Communism: Communist and Former Communist Regimes

1. Communism: Communist and Former Communist Regimes

2. Presentation Outline • Marxism • Leninism • Stalinism • Maoism • The Crisis of Communism

3. 1) Marxism • The political and economic theory of communism was developed by the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid 1840s. • Marx believed that workers (the proletariat) were being exploited by the capitalists (bourgeoisie) • In the mid 19th century workers were made to work long hours in horrible conditions and paid very little wages- Marx wanted to replace this system • Marx advocated a proletarian revolution where the workers would overthrow the capitalist state and create a worker’s dictatorship- he predicted this would happen in industrialized Western Europe not Russia

4. In Marx’s communist state: • One Party State- Communist Worker’s Party • Command Economy: The state would control prices and distribution- all citizens would receive an equal share of goods and there would be no private property or social classes • Economic and Social Equality

5. 2) Leninism • It was in Russia where the first Communist Revolution occurred in 1917 • Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian Tsar and established the Soviet Union

7. Leninism differs from Marxism • Workers did not play a major role in the Russian Revolution since there were not many organized worker’s movements or labor unions in Russia • Lenin’s Revolution was carried out by a professional group of largely middle-class Communist revolutionaries

8. Leninism • Lenin introduced the concept of democratic centralism : Party members would be able to criticize policy and make suggestions but once a decision was made, all had to follow and obey – feature of many Communist regimes • In practice, democratic centralism was not very democratic and did not work as Lenin had planned

9. 3) Stalinism • After Lenin’s death, there was a power struggle- Joseph Stalin assumed complete control in 1927 and created the first totalitarian state • Stalin used the mass media to control the population and mobilize citizens for the Party’s goals

10. Stalinism • Collectivization: abolition of private farms, forcing peasants to move on to large common farms where they would work for the state • Heavy industry: using massive numbers of peasants to build railways, make steel, mine coal with the goal of rapid industrialization • Gulags: those who did not comply, obey would be sent to labor camps in Siberia

12. Stalin’s Cult of Personality • Since rational-legal and traditional legitimacy were low, Stalin used charismatic legitimacy to solidify his rule • Stalin’s photos and statues were found on every street in every major Soviet village and city • School children were made to worship Stalin

13. The Communist Party State created under Stalin • The Politburo was formally created: top officials who make decisions- feature of most Communist regimes • The position of the General Secretary: leader of the Communist Party and head of state • Nomenklatura: all Communist Party members had to be approved by the Party elite- the only way to be promoted to high level positions was to follow directions and be in the General Secretary’s “good books”

14. 4) Maoism • The second major Communist Revolution occurred in China • Unlike in Russia, it was the peasants who carried out the Communist Revolution in China • Mao Zedong mobilized the peasants on the Long March (1934) and later to fight against the Japanese forces and Kuomintang nationalists

15. Maoism • Mao continued the practices of Stalin, introducing collectivization, promoting heavy industry, and controlling the masses, and developing his own cult of personality

16. Left: Mao leading peasants on the Long March (1934) Right: Mao surrounded by peasant students during the Cultural Revolution (1966)

17. 5) The Crisis of Communism • After the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao in 1976, China was in severe economic trouble- years of economic mismanagement led a new leader to rethink traditional Marxism-Leninism and follow a different path

18. Deng Xiaoping • Beginning in 1978 Deng introduced a number of economic reforms to boost China’s economy : 1) creation of Special Economic Zones in Xiamen, Shenzhen.. 2) encouragement of foreign investment 3) allowing private enterprise to operate These reforms were pragmatic but were completely opposed to classic Marxism-Leninsm

19. Deng’s pragmatism • Other Communist states such as Vietnam have followed Deng’s model Economic reforms but without major political reforms

20. Political and Economic reforms too much for the Soviet Union • In 1989 Communist General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced political reforms (glasnost: democratization) and economic reforms (perestroika: privatization) • Hard-line Communists attempted a coup to replace Gorbachev • Meanwhile many former Soviet states such as Latvia, Lithuania had declared independence • Both the Party and the Soviet Economy were in chaos, and the regime collapsed in 1991

21. Collapse of the Soviet Union

22. The collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe- The fall of the Berlin Wall

23. Why has Communism not been successful? • Arms race with US and Western states cost the Soviet Economy billions • Information Age: it’s increasingly more difficult for authoritarian regimes to restrict their citizens’ access to the internet and other media sources • Globalization: increasing pressure to fit in to the world trading system

24. Communist states have low traditional and rational-legal legitimacy and often must resort to coercion at some point to maintain power- Examples: Stalin’s Gulags 1956 Hungarian protest against Soviet Communism 1968 Czech demonstration against Soviet Union 1989 Tienanmen Square student demonstrations in Beijing

26. Communism in 2012 • The only “true Marxist” Communist states remaining are Cuba and North Korea • Both are totalitarian states, but are isolated politically and economically from the international community