Communism: The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx

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Before, social classes began to emerge and forms of capitol were created, communal living had been a fixture of society since the hunter-gathering days. This practice, now referred to as Communism, is an, “economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.” The most modern attempts at creating a Communist state come from a theory called Marxism. This theory, published in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’, The Communist Manifesto, describe the framework needed to develop a successful Communist state. In his publication Marx introduced the “march of history.” A theory which reflected on the history of the class systems. It stated that any continuously exploited social class would eventually reach a breaking point resulting in violent revolution. If this revolution ended successfully, a new ruling class would seize power and inevitably the process would repeat itself. Marx predicted a different outcome is on the horizon. He anticipated an increasingly oppressive capitalist ruling class would result in a new type of revolution, one which would end with the formation of a communist state. The Manifesto was a message calling out to the working class and a warning to the elites of impeding revolution. In order for a communist society to work Marx required the support of the proletariat. He believed preparation for communism by the state was crucial, this step would be known as Marxist socialism. Important to remember is Marx final goal of a pure communist state was the complete removal of the government. For the rest of this paper Marxist socialism will be just be referred to as Marxism. With the development of the welfare state, support for a communist uprising dwindled and Europe avoided a successful communist revolution for another half decade, until the success of the October Revolution of 1917 in Moscow. Marx’s ideas would play a huge roll in the 20th century. Dying 30 years before the October Revolution, Marx would not live to see his utopian vision go down in infamy. Poor execution and lack of understanding by both pro and anti-communists powers would result in the failure of any nation becoming a pure communist state. When a country was called communist it only meant that the Communist Party was majority power in government. In 1917, led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks were able to successfully overthrow the Russian provisional government, capture the Winter Palace, and move on from there to Moscow with the intention of installing the first Marxist-Communist government. …show more content…
In 1918 they successfully took power creating a one-party state and rename themselves the Russian Communist Party, additionally all businesses with 10 or more employees were taken by the government. Their success would soon resulted in Communist party creation around the globe, including the CPUSA in 1919. Although the creation of communist organizations around the world was a positive step, the Communist Party in Russia expected similar revolutions to begin just as Marx had predicted. This was not the case. Dealing with foreign occupation and civil war, the newly victorious Marxist-Communist Party did not have time to spread their influence. In 1921 ruined by internal conflict the Marxist government, proposed by Lenin, accepted the New Economic Policy. The NEP allowed for what was called “state capitalism” allowing individuals to own small businesses. Less than five years since their victory the Marxists were moving away from their goal of a communist society. In 1924, a year after the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin obtained a position of leadership. Mongolia, in 1924, and Tuvan, in 1921, are the only …show more content…
Until 1975 the United States and the USSR would use proxy wars to try to spread as much influence as possible. However the United States was also at war with itself. Since the First Red Scare resulting in the 1920 Palmer Raids the US had been searching out the communist threat at home. The creation of the Smith Act, Alien Registration Act, The Internal Security Act, and The Communist Control Act were all that need to be mention to sum up McCarthyism. The United States Government used a communist threat to take control of the people. The materialistic middle-class became hysteric knowing someone near them, possibly even a friend, could be a threat to the American way of

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