througout history, how have communist governments performed? (course hero)

by Leopoldo Gerlach MD 5 min read

What is the historical background of communism?

Aug 23, 2016 · Throughout history, how have communist governments performed? My response; Communist governments where dictatorships and ensure that the poor remain poor. I believe they act selfish because they remove people’s life time savings to benefit their own. Communist government ensure that people who are poor do not make enough money to threaten people in …

What are some examples of communism in history?

Oct 31, 2015 · Governments have been abolished or overthrown in many instances throughout history. Though the reasons vary, generally, this happens when people no longer feel that their interests are being ...

Was communism successful in underdeveloped countries?

Answer : Historically , governments ruled by communist regimes have not brought about equality for all . On the contrary , they have usually produced an elite group that enriches itself by extracting political and economic power from the masses. SHORT ANSWER QUESTION What was the true goal of North Korea’s currency reform?

What is Communism today?

History and Backround of Communism. Foundation, Goals, and Priorities. Communism was an economic-political philosophy founded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the second half of the 19 th century. Marx and Engels met in 1844, and discovered that they had similar principles. In 1848 they wrote and published "The Communist Manifesto."

What were the principles of communism?

Another French thinker, Étienne-Gabriel Morelly also contended that private property was the source of all vice in society and developed the basic principles for a communist society namely, the abolition of property, the right to live and work for all, and the duty of all citizens to work for the common good.

Who believed in communism?

One of the first writers to espouse a belief in the primitive communism of the past was the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated," How happy was the primitive age when the bounties of nature lay in common...They held all nature in common which gave them secure possession of the public wealth.".

What is communism based on?

The history of communism encompasses a wide variety of ideologies and political movements sharing the core theoretical values of common ownership of wealth, economic enterprise and property. Most modern forms of communism are grounded at least nominally in Marxism, a theory and method conceived by Karl Marx during the 19th century.

When did the Soviet Union and the United States end?

In 1972–1979, there was détente between the Soviet Union and the United States. The end of communism in Europe (1980–1992) in which Soviet client states were heavily on the defensive as in Afghanistan and Nicaragua. The United States escalated the conflict with very heavy military spending.

What is communism in ancient times?

Communism in antiquity. Further information: Pre-Marxist communism, Primitive communism, and Religious communism. The 1st century BC Roman philosopher Seneca believed that humans had fallen from a Golden Age of primitive communism. Many historical groups have been considered as following forms of communism.

Who was Karl Marx?

In the 1840s, German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx, who was living in England after fleeing the authorities in the German states, where he was considered a political threat, began publishing books in which he outlined his theories for a variety of communism now known as Marxism.

Who was the leader of the Soviet Union in 1924?

In 1924, Joseph Stalin , a key Bolshevik follower of Lenin, took power in the Soviet Union. Stalin was supported in his leadership by Nikolai Bukharin, but he had various important opponents in the government, most notably Lev Kamenev, Leon Trotsky and Grigory Zinoviev. Stalin initiated his own process of building a communist society, creating a variant of communism known as Marxism–Leninism. As a part of this, he abandoned some of the capitalist, market policies that had been allowed to continue under Lenin such as the New Economic Policy. Stalinist policies radically altered much of the Soviet Union's agricultural production, modernising it by introducing tractors and other machinery, forced collectivisation of the farms and forced collection of grains from the peasants in accordance with predecided targets. There was food available for industrial workers, but those peasants who refused to move starved, especially in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) targeted kulaks, who owned a little land.

What was the communist movement?

In 1848 they wrote and published "The Communist Manifesto." They desired to end capitalism feeling that it was the social class system that led to the exploitation of workers. The workers that were exploited would develop class consciousness. Then there would be a fundamental process of class conflict that would be resolved through revolutionary struggle. In this conflict, the proletariat will rise up against the bourgeoisie and establish a communist society. Marx and Engels thought of the proletariat as the individuals with labor power, and the bourgeoisie as those who own the means of production in a capitalist society. The state would pass through a phase, often thought of as a socialism, and eventually settle finally on a pure communist society. In a communist society, all private ownership would be abolished, and the means of production would belong to the entire community. In the communist movement, a popular slogan stated that everyone gave according to their abilities and received according to their needs. Thus, the needs of a society would be put above and beyond the specific needs of an individual.

Where did communism originate?

In the late 19th century, communist philosophy began to develop in Russia. In 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power through the October Revolution.

What is communism in Russia?

Author: History.com Editors. Since its start a century ago, Communism, a political and economic ideology that calls for a classless, government-controlled society in which everything is shared equally, has seen a series of surges—and declines. What started in 1917 Russia, became a global revolution, taking root in countries as far flung as China ...

When did the Cold War start?

Cold War Begins. • May 9, 1945: The U.S.S.R. declares victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. With Japan’s defeat, Korea becomes divided into the communist North (which the Soviets occupied) and the South (which had been occupied by the United States).

What happened on May 9, 1945?

• May 9, 1945: The U.S.S.R. declares victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. With Japan’s defeat, Korea becomes divided into the communist North (which the Soviets occupied) and the South (which had been occupied by the United States).

Origins of Communism

  • Communism in antiquity
    Many historical groups have been considered as following forms of communism. Karl Marx and other early communist theorists believed that hunter-gatherer societies as were found in the Paleolithic through to horticultural societies as found in the Chalcolithic were essentially egalitar…
  • Developments in Christian communism
    Early Christianity supported a form of common ownership based on the teachings in the New Testament which emphasised sharing. For example, in the Book of Acts the passages Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32-45 state all believers held their possessions communally and would distribute …
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Periodisation of International Communism of 1994

  • The historical existence of the Communist International(Comintern) and the broader communist movement is divided among periods, regarding changes in the general policy it followed. 1. The War Communism period (1918–1921) which saw the forming of the International, the Russian Civil War, a general revolutionary upheaval after the October Revolution resulting in the formatio…
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Early Socialist States

  • Russian Revolution, Leninism and formation of the Soviet Union
    At the start of the 20th century, the Russian Empire was an autocracy controlled by Tsar Nicholas II, with millions of the country's largely agrarian population living in abject poverty. The anti-communist historian Robert Service noted that "poverty and oppression constituted the best soi…
  • Comintern, Mongolian invasion and communist uprisings in Europe
    In 1919, the Bolshevik government in Russia instigated the creation of an international communist organisation that would act as the Third International after the collapse of the Second International in 1916. This was known as the Communist International, although it was common…
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Spreading Communism

  • As the Cold War took effect around 1947, the Kremlin set up new international coordination bodies including the World Federation of Democratic Youth, the International Union of Students, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Women's International Democratic Federation and the World Peace Council. Malcolm Kennedy says the "Communist 'front' system included such intern…
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Cold War and Revisionism

  • Maoism and Cultural Revolution in China
    The Cultural Revolution was an upheaval that targeted intellectuals and party leaders from 1966 through 1976. Mao's goal was to purify communism by removing pro-capitalists and traditionalists by imposing Maoist orthodoxy within the Chinese Communist Party. The moveme…
  • Cuban Revolution
    The Cuban Revolution was a successful armed revolt led by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. It ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his regime with Castro's revolutionary government. Castro's government later reforme…
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End of The Eastern Bloc

  • Reform and collapse
    Social resistance to the policies of communist regimes in Eastern Europe accelerated in strength with the rise of the Solidarity, the first non-communist controlled trade union in the Warsaw Pact that was formed in the People's Republic of Polandin 1980. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev rose to p…
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Contemporary Communism

  • With the fall of the communist governments in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, the influence of state-based Marxist–Leninist ideologies in the world was weakened, but there are still many communist movements of various types and sizes around the world. Three other communist nations, particularly those in eastern Asia such as the People's Republic of China, Vi…
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See Also