and which should be changed. For example, instead of private ownership of wealth, which is a central facet of capitalism, the communist view is that the common and shared ownership of resources is the best way to ensure equality of privilege and wealth in a society. This was particularly important for the communist theorists in terms of the common ownership of the means of production in the society.

Marx in particular theorized that those who controlled the means of production in capitalistic society were the privileged or elite class; they were in the minority but had all the wealth and power. This situation created a class struggle with the majority of people, the proletariat, in opposition to the bourgeoisie or privileged elite. In essence communist theory and praxis attempts to remedy the unfair distribution of power and wealth, and is driven by the ideal vision of fairness and equality in all aspects of the organization and running of a society.

The roots of communism lie in the reaction of historical theorists like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to the rise of industrialization in England in the 19th century. Marx in particular was appalled by what he saw as the inequality of wealth and the increase in the number of people suffering from poverty as result of the industrial revolution and the perpetuation of capitalist inequalities. The common phrase," the rich get rich and the poor get poorer" can be seen as a summation of classical communist view of the way that capitalist society actually functions. The writings of Marx and Engels were to influence the world and resulted in the Russian Bolshevik revolution and eventually in the 'cold war' between capitalism and communism in the 20th century.

It should also be noted that there are many different types and variations of communism. These include theoretical and practical perspectives such as Maoism, Trotskyism, anarchist communism and Christian communism. There is therefore no one definitive form of communism but many communisms. However they all share the same basic tenets which relates to the desire for equality and the equitable sharing of the resources of production. In more historical terms communism has attempted to overthrow and change the dominance of capitalism in the world through social and people's revolution. A case in point was the Maoist Cultural Revolution in China.

It is also clear that the two central modes of political and economic organization are, in terms of their fundamental vision, very different and in opposition to one another. While on the one hand capitalism stresses the importance of individuality, private wealth and the development of 'natural' economic inequality in the society; communism stresses the sharing and equal use of resource and tends, in theory, to downplay the importance of the individual. The issue of individual freedom and independence was one of the central issues that created the climate for the "cold war' between the communism world and capitalism in the 20th century.

The most well-known face of communism in the last century was when Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia as the head of the Bolshevik party in 1917. This was to result in an autocratic regime which promulgated socialist and communist strategies. Lenin created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). One of his central aims was to begin a social revolution intended to overthrow the capitalist world view. The communist USSR became even more oppressive and dictatorial under Joseph Stalin, which succeeded Lenin. Under his leadership the state assumed total control of the economy and other state institutions. By 1980 it is estimated that one third of the people in the world lived in communist controlled countries. These countries were all characterized by laws and systems of governance that rejected private ownership of property and the domination of economic and other areas of society by the state. In most countries at this time all criticism of the government was restricted and the media was run by the state