Communism

Let’s play a game. It’s a guessing game. If you can guess this word, then you’re pretty good with your history. This word is an idea in which everybody is of the same social class — the poor are boosted up to be middle class and the wealthy are forced down, earning the same as everyone else. Under this government, the state controls everything and private businesses are banned. This is the basic explanation of the word Communism. Did you guess it right? I really hope you did. There are many different branches of Communism, the three most popular ones being Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, and Stalinism. The ‘founder’ of Communism, Karl Marx, wrote a book called Communist Manifesto in 1848 with co-author Friedrich Engels. In this book stated the beliefs behind Marxism, the original basis for Communism. The idea was about equality. Like the previous explanation, every class would be equal, the state would control everything and private productions would be banned. He believed that any previous government should be overthrown with violence (hey, this actually happened before, too) and replaced with Communism. The proletariat, or the working class, must be controlled by a sort of dictator. This dictator would have possession over all citizens’ personal decisions. He, in a Marxist paradise, wished for every state to be under the rule of communism. Many people have taken this belief and altered it into something different, the basics still staying the same. One of the most famous ‘isms’ of Communism is Marxism-Leninism, which is often still followed to this day. This ideology is a mixture of Karl Marx’s and Vladimir Lenin’s beliefs. This branch focuses on revolutionary actions that are bold. Lenin stressed imperialism, or using military force to strengthen a country’s power. Although many Communists do not favor this ideology, Stalinism is very popular. Maybe even infamous. Stalinism was created by Josef Stalin, in which he was the dictator that wasn’t held down by any laws. He believed in a totalitarian state, or a government controlling every aspect of public/private matters. He did not allow citizens to resist the state, otherwise known as suppression of opposition. Stalinism didn’t work out well. In the end, it turned violent and led many citizens to their deaths. Maoism, Trotskyism, Hoxhaism, Titoism, and more are all different adaptations of Communism. Each belief is different and complex. Some are old, some are new. Let’s just agree that, yes, there are a lot of different versions of this ideology.