This attitude, a product of an impoverished society, led Russian-communists to regard revolution as the only solution to this detrimental system. Kennan notes the use of Marxism as justification for the desire
The Merriam-Webster definition of socialism is “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” In simple terms socialism is the collective ownership of goods and the means by which they are distributed. Although many socialists today would be quick to distinguish communism and socialism as two different things, they do indeed work together. Communism being defined by Merriam-Webster as “a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.” Communism is just the outpouring of the philosophical idea of socialism.
While communism is meant to help achieve equality for everyone it has been proven we can’t achieve a perfect communist state. Communism first originated from the Greek idea during the Golden Age that harmony and bliss would be achieved without owning private property (Beer, "Origins of Communism"). Lopez 2 It later than resurfaced around 1848 when Karl Marx published his book The Communist Manifesto. During Karl Marx’s time he wanted the proletariat, the working class, to overthrow the government due to bourgeoisie, the high class, having more opportunities and unfair advantages.
Although initially voiced by Karl Marx, communism or Marxism was executed with tremendous flaws by Russian political leader, Vladimir Lenin, in a series of revolutions and campaigns including that of the Bolshevik revolution. Marx’s and Lenin’s goals, however, were the same in their desires to abolish
Lenin was a Marxist revolutionary who played a vital role in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet Union. Lenin's ideas about communism emphasized the need for a classless society in which the state would own and control the means of production. While Lenin's ideas were initially motivated by a desire for social justice and equality, the implementation of his policies led to the suppression of
Socialism will bring unity for peace, protection for the cause of democracy, universal healthcare system, and real equality. The ideal also brings an end to the dominance of corporations
Stalin, in great desire for a more industrialized country, in 1921, stated in one of his many speeches, “Do you want our socialist fatherland to be beaten and to lose its independence?” (Keefe 2009). In this statement, Stalin refers to Russia as ‘our socialist fatherland’ and addresses that, without industrialization, Russia will lose its independence. Of course to keep such things from happening, he also believed that his ways of life must be followed. While other influential people, such as Trotsky, believed communism should be spread world-wide immediately, Stalin completely argued against so.
War Then Peace Throughout time people have talked about peace and the many ways in which we can obtain it, unfortunately it seems the most successful way of accomplishing that peace is through violence. Many people claim they want peace, but in order to achieve it, they must fight in wars. War is described as bloody, gory, and deadly; which seems very far from the words that would be used to describe peace, but ironically the gruesome and disturbing wars that take place, are in fact how we obtain that tranquil state of mind. There are many reasons to go to war; religious purposes, to gain power and land, or for security to protect one’s territory from dangerous threats.
In Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Marx made multiple bold predictions involving the future of Russia and other countries. Marx predicted that there were many 19th european countries that were on the verge of a bourgeois revolution. He insisted that these countries would be better off without capitalism and boldy supported a communist revolution. The reading stated that capitalist states could not support the same standard of living that communism provides. There came a point where it was beginning to look like Marx’s comments had some accuracy to them.
The core message of the manifesto urged the working class to overthrow capitalism and establish an egalitarian, cooperative society. The infamous comment "Workers of the world, unite! Only your shackles are at risk!" (Communist manifesto) Summarized this argument and challenged employees to decide on their shared objectives and act together to accomplish their liberation. Marx and Engels claimed that socialism was the only path to real equality and freedom since the capitalist system was fundamentally exploitative and unequal.
Lenin’s vision of communism is similar to Václev Havel’s reading, Living in Truth. Like Lenin, Havel believes communism is also no longer the future. The text expresses that the modern ideologies and politics are antiquated and need change. Havel wanted the citizens to stop living their life’s in a lie and start “Living in Truth”. In order for there to be a new society with new rules and laws the “ordinary people” must change first.
In socialism, people make collective decisions as to what the directions of the social and economic progress should be, and then empower their representatives to implement them. In capitalism, the sum of the actions of free individuals is considered the best for the society as a whole, and the government should accommodate these private actions and should not have any ideological agenda as to what the directions of the social and economic progress should be. The Marx quote that “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it” is interpreted by socialists as the moral base for the organized society to identify the desired direction of progress and forcefully apply necessary policies to achieve this goal. Supporters of capitalism believe that philosophers should not go beyond interpreting the world, and that the organized society should not establish any policies shaping the future, that the progress should be whatever happens as a sum of the actions of
Andre Abi Haidar PSPA 210 INTRODUCTION It is always difficult to write about and discuss Karl Marx, or more importantly the applications of Marx’s theories, due to the fact that he inspired and gave rise to many movements and revolutionaries, not all of which follow his theories to the point. Although Marx tends to be equated with Communism, it might not seem righteous to blame him for whatever shortcomings occurred when his theories were put to the test; Marx passed away well before the revolution in Russia, and he played no role in the emergence of the totalitarian regime at the time. When discussing Marx, however, Vladimir Lenin is one of the biggest highlights when it comes to studying the outcomes of Marx’s theories.
On October 24th, 1917, Lenin and his groups were successful in getting Russia. It was known as the October Revolution. So now Lenin promotes communism, where people had equal wealth and gender equality. When Lenin came to power, he did not gain success immediately, but his New Economic Policy increased agriculture.
Karl Marx was a German philosopher and economist in the 18th century. He is known for his book the Communist Manifesto that was published in 1848. Marx believed that a revolution of the working classes would over throw the capitalist order and creates a classless society. The Industrial Revolutions led to the proletarianization; his partner Friedrich Engels explained why the changes created by the proletarianization of the worker would develop into a huge problem for industrial societies. I do believe that Karl Marx’s vision of communism in the Communist Manifesto could re-emerge as a popular and workable philosophy of social, economic, and political organization.
