What Is Communism?

• Ideology and political economy

• Wealth and property shared to eliminate exploitation and oppression

• Political institutions that maintain this system would eventually be eliminated

Communist Thought: Surplus Value of Labor

• Karl Marx (1818–1883)

• Surplus value of labor– Human beings create things of value– Value stays with the object– This is the source of exploitation—that people can

unjustly take others’ labor

• Core of human relations is economic

Communist Thought: Base and Superstructure

• All human actions flow from relationship between haves and have-nots

• Base: Economic system– Means of production (technology)– Class Relations

• Superstructure: Social system– All non-economic relations in society

Base, Superstructure, and False Consciousness

• Base drives superstructure

• How technology and class are constructed affects how we think and what we believe and value

• False consciousness: superstructure blinds us to the truth of exploitation– Religion is the “opiate” of the masses– Democracy is a “sham”

Revolution and the “Triumph” of Communism

Feudalism

Capitalist Democracy

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Communist Utopia

Revolution:

Rise of the property owning class

Revolution:

Rise of the proletariat

(Socialism)

Withering away of the state

Revolution and the “Triumph” of Communism

• History driven by economic change

• Not evolutionary: Revolution!

• Dialectical materialism:– Thesis: conflict btwn base/superstrucutre and technology– Antithesis: tension btwn bourgeoisie and proletariat – Synthesis: revolution that overthrows old

base/superstructure

The Inevitable Downfall of Capitalism

• Feudalism overthrown

• Inevitable capitalism next

• Marx justified:– Intense competition– Wealth concentrated into fewer and fewer hands– Wages driven down– Workers alienated from their labor– Consciousness! Realize their conditions and act!

Revolution and Utopia

• Proletariat revolt against exploitation– Seize means of production and state

• International Revolution

• Dictatorship of Proletariat: temporary period to smash remnants of old order

• When successful, state would “wither away”

• True communism—true equality and cooperation!

Putting Communism into Practice

• Russia: Lenin (1870–1924)

• China: Mao (1883–1976)

• Both sought to carry out Marxism

• Problem: Marx expected revolution where capitalism was most advanced! Not China, Russia?

• Solution: “vanguard” party of elite comm. revolutionaries take the place of proletariat in starting (Lenin)

Communism in Practice• Communism tended to take root in countries with

lower, not higher, economic development

• Communism comes to power– Russia 1917 (Lenin)– Eastern Europe post–World War II– China 1949

Communist Party Rule

• Gov’t and state controlled by communist party

• Small “vanguard” organization– Leading role written into constitution– Power can’t be taken away

• Nomenklatura: politically sensitive jobs must be vetted by party

• Party becomes vehicle for opportunism– Co-optation– One-party rule

Structures under Communism

Flow of control

Flow of information

Basic party organizations (cells)

Regional Committees

Central Committee

Politburo General Secretary

Institutions of the Party-State

• Party-state: unclear separation

• Party more powerful than government

• Basic party organizations– General secretary: head of the party– Politburo: top party cabinet– Central committee: “legislature” of party– Cells: small groups designed to give party a way to

monitor the masses

Communist Ideology in Action

• Shaped policy

• Sought to legitimize authoritarianism

• Secular “religion”—required unquestioning faith in communist ideology– Personality cults (Stalin, Mao, Castro)– Calls to sacrifice for ideology– Quest for monopoly of power down to most basic level of

home and work

Leaders in Communism

• Stalin—purged people from Communist Party for being “disloyal”

• Mao—Cultural Revolution persecuted intellectuals

Communist Political Economy

• Property absorbed by the state

• Only personal possessions are privately owned

• Labor controlled by the state

• No private employment (or unemployment)

• Markets eliminated by the state

• Demand does not drive supply

Central Planning and Incentives

• How do you make an economy work without markets and private property?

• Central planning: state bureaucracy allocates resources, determines what should be produced, where sold, price

– Difficult task—limited information

• Limited incentives for hard work, innovation (no individual profit)

Societal Institutions under Communism

• Suppression of religion

• Advanced gender equality (education, work), but many traditional values remained in place

• Nationalism and ethnic identity downplayed in favor of communist “internationalism”

The Collapse of Communism

• New Cold War, 1980s– US v USSR

• capitalism v communism• arms race• space race

• Economic stagnation

• New political leadership (Gorbachev), seeks reform of system

– Glasnost: openness– Perestrioka: restructuring

From Reform to Defeat

• Improved relations with West means allowing reform in Eastern Europe

• East European populations eject communist leaders

• Glasnost leads to criticism of system itself

• Party resists reforms

• Deepening crisis; failed coup by communist conservatives in 1991

Transformation of Political Institutions

• How do we move from communism to democracy?

• Reorganizing the state and creating a democratic regime– Electoral institutions?– Executive structures?– Civil rights and liberties?

Evaluating Political Institutions in Transition• Uneven progress in Eastern Europe, former

SU• Why difference? Pre-communist differences:

– Economic development– Civil society – Democratic institutions– Rule of law – Degree of contact with western Europe – Length of communist rule

Transformation of Economic Institutions

• How do we move from communism to capitalism?

• Privatization: How to get rid of state assets? – Sell to highest bidder?– Give to people?– Voucher privatization?

• Marketization: How to end central planning?– Shock therapy or gradualism?

Transformation of Societal Institutions After Communism

• National identity and religion– Re-emergence of nationalism, ethnic/nationalist conflict– Re-emergence of religion, including fundamentalism and

new faiths

• Gender– Elements of equality under old system challenged– Also threatened by changes in social expenditures

Evaluating Societal Transitions

• Ethnic conflict, created opening for terrorism (Afghanistan)

– Still, less conflict than many predicted

• High degrees of nationalism in Russia and China

• Setbacks for women in some areas but gains in others (fewer women in parliament but more in cabinets)

Future of the Post-communist World

• Re-balancing freedom and equality

• Institutionalizing new practices and values

• Communist countries becoming more diverse– Some joining advanced democracies– Others heading toward less developed status

The Chinese Alternative

• Much earlier and more dramatic liberalization of the market

• But political dissent not tolerated

• 1989 Tiananmen Square: student protests crushed violently

• Move toward capitalism continues, but without democratization

• Wiser move than Soviet Union, or more dangerous in the long run?