Could communism work?

[The Non Sequitur]

As a theory, it's a great idea, but it would take a perfect society to work it out.

[The_Radioactive_Woman]

DanskiWolf

Can communism work?



We'll soon find out.

*cough*

LOL
That is the best photo-manipulation I have seen in this category.

In theory, communism holds up all well and good. One class of people, everything publicly owned and shared (This is according to Karl Marx).
In real life, however:

Quote:

The most familiar form of communism is that established by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and it has generally been understood in terms of the system practiced by the former USSR and its allies in eastern Europe, in China since 1949, and in some developing countries such as Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea. Communism embraced a revolutionary ideology in which the state would wither away after the overthrow of the capitalist system. In practice, however, the state grew to control all aspects of communist society. Communism in eastern Europe collapsed in the late 1980s and early 1990s against a background of failure to meet people's economic expectations, a shift to more democracy in political life, and increasing nationalism such as that which led to the breakup of the USSR.

There is proof that it pretty much leads to FAIL.

And while Jkid4 made a good point, Governments rarely implement anything in the best or most effective way, and communism can be both an economic philosophy as well as a political one.
As for pure communism, I'm sure that it wouldn't fare so well in real life either.

[Le Pere Duchesne]

Lulzy thread is lulzy.

Carry on.

[SoViEtTaNkT34]

Louis-Auguste Robespierre

Lulzy thread is lulzy.

Carry on.

It is LuLzy

To Moko

"Pure" Is idealistic anyways...

[pixelcaster]

Assassin Alex18

Could it work under with the right leader? Like not a dictator and only one party. I would like to try it out but then again, The only thing I rule is my self and I dont think I could fight wars with only me or make a economy. So discuss away.

Nope because human nature wouldn't allow for it to work.

[The_Radioactive_Woman]

SoViEtTaNkT34

Louis-Auguste Robespierre

Lulzy thread is lulzy.

Carry on.

It is LuLzy

To Moko

"Pure" Is idealistic anyways...

Exactly. That's why any thing 'pure', be it political theories or not, is doomed to fail in this world.

[Director Mann]

Nearly everyone in this thread needs to kill themselves.

Curt your helping but your not doing the best job of it. Gracchvs you fail regardless. Everyone else sayign we need perfect society, utopia...blah blah explain yourselves and elaborate far better than ambiguous statements that refer to everything but mean nothing or shut the ******** up.

People I missed that are helping immensely, good job. keep up the good work.

edited to take out certain hilarious zoology related mistakes/

[Kistel]

Comrade Mann

Nearly everyone in this thread needs to kill themselves.

Curt your helping but your not doing the best job of it. Gracchvs you fail regardless. Everyone else sayign we need perfect society, utopia...blah blah explain yourselves and elaborate far better than ambiguous statements that refer to everything but mean nothing or shut the ******** up.

People I missed that are helping immensely, good job. keep up the good work.

edited to take out certain hilarious zoology related mistakes/

Then allow me to help!
Attention ignorant people;

The initial question was "Can communism work?", as if it is a well-thought outline for society, when it is not. The distinguishing features of communism are as follows: classlessness (in the Marxist sense; class in relation to the means of production), statelessness (in the sense that there will be no need for a violent or coercive state to enforce property relations and class divisions, which is seen as an outgrowth of capitalist society) and a superabundance of goods (call it post-scarcity if you wish; an economic environment revolutionized by automated production and effective organization). Now, being very broad in definition (The fictional socialist post-scarcity society depicted in Star Trek can be considered communistic by this definition, aside from the statelessness) it appears as though communism would be a natural evolution of human civilization as the result of continuous technological advancement and the internal contradictions within capitalism. When private property becomes largely redundant and public ownership (socialism) is instated, class in the Marxist definition ceases to become relevant. When class becomes irrelevant, the need for a coercive state to maintain order becomes irrelevant. When a superabundance of goods and services due to technological advancement becomes a reality, there will be less competition for previously scarce resources, and with the lack of classes, class relations cease to be the driving force in society and conflict based on competition for resources becomes unnecessary. Now, technocratic socialists like myself believe the state will transform itself into an administrator of economic activities and will not cease to be irrelevant, but that's an entire discussion altogether.
So, is communism possible? In it's narrow, Marxian definition then probably yes. If it is only a natural evolution for human society, humanity has a long way to go in achieving this socio-economic system. I doubt people would be so hostile toward it when and if our civilization starts a transition toward communism, as our current system will seem as outdated as feudalism looks today.

[Darth_Nader]

Short answer: no

Long answer: HAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHA, HAHAHHAHAHAHHA no

[Dazed and Obsessed]

The idea probably has a greater chance of working on a very small scale. I'm talking about a town of maybe 30-50 people. If there is a group of people small enough that changes are noted and that no one is left completely uninformed, yet large enough that they can be self-sufficient, then it may work for a little while. Probably not long. Someone's going to want some extra authority after a while. It's human nature.

On a national scale: you've got to be kidding, right?

Communism is a great theory. If this were a perfect world with perfect people, it would work like a charm.

[Director Mann]

Darth_Nader

Short answer: no

Long answer: HAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHA, HAHAHHAHAHAHHA no

Hey. I don't go down to your ideology's thread and talk about your laughable ideas.

[Apocryphal Libertarian]

Comrade Mann

Darth_Nader

Short answer: no

Long answer: HAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHA, HAHAHHAHAHAHHA no

Hey. I don't go down to your ideology's thread and talk about your laughable ideas.

wait... since when?

[One Piece Fanatic]

The problem isn't really communism. The problem is getting there. A true communist society only happens when he leader gives his power to the people. The problem is what person who has complete and absolute power is going to give it up? That's the flaw in the theory.

[Director Mann]

Ok I'm going to make an example now out of every one of you ******** who keeps doing this. Starting with you.

Dazed and Obsessed

The idea probably has a greater chance of working on a very small scale.

Explain the inherent mechanisms of the theory that leads to this conclusion.

Quote:

I'm talking about a town of maybe 30-50 people.

Explain the logical reasoning that lead you to this number.

Quote:

If there is a group of people small enough that changes are noted and that no one is left completely uninformed, yet large enough that they can be self-sufficient, then it may work for a little while.

What? What does this have to do with Communism? Are you in the right thread.

Quote:

Probably not long. Someone's going to want some extra authority after a while. It's human nature.

...explain this please. Please explain what the ******** this sentence means. WHAT AUTHORITY?! WHO THE ******** ARE YOU REFERRING TO?

I never in all my life seen human nature tossed about like "9-11" and used so erroneously.

Quote:

On a national scale: you've got to be kidding, right?

Explain.

Quote:

Communism is a great theory.

Yet you still haven't displayed that you know the theory, How can you even make so an intellectually dishonest statement?

Quote:

If this were a perfect world with perfect people, it would work like a charm.

Explain.


So far the above post has made bold claims with nothing to back it up. Terms like "theory" "small scale" and "national level" were used but I still haven't seen an argument for why it doesn't work. This quoted and picked apart post fails.

[Bat Lash_x]

Director Dangirl

As a theory, it's a great idea, but it would take a perfect society to work it out.

Then it will allways be doomed to fail since there are no perfect societies.