Misplaced Pages

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Rewrite

I have inserted a concise new article to replace the old incoherent mess filled with "original research." The last two sections need work, but I will complete it very shortly. The old article was filled with so many unsourced personal theories editors have dropped in over time, and so many off topic tangents that the only way of making this into a viable encyclopedic entry was to rewrite it. Feedback, of course, is welcome. 172 05:21, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

I do think this page should be rewrited, as the current version tells us a lot about the history of communism (may be this entry should be renamed and a new entry for "communism" is needed). However it is not answering the question: "What is communism". --Eternal 16:41, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

free trade communists

Needs to be left alone. Fits in fine with the article helps show how communism has "evolved" as a theory to accep things that are often seen as contradictory to its most basic assumptions.

Free trade zones do not seem to get mentioned on the China page or the economics of china page...but at least deserve mentioning here.

Has been deleted several times by a radical communist purist for POV reasons. (Gibby 05:36, 10 December 2005 (UTC))

Ultramarine

I'm having no luck dealing with Ultramarine, whose English is too poor and POV too strong to understand that his content belongs in related entries on Communist regimes and their development strategies, not in the communism article. Help in dealing with him will be greatly appreciated. 172 05:39, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

It is censorship to delete all critique, including external links presenting an opposing view. Ultramarine 05:41, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

An "opposing view" of what? The new article traces the beliefs, origins, and development of modern communism as a movement the same way other encyclopedias and sourcebooks do. No other encyclopedia includes a section in their article similar to the one that you're advocating. 172 05:48, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

You are actually arguing that one should not be allowed to criticize a political movement/theory in Misplaced Pages? Every other article about major political movements/theories in Misplaced Pages has extensive critique. Ultramarine 05:58, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes, no Misplaced Pages editor should criticize anything on Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages:No original research. To get an idea on what this article should look like, read Encarta or Britannica's entry on Communism, or an entry in a sourcebook like Cambridge Companion. 172 06:04, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Encyclopedia Britannica's article is almost exclusively about Soviet Communism. We should change the subject of this article to that? Ultramarine 06:08, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

No, it covers Soviet Communism along with Trotskyism, Titoism, and Maoism in proportion to influence over time. And, yes, the factual historical chronology of Britannica is exactly what I am advocating here. 172 06:11, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Including describing the atrocities of the system that killed close to 100 million people? Ultramarine 06:14, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes, in the same amount of detail as Britannica, but fitting into the same structure, not the bloated grab-bag "crtiques" section you keep on reinserting. 172 06:17, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

I suggest that you first makes it an official Misplaced Pages policy that articles should have the same structure and proportional content as EB. Until then, no censorship of critique here, just like in the other articles about political movements/theories. Please read more on NPOV in Misplaced Pages. Ultramarine 06:23, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

I suggest that you read "no original research." I am serious about making this a real encyclopedic entry, and I will find the backing to be able to do it, whether you object or not. 172 06:25, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

You actually think you can find support for not allowing any critique in a Misplaced Pages article? Go on, I will take it all the way to arbitration if required. Ultramarine 06:28, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Speaking of Arbitration, are you Libertas? 172 06:31, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Excuse me, what are you asking? Ultramarine 06:34, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

User:Libertas? You seem to be engaging in the same editing pattern on Communist-related articles. 172 07:04, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

No. Seems to be more interested in US politics.

Compromise with Ultramarine

I have created a new article for your text along the lines of criticisms of socialism at criticisms of communism so that we can keep your text while making this a standard encyclopedic entry on Communism as a movement at the same time. 172 10:34, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

This would be appropriate on Wikinfo, but NPOV is policy on Misplaced Pages, thus all significant views need to be fairly represented including strong criticism. Fred Bauder 22:02, July 17, 2005 (UTC)

The article already does, using the same format as socialism, which includes a similar "criticisms of socialism" spin-off. 172 | Talk 08:04, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Natalinasmpf

There doesn't seem to be any attempt serious attempt in this article to address the main failing of communism or the human cost of said ideology. Specifically, the abuses of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot are totally absent, which in any other wikipedia article would be considered a painful lapse. Original research is not necessary - the costs of Mao's in China, Stalin's in Russia and Pol Pot's in Cambodia are well documented. Although the specific numbers of millions are in dispute, that millions died as a direct result of communism is pretty crystal clear. As a consequence, this article is not whole in any sense.

Is it? Well, this concerns the ideology. There is criticisms at communist state, which deals with the attempts to practice it throughout history....plus you realise that a lot of communists are actually anarcho-communists and do not follow Marx but rather Kropotkin - hence, "failings" is attributed to "communist state" - the Marxist side, not the anarchist side (which tends to oppose a state). Anyhow, a lot of the criticisms have been moved to criticisms of communism, which was mentioned at both its section and at the top, I believe. -- Natalinasmpf 05:47, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

your not one of those communists who denies that many people died because of communist policies? Golie, I hate to break it to you...but governments do kill people...and the more you control the economic freedom of the people the more you end up taking away their rights...yeah... (Gibby 17:21, 9 December 2005 (UTC))

This is the article on the political movement and the ideology, not the regimes of China, Russia, Cambodia, etc. Please take a look at articles in encyclopedias such as Columbia, Encarta, and Britannica or sourcebooks such as the Oxford Dictationary of Politics, and you will see that their articles are similar to the rewrite, and nothing at all like the old article. 172 | Talk 06:28, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Regarding the anarcho-communists, yes I am aware. But they have never been nearly as notable enough to warrant the kind of treatment that they got in previous versions. Modern communism is almost always associated with Marx because Marxists have governed up to a third of the world's population, not the anarcho-communists. That's why anarcho-communists aren't even mentioned in the general article on communism in other sourcebooks. 172 | Talk 11:43, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

As a result of attempting to practice communism, would be more accurate. It can be broached upon here, put into further detail in the two links above. This is just to make it concise. We tend to like articles staying under 30 KB, and without sacrificing detail, hence, branch them out and move off them to another article with a more specific topic (in this case, criticisms of communism).

"Communism in academia"

Ultramarine, do not dodge the issue of lack of relevancy of your section on "Communism in academia" with more hyperbole and inflammatory rhetorical questions. The place to discuss your recent headings would be under this heading. 172 | Talk 16:07, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Ultramarine, the dispute is over the new content you are posting in the "criticisms of communism" and "communism in academia" sections, not the rest of the article. So do not put up dispute tags as a tactic to retaliate personally against someone. 172 | Talk 16:12, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Please avoid personal attacks and insinuations. If criticism is systematically deleted, then it affects the whole article. Ultramarine 16:15, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

That has nothing to do with the factual accuracy, clean up, or original research headings. Further, there are POV-section headings. If a particular section bothers you, stick a POV-section tag under the heading, not the whole article. Now, the issue is the "communism in academia" section. That doesn't belong here given the subject matter, as it's a criticism of academia for being too friendly to leftists, not Communism per se. 172 | Talk 16:19, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

No, that is a minor issue. The main issue is why this article allows no more specific mention of the atrocities of the Communist states. Should an article about Nazism have no mention of the Holocaust? Ultramarine 16:21, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

There are references throughout the article to Stalin's crimes, as there are throughout Britannica, Columbia, Encarta's entries, along with entries in sourebooks such as the Oxford Dictionary, e.g., After Stalin's death, the Soviet Union's new leader, Nikita Khrushchev admitted the enormity of the repression that took place under Stain. That aside, I am not disputing adding a lit review to the "criticism of communism" section; the problem is what you are adding. Your section dealing with the book on academia is not relevant here, as it's a polemic against academia not even close to being as well know as the works by major anticommunist writers such as Conquest. 172 | Talk 16:29, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Note that you not long ago created a page clinically free of any criticism of Communism, including deleting critical external links and links to other critical Wikpedia articles. See talk above. Why are you deleting this?

"Communism has been criticized both with empirical examples and theoretical arguments.

As communism entails the abolition of the state, a communist state is an impossibility according to communist theory. There have been, however, a large number of states ruled by self-declared Communist parties. Large scale human rights violations and democide occurred in these states as documented in extensive historical research, particularly during the regimes of Stalin and Mao, but are shown to have started immediately after the Russian revolution during the regime of Lenin and to have continued to occur in all communist states during their existence. The many abuses that occurred under these regimes have often been used as an argument against the ideology of communism itself, especially by anti-communists, citing for instance Marx's "dictatorship of the proletariat". This is rejected by communists as a simplistic approach to historical events and ideas, noting that communism itself is stateless in theory and thus cannot be related to the actions of 20th century states. Many anti-communists consider this a dodge of criticism that could similarly justify dismissing human rights violations under capitalism as not representative of the capitalist theory." Ultramarine 16:43, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

See below. What I replaced it with has just as much content, minus the self-evident, though much shorter. My issue is not with your opinions on communist economics. My issue is "economy of words" here. 172 | Talk 16:44, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Are you ready to accept the following as a replacement, which cuts down all the self-evident stuff, to your text above: Some writers such as Conquest go beyond attributing large-scale human rights abuses to Communist regimes, presenting Communist repression, particularly under Stalin, as an argument against the ideology of communism itself. 172 | Talk 18:17, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

172, Communism is not economics. It is a social theory. It is not economics. (Gibby 17:23, 9 December 2005 (UTC))

Article protected

Because of the large number of reverts in the past few hours, I have protected this page. Please hammer out a compromise on this page. -- Viajero | Talk 16:31, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Changes

Another issue with Ultramarine seems to be the shortening of his writing below:

Communism has been criticized both with empirical examples and theoretical arguments.

As communism entails the abolition of the state, a communist state is an impossibility according to communist theory. There have been, however, a large number of states ruled by self-declared Communist parties. Large scale human rights violations and democide occurred in these states as documented in extensive historical research, particularly during the regimes of Stalin and Mao, but are shown to have started immediately after the Russian revolution during the regime of Lenin and to have continued to occur in all communist states during their existence. The many abuses that occurred under these regimes have often been used as an argument against the ideology of communism itself, especially by anti-communists, citing for instance Marx's "dictatorship of the proletariat". This is rejected by communists as a simplistic approach to historical events and ideas, noting that communism itself is stateless in theory and thus cannot be related to the actions of 20th century states. Many anti-communists consider this a dodge of criticism that could similarly justify dismissing human rights violations under capitalism as not representative of the capitalist theory.

However, notice how the following sentence essentially covers everything stated above without stating the self-evident: Some writers such as Conquest go beyond attributing large-scale human rights abuses to Communist regimes, presenting Communist repression, particularly under Stalin, as an argument against the ideology of communism itself.

Ultramine will have to discuss the particular changes to his writing, as opposed to making political accusations whenever someone modifies his work. 172 | Talk 16:40, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Note that you not long ago created a page clinically free of any criticism of Communism, including deleting critical external links and links to other critical Wikpedia articles. See talk above. This content is similar to that which hab been in the article for months before you deleted it. As such, it is up to you defend the deletions. Ultramarine 17:26, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Do not divert the issue by personalizing the dispute. Explain the changes in question right now do nothing more than making the version more concise than you had it. 172 | Talk 17:43, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Actually, the now protected versions is not that bad, since it at least mentions large-scale human right abuses, something your prior versions did not do only a few edits back.

Actually, I was mentioning it in the context of the 20th Congress of the CPSU all along. 172 | Talk 18:13, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Typical confusion

The additions of Ultramarine reflect a typical confusion (or deliberate red herring) in the Western world related to the usage of the word "communism". The overwhelming majority of criticism is related to the criticism of what is confusingly called "Communist state." While the criticism served its purpose, it is misdirected with respect to the current article: it is useless for attempts to understand what went wrong with seemingly nice idea of the desire towards the society of equal, free, working, altruistic people. And why an "unfair" society in which a person can be prosperous only by making other people work for him (with rare exceptions (rather confirming the rule)) turns out to be alive and kicking.

The polemical yell "Should an article about Nazism not have a mention of the Holocaust" misses the aim: Holocaust is proven to directly stem from the Nazist theory. If you want to criticize communism in the same way, you have to present a proof (but not your own, and not by sweeping references to a bunch of sovietologists or dissidents) that, e.g., the Great Purge directly followed from the communism theory. Yes, we know that attempts of implementation of communism led to atrocities. But a mere statement of the fact does not help to explain why did this happen. Without an attempt of explanation "why" it is not an encyclopedic article, but a mere political essay, one of the many, and no reason to waste the space (I know that wikipedia is not paper, but readers are not computers, and waste lots of time reading the same political rant over and over again in various places). mikka (t) 17:15, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Actually, some people can even take this further and claim holocaust was caused by capitalism. Oh, and before you nail me, read Wall street and the rise of Hitler please. You don't need to buy it, a PDF of the text float around online. Here is a good start. Another interesting post follow below which basically argue that communism didn't fail since it was never practiced.

Please do not confuse communism with socialism. Numerous critics have crticzed communism using the atrocities in Communist states. Thus, Misplaced Pages shuld not censor it. That critique may not be similarly applied to socialism in general, at least not in the same way. Ultramarine 17:24, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Reread Mikka's comments. He is not confusing communism and socialism. 172 | Talk 17:45, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Again, numerous critcts have used the large-scale atrocities in Communist states as evidence against Communinsm. Misplaced Pages should not censor their view. Ultramarine 17:57, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

This argument is an exact kind of "And you are lynching Negroes". Once again: this kind of criticism is political bickering that explains nothing. Please read the article Communist state and understand that this criticism has nothing to do with criticism of communism for a very simple reason, communist states did not have communism. mikka (t) 19:00, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Censoring: please avoid slapping labels. The issue is not censorig, but proper arrangement of information. Some trigger-happy ardent anti-sovietists eager to put 20,000, 000 dead into each and every article about Soviet Union. Personally for you, there is a whole article, Criticisms of communism. So please tone down and try to work within a reasonable frame of presentation of information. mikka (t) 19:06, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Again, numerous critics have used the atrocities in Communist states to criticize communism. Their view should not be deleted from Misplaced Pages. The now protected version at least mentions it, which should be a minimum requirement.Ultramarine 19:12, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

You're sounding like a bot. Your responses seem to have nothing to do with Mikka's comments. 172 | Talk 19:15, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Please provide quotations where it is reasonably argued that that atrocities in Soviet Union are a direct consequence of the communism theory, just like Holocaust was an implementation of Nazist theories. Arguments of kind "commies killed a whole lot becase it is the nature of commies" or "commies are murderers, says Prof. Drillinghorse" will not do. mikka (t)

"Already famous throughout Europe, this international bestseller plumbs recently opened archives in the former Soviet bloc to reveal the actual, practical accomplishments of Communism around the world: terror, torture, famine, mass deportations, and massacres. Astonishing in the sheer detail it amasses, the book is the first comprehensive attempt to catalogue and analyze the crimes of Communism over seventy years.

"Revolutions, like trees, must be judged by their fruit," Ignazio Silone wrote, and this is the standard the authors apply to the Communist experience--in the China of "the Great Helmsman," Kim Il Sung's Korea, Vietnam under "Uncle Ho" and Cuba under Castro, Ethiopia under Mengistu, Angola under Neto, and Afghanistan under Najibullah. The authors, all distinguished scholars based in Europe, document Communist crimes against humanity, but also crimes against national and universal culture, from Stalin's destruction of hundreds of churches in Moscow to Ceausescu's leveling of the historic heart of Bucharest to the widescale devastation visited on Chinese culture by Mao's Red Guards.

As the death toll mounts--as many as 25 million in the former Soviet Union, 65 million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia, and on and on--the authors systematically show how and why, wherever the millenarian ideology of Communism was established, it quickly led to crime, terror, and repression. An extraordinary accounting, this book amply documents the unparalleled position and significance of Communism in the hierarchy of violence that is the history of the twentieth century." Ultramarine 07:03, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Ultramarine, this article is intended to detail the ideology of communism. This is totally different from the bloody measures practiced by Stalin, Mao et al. Now if you can look through the writings of Marx and show me one passage where he advocates the mass murder of millions then I will concede your point that communist theory and practice are linked. However until then I suggest that you confine your editing to the views expressed by Marx and the resulting ideology. 172 and Mikka are perfectly correct in their comments. Criticisms of communism should be confined, in this article, to criticisms of communist theory, ie the writings of Marx and Engels. Fascism is an inherently power based ideology that led directly to the Holocaust and genocide. It cannot be argued that communism is in any way similar and that Stalin’s atrocities stem from fundamental Marxist beliefs. By all means the difficulty of implementing communism can be noted in the critique section but should not discolour the rest of the article.GreatGodOm 12:45, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Ultramarine is correct in pointing out that some writers such as Conquest present Communist repression, particularly under Stalin, as an argument against the ideology of communism itself; and this is duly noted in the proper section of the article. The problem is that he seems unsatisfied with an encyclopedic arrangement of the information, and instead wants to base the entire article-- and just about every article related to communism-- around his own personal, idiosyncratic anticommunist reading list. 172 | Talk 12:55, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Characterizing Ultramarine's perspective as personal and idiosyncratic is a distortion of the situation. The article needs to address both the vision and projected practicality of a working communist society and economic system (as, for example, a sophisticated Trotskyist or other modern theorist might imagine) and the historical record which includes both the horrors cataloged in the Black Book of Communism and the achievements of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China and other Communist states. The ideology cannot be discussed apart from its historical context. Either those who tried to apply it got it horribly wrong, or only half right, or based on the lessons of practical experience something is terribly wrong with the ideology. Fred Bauder 13:35, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

Implying that I do not favor discussing the ideology apart from its historical context is a distortion of my work and comments. The current article accomplishes this, making repeated reference to the crimes of Stalin and the failings of the Soviet Union. Also, implying that I am calling Ultramarine's perspective as personal and idiosyncratic is a distortion of my comments. As Mikkalai stated earlier, the issue is proper arragement of information, and what I would call idiosyncratic is the arragement of information in some of Ultramarine's edits. It was idiosyncratic, for example, for Ultramarine to create an entire section in the article based on one polemic against academics , even though that book is not nearly as well known as thw works of Arendt, Conquest, Pipes, et al, whom I myself made reference to in this article in my own edits. 172 | Talk 13:49, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

While I do think that book is very important, it deals only with scholars of American Communism and quite negatively (if accurately). Intellectuals, especially academics, do play an important role in maintaining enthusiasm for communist ideology. Support for the ideology from that quarter should be part of the article as should support from those elements of the working class, European unions, for example, which continue to form the bulk of the movement. Fred Bauder 16:52, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

Since it only deals with scholars of American Communism, it makes more sense to mention it in a more specialized entry, like Communist Party USA. 172 | Talk 14:37, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Here are some other interesting books and articles. .

Okay. But bashing academia has nothing to do with this article. 172 | Talk 15:04, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Ok, your 2 books and webpage represent the negative point of view about intellectual support of communism; however they must be balanced by views from the left such as Sartre's. This is not a winner-take-all game, but an attempt to present all significant views regarding a controversial subject. If we succeed in incorporating all significant points of view, we all win. Fred Bauder 22:09, July 19, 2005 (UTC)

May I remind you that even if Marx advocated the mass murder of millions, which he did not, Neither Lenin nor Karl Marx are the sole founders of communist theory, nor do they represent the communist movement and if anything Stalinism etc. stems from Marxist-Leninism, not communist theory under Kropotkin! Since these human rights abuses have only occurred in communist states, and only Marxist-Leninists advocate a communist state, while Kropotkinists do not! Hence, it should be seen as a critique of the communist state, or of Marxist-Leninism, not the communist ideal in itself. If anything, Kropotkin described mechanisms to actually achieve an ideal similar to a gift economy, while Marx ranted on about how revolution was inevitable...that's hardly theory. -- Natalinasmpf 14:02, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

There is the matter of relevance in the general entry on communism. On one hand, Marxism-Leninism is the communist movement that ruled a third of humanity at one point. On the other hand, followers of Kropotkin are obscure. In proportion to the importance of Marxism-Leninism, anarcho-communism does not merit hardly any coverage here. 172 | Talk 14:13, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean, obscure? So, the Stalinist suppression of Kropotkinists has really worked, didn't it? They are as "obscure" as Trotskyists. They were the ones who, fought in the Spanish Civil War, then fought in Ukraine against the Soviet Union, fought in the Paris Commune, fought in the United States, Emma Goldman hardly being "obscure"...why do they not merit coverage? After all, it is the Kropotkinists who are the ones who have elaborated a great deal on how to reach the communist ideal, while all the Marxist-Leninists talk about is their "interim government", or "socialist transition stage". At one point, during the 1930's, the followers of Kropotkinists numbered in the millions, before being violently repressed by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the United States. Especially since we are considering the theory and ideology here. -- Natalinasmpf 14:41, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Again, take it to the anarchism and anarcho-communism articles. 172 | Talk 02:56, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Anarchism has a separate Misplaced Pages entry and criticism. It has other problems, like the complete absence of any long-lived historic examples, despite numerous attempts, and the very much related question regarding how it should defend itself against internal and external aggressors. Communism in generally associated with Marxism. Ultramarine 15:15, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes, but I am referring to communist theory. Communist theory, which this article deals with is the sibling/parent of anarchism, and hence critique for a communist state should be left at communist state, not communism. -- Natalinasmpf 15:46, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Communism will not be granted immunity to critique that easily. If necessarily, I just add another section for anarcho-communism or other sects that claims the name communism. Do not think that the short half-life of anarchist societies has prevented large scale human rights abuses, read for example this .Ultramarine 21:52, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Great. But before the article is unprotected, you should discuss your proposals for any additional changes and get feedback on them before another edit war breaks out. 172 | Talk 14:38, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

I think that the current version may be acceptable, since it at least mentions large scale human rights abuses and has a link to the main article. Ultramarine 14:31, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

I hate to break it to ya'll...again. Communism and Nazism are just two different sides to the same coin. When you destroy economic freedoms you will always end up destroying political and civil freedoms. Both Nazis and Communists saught to control the economic freedom of their citizens...but for different reasons. One wanted to do it "for the people" the other wanted to do it to "protect big buisness and the worker" both did it because it allowed the elite to take and then retain control of the country with little help actually being provided to those they originally "promised" Both are totalitarian. Period! (Gibby 17:26, 9 December 2005 (UTC))

Early Communism

I have a famous book on my shelves, Bernstein's 'Cromwell & Communism', there are many articles about on Communism in the Early Church (look on the web, or Popper in 'The Open Society and its enemies), and British thinkers from Hill, Thompson to Benn have discerned the communist thread in movements from the Civil War onwards - how are these going to fit in an article which doesn't open up until Das Kapital?? I think we need to split the article radically. Linuxlad

Another detailed area that is not well covered is the communist theorists (including the anarchists but not limited to them) who were contemporary with Marx and Lenin but had different perspectives. Fred Bauder 16:56, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

See the main articles on Marxism and history of socialism, which are the articles that already deal with that topic. 172 | Talk 02:59, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Not too sure whom you're replying to here - in my book I can have a pre-industrial communist society, but socialism describes a relationship to the means of production, so isn't really appropriate to anything pre-factory-system...

Whether your suggestion is good or not, 172 is replying here because he is concerned with structuring of our articles as a whole. We need to keep articles reasonably brief and have the sort of information a reader is likely to be looking for. That is the question, if someone looks up "communism," what information should they find and what links should we present which refers them on to more detailed information. To most people communism means the Russian and Chinese experience. But that does not by any means exhaust the subject. Probably pre-industrial British communist societies belong in a specialized article. A sentence or two in this article can briefly mention the phenomenon and link to a more specialized article. Fred Bauder 12:27, July 19, 2005 (UTC)

Just to note, the first section of this article already describes early communism with links to more specialized articles. 172 | Talk 14:32, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

But that goes to the root of the problem! Many of the British (and European?) left do NOT wish to see to see 'communism' in these (simplistic and constricting) terms!.

That is a point of view which could be appropriately included in the article (as can the "simplistic" "been there, tried that" view). Fred Bauder 14:05, July 19, 2005 (UTC)

The article should not be made Eurocentric to appease some elements of the Western European left. Modern communism is associated with Marxism-Leninism because Marxist-Leninist parties ruled a third of humanity at one point and a quarter of humanity today. Adequate coverage of Communism in Russia, Eastern Europe, and East Asia is a far higher priority than coverage of a relatively tiny number of anarchist groups operating in Western Europe. 172 | Talk 22:22, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

The essence of WP is intelligent synthesis. Bob aka Linuxlad

Anarchism

Yesterday, I wrote a new paragraph on anarchism. The old version seemed to be based on the example of Kropotkin, though anarchism's relationship with the communist movement is more diverse, and historically more influential strains-- Bakuninism and anarcho-syndalism in the early 20th century-- ought to be addressed before Kropotkin. Further, I moved the paragraph from the intro into the body of the article. The communist thought of an often-overlooked anarchist should not be mentioned in the intro to an article on communism before perspective on Trotsky and the founders of the different schools of Marxism-Leninism of ruling Communist parties-- Stalin, Mao, Tito, Hoxha, and even Deng is established. (For decades the CPC has proclaimed "Deng Xiaoping theory" a development in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.) 172 | Talk 16:49, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

P.C. Socialism

Not to start a war here, but the definition of "communism" is NOT "the ideas of Karl Marx." That is the definiton of "Marxism."

Tend to agree here - but that seems to be the preferred stateside perspective. I think most European socialists would see communism as well predating Marx. But it may be as well to go with the flow now, qualifying the time period of principal interest (as post-Marx) appropriately, but adding to the early communism section (at least) with links out. We have _nothing_ on communistic thought in the French Revolution, an obvious omission, especially given its well-documented influence on Marx ; and Mao's famous comment when asked on the importance of the French Revolution - 'it's too soon to say'! Bob aka Linuxlad

Obviously I'm biased in my opinion as a Marxist, but to me Communism is the ideas first proposed by Marx and their derivatives. Scientific socialism as opposed to utopian socialism. I disagree that early commune societies could be classified as communist (trying to keep outside historical materialism theory here), to me a more accurate description would simply be "communal". For most of communist history Marxism has been the dominant communist theory but, while I of course recognise that there have been other strands of thought that developed around the same time (thinking particularly of Mikhail Bakunin here), all schools of proletariat thought are aware of themselves and their position in society - unlike primitive or religious societies which had no concept of class struggle. GreatGodOm 10:28, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

Clearly there's plenty of room for pointless debate here. Why don't we agree (as I thought we had) that this article is for communism post-Marx but that it refers out (in 'early communism') to what some clearly see as 'communist' societies. (It matters clearly when capitalism and the ownership of the means of production comes on the scene. But I'd always taken that idea as the pre-requisite for 'socialism' So you can have a communist agrarian society but not a socialist one). But in the end, as long as we describe the beast, who cares what it's called. The trouble with your use of the word communal is that it already has a clear meaning, and that does not include the key _economic_ idea of 'from each according to their means to each according to their needs' Linuxlad

Economics is not a process that ends itself to arrive at natural human ecology. All this "from each" and "to each" accounting just isn't how poor people talk to each other. I have to say, upper-class people are simply not capable of defining "communism." To say that a few persons of petty-bourgois family origin are "enlightened" and write against their class interests is to make the ad hominem fallacy. It is easy to show that the "Marxist" idea of collective property is a form of property relations, and therefore not communist.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

So maybe I'll just do both. I found these two quotes on a website somewhere, and I don't mean to divert any attention from the former argument, but anyone interested in politics has to see this laughably ironic comparison. Would this qualify Hillary for the List of Communists??

"Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all."

-Nikita Khrushchev , February 25, 1956 20th Congress of the

Communist Party

"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."

-Hillary Clinton, 1993

I liked the pair so much that I posted them on my User page. Marx's dream of a worldwide revolution hits too close to home for comfort! Salva 19:48, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

Invitation by Kewp regarding changes

What is there to discuss?

All that I did was to change things that are obvious mistakes. Like, for example, Communism is not a movement, but a social system. The term "Communist state" is really an oxymoron, as there will be no state in a communist society. The Soviet Union was actually officially Socialist (hence Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). North Korea does not even have a communist party. Communism is, according to the Marxist definition, not a movement based on "communal ownership of all property". That is simply completely false. I feel it would be easier if you would point out what you want to discuss. Thanks.

Communism's influence has decreased dramatically in Europe, but around a quarter of the world's population still lives under Communist rule.'

Again I thought this page was about the idealogy, not the the regimes. By saying that a quarter of the worlds population live under communism you are obviously including China in this. I would call China a single party state, a dictatorship or one of many things. But not Communist. Not to mention the special administrative regions (There's more regulation of the free market in the USA than Hong Kong), in my travels around China I have yet to see *anything* even remotely resembling what this communist idealogy represents, in everywhere in China I have travelled. Again I would call it a Police State, whatever.... but Communist? PUH LEASE.

"Puh lease" spare us your personal opinions. Please click on Misplaced Pages:No original research so that I don't have to type out what so many have already stated again and again. 172 | Talk 00:18, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

Communist Countries

I see a very little info on fall of Berlin Wall and communism in East Europe. For example no socialist Yugoslavia is mentioned, altough this seems to be one of the most sucesfull communisms until 1991.

Also, last communist country in Europe was Milosevics Yugoslavia, until 5th October 2000 and also Ethiopia with Derga regime was communist country until 1999 I think (see Ethiopian history)

As much as these seems unimportant, it is. --Rastavox 01:22, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

The "fall of the Berlin Wall" is mentioned, but details are found in related articles (try the history of Germany series). Tito's Yugoslavia is mentioned... Just to add to what you are saying, the extent to which socialist Yugoslavia was a "success" has been dramatically called into question retrospectively by the events unfolding after 1991... Also, another correction. Milosevic's Yugoslavia is outside the domain of this article. His regime was not "communist" like China, Vietnam, Cuba, et al. today in the sense that the state was not embedded in a Communist party with a constitutionally-designated monopoly on political power... The same is the case with Ethopia. 172 | Talk 23:00, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Alienation, French Revolution

Someone reverted two changes I made last night, without courtesy of a comment. French Revolution - we clearly need some reference to this since it (and the English Civil War) takes up a fair junk of Marx' (and Marxist) view of history. Alienation - is NOT a natural human condition but has arisen under the strains of capitalism - at least that's what I learnt from the ex-IMG members I knew, and it fits with a quick google. If no satisfactory explanation for the deletion or better offering on these issues I shall revert. Linuxlad

That might be your view, but the article's talking about Marx. Capitalizing the word "not" isn't going to convince anyone; you'll need to present texual evidence from the relevant primary (the works of Marx and Engels) and secondary sources. 172 | Talk 22:50, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Well on this basis ALL reference to alienation should probably come out (its use in early Marx is pretty diffuse and it disappeared all together in later work, I read. Also the article is about Communism :-)). I'm glad to see you're the arbitor of intellectual rigour here, though self-appointed. I remind you again that WP moves by mutual communication and intelligent compromise. Bob aka Linuxlad

Progress report - Alienation - not had time to really chase this up, (but lets start with p33 of McLellan's Marx which short and about my level :-)). Nonetheless, someone has made a fairly sensible edit which goes someway to removing the bald and implausible initial statement.

Now, what are we going to say about the French Revolution, a key event in Marx' thinking, nowhere mentionned in this master work???:-)) Linuxlad

Natalinasmpf

Re: Natalinasmpf (what do you mean it's not universally accepted? It's a new term, no doubt, but the same principle. Free giving -> communism) Please keep new terms out of the opening sentences. The language of the article should match the terms used by-- and used by others to describe-- the communist movements that were among the central actors shaping the course of modern history... Some might find the views held by the tiny new anarchist groups that advocate some sort of 'commmunist' society in recent years interesting, but they do not warrant such prominent attention in this article-- the most general of surveys on the political movement that little over a decade ago ruled over a quarter of humanity. 172 | Talk 22:47, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

What tiny new anarchist groups? For goodness sake, a gift economy is the type of society advocated by people from Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman. In effect, it is a larger type of economy that is partially used in many contexts, from family to certain societies, but also a universal society. The pure gift economy is the end result advocated by Marx, after a period of socialism, and which anarchists call for immediate installment without the transition phase. It matches the terms all the same. There is no article for "communal ownership", but there is an article for gift economy. The term gift economy doesn't even APPEAR in the introduction, it's merely used as a synonym which the link points to the gift economy article. Heck, we could use a redirect if we wanted to. The effect is the same: it appears as "communal ownership", it links to "gift economy". We have an article on it. The word "communal ownership" is unlinked. Therefore, I link it. -- Natalinasmpf 23:46, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Spare me the original research. Show me the text where they call their program the exact phrase "a gift economy." The term is recent, mostly used in the context of discussions on free software these days. The notion that the terms are synonymous appears to be your extrapolation. 172 | Talk 23:51, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

They of course do not, having their theories being in Russian/German and other languages. It is a different term for the same concept. It therefore qualifies, just as "depression" is being used for "melancholy". The difference here, is that melancholy has a separate article of its own, to explain past use, but communal ownership is roughly equivalent of a gift economy. The idea of "communal ownership" - the same term is being used, but I'm merely linking it to a concept of a gift economy. No, the term of gift economy did not originate with free software, although that is it's popular use. Mind you, anti-communist writers and communist writers similarly did not use many of the economic phrases we use today, but yet it's included in articles referring to communism or socialism, or libertarianism. The inclusion is justified, it's merely a different term for the same concept. -- Natalinasmpf 00:21, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

Again you are merely stating your own conjectures or "original research." The term "gift economy" is still rare in most discourse on communism. Unless you back up your ideas with a source, it's going to have to be removed. 172 | Talk 22:29, 17 September 2005 (UTC)

Edit War NWOG vs. 172

I believe NWOG's version is better. The 172 overuses the term communist in an POV manner. (I do not really know who originated the competing versions.) The text reads like western anti-communist propaganda with the word communist or commie used in the meaning of "enemy" or "suspect". In describing communism and socialism we should use the terms used by the protagonists themselves. (This does not mean endorsement of their policies or ideology.)

The NWOG version has defects. It does not incoperate the latest improvements and corrections. These include:

• Russian Revolution -> Russian Revolution of 1917, October Revolution

These corrections should be incorperated in the NWOG version.

Thank you. I try to keep it as objectively as possible. I am a little confused when you mention Russian Revolution, etc. Would you be so kind to edit what you feel should be incorporated? Thank you :)NWOG

The 172 version is technically better. I suggest you incorporate your differences to this version. Be critical of your POV. Leave "Criticism of communism" and "form of society and as a popular movement" as they stand. -- Petri Krohn 03:48, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

Anarchist communism

I do not know if this is the core issue of the edit war, but I believe the reference to Anarchist communism (excluded in the NWOG version) should be included. We can not exclude everything that does not fit a strict Marxist-Leninist view of sosialism.

-- Petri Krohn 23:36, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

It was most likely a mistake. I have now added it to the list. The core issue (for me at least) is the wrong use of terms. For example, 172's article describe North Korea as a communist party state, but North Korea does in fact not have a Communist Party. There are three parties in North Korea and none of them is a Communist Party. The largest party is the Korean Worker's party.

Not all Communist parties are named "the Communist Party." The Korean Worker's Party is one of them, as it still officially maintains that the realization of communism is the ultimate goal of the party. 172 | Talk 20:32, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Then there is the fact that Communism is not "communal ownership of all property". Those things, and more, created the two different versions. Some of the things in 172's version go as far that in a similar situation he might have called sailors of the 16th century, "space explorers".

This point about sailors and space explorers is unclear... While I take issue with your point on what communism is not, I do think that it would be more clear to define it as the common ownership of the means of production in the opening sentences. 172 | Talk 20:32, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

I added the books "The State and Revolution" and "Imperialism: The highest stage of capitalism" under the category "Online resources for original communist literature", because these are very important works in Marxist theory. I think "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" by Frederick Engels, and "Wage Labour and Capital" by Karl Marx should be added. These are also two very important works. NWOG

They certainly are quite important. 172 | Talk 20:32, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

"This Godles Communism" comic book

Although somewhat interesting, it is not original communist literature. And as such, it might be proper to move it. But to where? NWOG

Communism is a movement

Well, in the preface to the The Communist Manifesto it says that it at least used to be a movement. Back in 1847:

Thus, in 1847, socialism was a middle-class movement, communism a working-class movement.

and further down:

Socialism in 1847 signified a bourgeois movement, communism a working-class movement.

See here for links to the quotes.

But maybe it has ceased to be a movement since then? Shanes 02:02, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

Marx and Engels also used the words "socialism" and "communism" to describe the same thing, although more or less every marxist today see them as two different social systems. The Communist Manifesto was also written before Marx and Engels had fully developed marxism. NWOG

Huh? In the quote above (actually from as late as 1888) Engels clearly uses different words as they were different movements. He describes communism as a movement for the working-class, while socialism was a bourgeois movement. Anyway, I digged up the quote since you in an edit-comment claimed Communism to not even be a movement and made the article having that claim a reason for reverting, and I found that a bit strange. Unless, of course, it has later ceased to be a movement, which was my question. Has it? Shanes 15:03, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

The quotations picked up from Google are way too vague. One has to pay close attention to cite the original texts when discussing Marx's use of the terms "socialism" and "communism." How Marx distinguishs the two terms and how his ideas developed from his early work in the 1840s to his late work in the early 1880s has been subject to considerable debate even as far back as his lifetime. 172 | Talk 20:20, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

merge/split with "History of communism"

Communism and History of communism are heavily overlapped, to the level dangerously approacing outright forking. It is against wikipedia policy. I suggest to make a section "History of communism" here that would start with the "Main article: ]" clause and contain only summary of the history. mikka (t) 00:32, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Yes, there are overlapings. But, communism and the history of communism are very different things. The overlapings are a result of poor articles themselves, and should be fixed. The communism article should be more about well... communism, and not the history of communism... Communism is a current movement still, not a historical factoid-- Between 1/6 and 1/5 of the world's population is in a communist state, it is pretty erronous that the communism article focuses on communism as some kind of history... I'm more for taking the long histories out of the communism article, it seems to be more of a USSR related article anyway... Communism should be focused about... yes, again, communism.--So Hungry 03:31, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

There's a real problem here - many European socialists see 'communism' as part of an evolving tradition, in which the role of the USSR is a significant part but by no means the whole. Like all such WP matters, we can either agree a working compromise, or we can bumble forward and wreck each other's contributions :-) Linuxlad 08:15, 30 September 2005 (UTC) (Oh, and why no reference yet to the French Revolution - see earlier)

There is indeed a overlap. But Linuxlad hit the nail right on the head in pointing out the problem with So Hungry's suggestion that we disregard the history in communism. I'd only dispute one of Linuxlad's points: it's not just European socialists who see communism as part of an evolving tradition. The statement that the history of the communist movement determined how it would branch off into different ideological schools (Stalinism, Trotskyism, Titoism, Maoism, Hoxhaism, etc.) is an undisputable claim. Hence other encyclopeida articles on communism, like Encarta's , are based on similar structures discussing the variations among all the schools of communism that have emerged along with the historical developments... The problem lies in the history of communism entry (a cut-and-paste weave from various Misplaced Pages histories of Communist countries), not here. The overlap problem would be solved if the history article focused on the effects of Communist Party organization and mass mobilization, tracing the political triumps and defeats of the world Communist movement over time. 172 | Talk 19:15, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

172 | Talk 19:15, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Consistency

From the 2nd paragraph

"In the late 19th century, Marxist theories motivated several social democratic parties in Europe, although their policies later developed along the lines of reforming capitalism rather than overthrowing it"

This section needs changing a little. Marxist influenced parties sprang up across Europe and its only Britain were the major socialist party was not avoudley Marxist. The Social democratic links to wiki peage Social democracy. This page clearly states that social democracy represents the reformist (also called 'revisionist') tendency that developed in the late 19th/early 20th century. Also before the policies changed they were openly revolutionary, anyone clicking on the link will think otherwise. I propose for consistency changing the sentance too:

"In the late 19th century, Marxist theories motivated socialist parties across Europe, although their policies later developed along the lines of reforming capitalism rather than overthrowing it"

Any objections? TheInquisitor 13:15, 1 Oct 2005

It's not really a major issue, though it's probably a better idea to speak with a level of qualification, as the sentence is specified very broadly with respect to place and time. 172 | Talk 20:14, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Along the same lines, the article gives the impression that Lenin's party just suddenly decided to up and leave, splitting communists from socialists. It makes no mention of the fact that they basically had no choice, as they were pretty much the only party in the international that opposed the world war. Most parties supported their government's position on the war, rather than calling for a unity of workers against the war. This is what caused the split.-- Revolutionary Left | Che y Marijuana 20:35, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Early Christian Church

The words in Acts of the Apostles ch2 vv44-45 are taken by many (including Popper IIRC) to signify more than just 'communal living'. I have edited. (I've left the Native NA Indians in in the same sentence but don't know if common ownership is attributable to their society also). Bob aka Linuxlad 16:24, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

I got your last note on my talk page. Earlier I assumed you were going to revert my recent edits entirely. Instead you just inserted a clarification. I see nothing wrong with it, though I'm hardly anywhere remotely close to being an expert on the Bible. Thanks for seeking my input. 172 | Talk 20:22, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

OK - well as I've said, the name of the game is compromise. I may also slightly titivate the Cromwell bit slightly (it differs in nuance somewhat from what I'd intended) - but will just recheck my Bernstein (& Christopher Hill) etc first.Bob aka Linuxlad

China

As of today, saying that China revaluated Maoisim is an understatement. They have effectivly renounced all his policies and their current neo-con regime defines itself by nationalisim, very similar to Cheng Kai Shek. In many ways, modern China is more right wing than left

It also runs free trade zones. A point that should be made clear on how communism has "evolved" with the times. (Gibby 17:28, 9 December 2005 (UTC))

Criticisms section

The section on criticism is clearly too short. It just lists a number of people that criticised communism, but doesn't say what they criticised about communism. If you compare this with Capitalism, you'll see that the latter has a huge and quite exhaustive chapter on criticism of capitalism. For the sake of neutrality and balance, this article should also develop its criticism section. Luis rib 13:11, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

The capitalism article is an unwieldy mess. It is the capitalism article that needs work, and some concision in its bloated criticisms section, not this article in this case. Further, the two articles are structured differently, leaving nothing that really needs balancing. This article largely avoids the "supporters say, critics say" babble of the capitalism article by considently bringing up negative information in each section, such as the crimes of the Stalinist USSR in the section under Stalinism. The main difference, though, is that no one has gotten around to starting the criticisms of capitalism article, which is going to happen sooner or later. Here we already have a quite detailed criticisms of communism aricle linked to the section. 172 | Talk 14:50, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

The capitalism article may have its own problems, but at least it's not a lavish hymn like this one. Where does this one contain "negative information"? The crimes of Stalinism are barely mentioned; economic criticism of communism is virtually missing. There may be a link to a Criticism of communism, but that's not enough. It just puts all the negative elements into another page instead of at least mentionning them on this one. Luis rib 15:20, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

In the concluding remarks on Soviet Communism, which I have ensured remains the focus of this article as the most historically significant political expression of communist ideology (as you can see in this talk page, I have been quite vigilent against neo-communist POV-pushers who would wish to do otherwise), the article, states, e.g.: However, under Stalin's leadership, evidence emerged that dented faith in the possibility of achieving communism... Stalin had created in the Soviet Union a repressive state that dominated every aspect of life. After Stalin's death, the Soviet Union's new leader, Nikita Khrushchev admitted the enormity of the repression that took place under Stalin. Later, growth declined, and rent-seeking and corruption by state officials increased, which dented the legitimacy of the Soviet system. This article clearly leaves the impression of quite an unattractive, to say the least, political and ideological system. 172 | Talk 19:42, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

I read that part. Yet what bothers me is that Stalinism is made responsible for most of the crimes, even though repression continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course Stalinism was much worse than other eras of the Soviet Union, yet repression existed right from the start and right until the end. Another point: If communism is to be thought in opposition of capitalism, shouldn't it be treated as an economic system as well, with a discussion of its merits and flaws? Luis rib 22:16, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

The economic system would be socialism and state planning. Criticism of the Soviet economy can be found in criticisms of socialism. 172 | Talk 00:18, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

The problem with criticisms of communism - and the reason why we have a separate article - is that there are so many of them. Take a casual look over Criticisms of communism: ignoring the POV dispute, that article is at least as long as this one. When the criticisms section of something gets as big as the rest of the article put together, that is usually a good sign that it needs to be broken off. -- Mihnea Tudoreanu 06:05, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Ironically, I see no Criticisms of Nazism article, and there isn't even a criticisms section in the main Nazism article. Perhaps your efforts would be better spent there... -- Mihnea Tudoreanu 06:05, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Actually, the article on Nazism does not support nazism; insofar the article itself is already critical of Nazism and there is no need to have a separate section on criticism. Luis rib 13:14, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Marxist theory on property

The section titled "Marxist theory on property" should be removed. It's an anti-communist opinion, is poorly written, and is also inaccurate. The Marxist position on private property is that it should not exist in a communist society, but, in a socialist society, only certain industries would be socialized. Generally, the goal would be to collectivise key industries first.

Also, Communist movements outside of Europe have included land reform into their platforms. That is a redistribution of private property to peasant farmers, for subsistence. In effect, they advocate for the creation of a large petit-bourgeois, or "middle class," as a transitional phase.

Also, in the last paragraph, "It is argued that these the criticisms of communism are valid arguments against certain communist parties, and that not all of them are valid against communism." So, the critics of the critics are saying that the arguments against communism really aren't arguments against communism, but against specific parties. That's illogical! The arguments are made against both. This is similar to "capitalists" who say that criticism against capitalism is strictly criticism against capitalism as it exists, and not a "pure capitalism". Hogwash. It's criticism of both capitalism in practice and as a theory.

The article should focus on the history of Communism rather than the theory, except where the theory is necessary to understanding the history.

66.245.214.143 14:06, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

We have a article on the history of Communism for a reason, so this article should focus on all aspects of Communism, and saying that we should favour the history in this article rather than the theory. Is there any reson for this view? --The1exile 18:03, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

Socialism, communism, and phases

The article states:

"In the last half of the nineteenth century the terms "socialism" and "communism" were often used interchangeably. However, Marx and Engels came to see socialism as an intermediate stage of society in which most productive property was owned in common, but with some class differences remaining. They reserved the term communism for a final stage of society in which class differences had disappeared, people lived in harmony, and government was no longer needed."

Marx and Engels never made such a distinction between socialism and communism (that was Lenin). Nor did they suggest there would be two phases as can be clearly seen by reading chapter one of Critique of the Gotha Programme. Hydrostatic 16:04, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

Since there was no discussion on this subject and no attempt to fix the error, I've removed the offending section which consisted of three paragraphs beginning with the above quote. Hydrostatic 17:28, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Hammer n' sickle?

I'm not a longstanding contributor to this page, but I'm a bit put out at seeing the ol' Hammer & Sickle as the dominant (first, top, and most prominent) image on the page.

Let me just pop over to Capitalism and... no, no U.S. flag there.

Socialism? A red flag.

Facism? No Nazi, or Italian, or any other flag. Sort of a stick thingy.

So why does Communism get saddled with a (in many Westerners' eyes) perjorative and single-nation-specific image?

If I'm wrong and it's NOT a state-specific image (for instance, if it was an international image the USSR adopted on their flag), maybe we should say that.

Under the Comintern

The version of this section prior to the Revision as of 03:35, 9 December 2005 contains (IMHO) historical inaccuracies, or at best reflects only a particular point of view. The Revision as of 03:35, 9 December 2005 was made to correct the problems with the prior versions. Unfortunately, the Revision as of 09:16, 9 December 2005 reverted to the previous (flawed) statements.

Among the problems of the version prior to the Revision as of 03:35, 9 December 2005 are these:

1. Was the intention of the Bolsheviks "to build socialism on a large scale" ? This assumes the correctness of Stalin's theory of Socialism in One Country

2. "Marx's theory had presumed that revolutions would occur where capitalist development was the most advanced and where a large working class was already in place" Evidence from Marx please? Note the statement says "revolutions" not "socialism".

3. "it was necessary for the communists, according to their ideological mission, to create a working class itself." Huh?

4. "For this reason, the socialist Mensheviks had opposed Lenin's communist Bolsheviks in their demand for socialist revolution before capitalism had been established." This assumes that capitalism had not been established in Russia. Second it assumes that the October revolution was "socialist revolution" (Read Lenin's "The Threatening Catastrophe and How to Fight it" as well as "Two Tactics of Social Democracy" for Lenin's justifications for the working class taking power. Third, the statement in question claims that the reason for the Menshivik's opposition to the Bolshevik revolution was adherence to an alleged theory by Marx in point number 2 above.

5. The section states that "the 1917 October Revolution, led by Lenin's Bolsheviks, raised significant theoretical and practical debates on communism among Marxists themselves." which is entirely true. However, the article is silent on the well documented debate which did take place over the question of socialism in one country.

I am reverting section to the changes I had made.

"Free Trade" Communists

This text has been repeatedly inserted and repeatedly removed. I don't think it belongs in the article. It is outside the scope of the article and it is a very circular argument. Free Trade Zones in China contradict communism as a theory, it claims. But how do we know that there is conmmunism in China? Because the Chinese Government says so, and why would the Chinese Government lie about a thing like that?! Anyhow, if this is to be added, the reason for adding it needs to be explained. Mattley 17:13, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

What seems to be contradictory to communism as a theory are the Free Trade Zones currently operating in China, the largest self described communist nation in the world. Communist China runs some of the most free market oriented regions in the world, including Hong Kong which is regarded by the Hoover Institute as the most free economy in the world (see http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=HongKong).

China's Free Trade Zones have few restrictions upon buisnesses, industries, imports and exports, including the elimination of duties. These Free Market Zones are regions of explosive growth and have contributed to China's high growth rate over the last two decades.

According to China.org "After opening Shenzhen and other three coastal cities in South China as special economic regions and then dozens of economic and technological development zones in the 1980s, the country introduced free trade zones in the early 1990s in 15 coast cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin." (from http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/21966.htm)