What is the significance of communism today

In terms of economic performance, China, where the Communist Party rules with no other legal parties, has been outstanding in recent decades; while in Cuba, also with a one-party community party-ruled government, economic performance has been weak but social indicators life expectancy, educational level have been remarkably good. These three cases are examples of very different systems ruled by communists. View more questions. Meet our experts. Ask a question. Bourgeois: Of or relating to capitalist exploitation of the proletariat.

Proletariat: The working class or lower class. Examples In theory, Communism seems to have some very desirable characteristics. In practice, however, it has many drawbacks, and historically it seems that only the most corrupt members of Communist governments have gained advancement within systems. When a system depends on an entire community but is controlled by a few corrupt bureaucrats, it cannot be successful.

However, this is not to say that state run enterprises in certain areas are a bad idea. Publicly-owned utilities such as water, electricity, and postal services have proven to be beneficial in countries, even when no communist system exists. The Benefits of Communism Theoretically, there are many benefits that can be achieved through a communist society.

Other theoretically beneficial ideas characteristic of communist societies include: People are equal. In a communist regime, people are treated equally in the eyes of the government regardless of education, financial standing, et cetera. Every citizen can keep a job. In a communist system, people are entitled to jobs. Because the government owns all means of production, the government can provide jobs for at least a majority of the people.

Everyone in a communist country is given enough work opportunities to live and survive. Every citizen, however, must do his or her part for the economy to receive pay and other work benefits. There is an internally stable economic system. In communism, the government dictates economic structure; therefore, economic instability is out of the question. This creates an incentive to participate and to encourage economic growth.

Strong social communities are established. In communism, there are certain laws and goals which determine resource and responsibility allocation. If the citizens abide by these laws, this leads to a harmonious spirit of sharing one goal.

Consequently, this builds stronger social communities and an even stronger economy. Work, responsibility, and rewards are shared equally among the citizens. If people have no sense of envy, jealousy or ambitions that counter the goals of the state, then a harmonious economic development can be maintained.

Efficient distribution of resources. In a communist society, the sense of cooperation allows for efficiency in resource distribution. This is very important, especially in times of need and in emergency situations. A big secret is that Marx was actually quite impressed by capitalism, our current mode of production in this stage of history.

As much as he urged the workers of the world to seize their machinery and claim the products and tools of their labor as collective property—he praised capitalism. He saw the abundance it could create and he predicted a time when machines would do much of the boring work and innovation would solve many human problems. The communist believes that capitalism produces regular crises, and that over time, there is tendency of the rate of profit to fall.

Because, goodness knows, we certainly get some poor solutions to times of capitalist crisis. Consider this your trigger warning for disappointment: There is no blueprint for communism. But we can talk a little about how we might get there. No transition in the mode of production has ever been smooth, nor has it been particularly quick. It had its own vanguard: Intellectuals like John Locke, Adam Smith, and David Ricardo provided instructions for the leaders of the modern state and its partner economy.

Yet, theirs are the thoughts on which the poorly functioning neoliberal policy of the present still rests. Theirs are the thoughts on which many lives are ended early or lived in blank servitude. This is not to say that the seizing of power by socialists eager for the communist stage of history is going to be a picnic. Things started well at the Winter Palace in St. A future transfer could be peaceful—even the result of democratic elections—allowing for the possibility in the West of a truly democratic election free from intervention by the capitalist class.

Capitalism had many false starts, and now, in the view of a commie such as myself, it is enduring a very real end. Voters are rejecting its prescriptions in different ways, expressing their frustration by electing authoritarians who promise a fictional version of the past or, as in Spain , Greece , and Scotland , socialists and communists who hint at an unseen future.

We know that our age of automation has created the possibility of free time. We know that we have collectively created the means to sustain all on this planet.

But, we also know that we have built this abundance at the cost of environmental devastation. Both climate change and the irrevocable fact of nuclear weapons reduce the original communist hope for collective management of everything; these totalizing threats demands a certain level of totalitarian management. It is my view that an honest communist can now no longer say that the state can be done away with entirely—these true threats require a handful of true bureaucrats to manage them.

But, there is no need for the nation-state to sustain our life, any more than there is a need for profit. A good, productive life for all demands a new and collective mode of production.

Or, at the very least, it demands a little of our curiosity. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. Skip to navigation Skip to content. Discover Membership.