Communism - History

History

The use of the term "communist" to describe any of the states often called communist states is debatable, as many analysts say countries such as the People's Republic of China, or the Soviet Union are state capitalist and do not actually fit the definition of communism, or indeed do not adhere at all to the beliefs of Marxism that they claim to hold. This argument is based on the fact that Marx and Engels described communism as a stateless society, which means that the term communist state is, in fact, and oxymoron, and such a thing existing would be impossible, and that Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the first lasting government of this nature, referred to the economic policies of Russia as state capitalist on numerous occasions. While state capitalism, in the transitional nature Lenin described, does not necessarily preclude the development of communism, in countries such as China, and The Soviet Union it became permanent policy, and served only to strengthen the state, rather than causing the state to "wither away", meaning that they do indeed go against the definitions of communism put forth my men such as Marx and Engels.

According to Karl Marx:

"Communism differs from all previous movements in that it overturns the basis of all earlier relations of production and intercourse, and for the first time consciously treats all natural premises as the creatures of hitherto existing men, strips them of their natural character and subjugates them to the power of the united individuals." — Karl Marx, The German Ideology, 1845