Can Communism work?
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  Can Communism work?
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Question: Can it?
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Yes
 
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No
 
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Author Topic: Can Communism work?  (Read 3665 times)
Frozen Sky Ever Why
ShadowOfTheWave
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« on: March 02, 2015, 12:51:26 PM »

Some say the Soviet Union has proven that Communism does not work. Others say that it was not applied correctly. Do you think Communism can work as a form of human government?
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Blue3
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« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2015, 02:25:34 PM »

Define what you mean by "communism" and "a communist society that works".
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Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas
Ray Goldfield
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« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2015, 02:52:43 PM »

As a voluntary sub-society, yes. As a compulsory system of government, no.
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Cory
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« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2015, 03:03:51 PM »

Yes, but in the future when robots more or less do all the work and humans become more and more "integrated" with technology.
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SWE
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« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2015, 03:19:45 PM »

This is going to be a fun thread
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bore
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« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2015, 03:31:58 PM »

This is Armenian Radio; our listeners asked us: “We are told that the communism is already seen at the horizon.” Then, what is a horizon?”

We’re answering: “ A Horizon is an imaginary line which moves away each time you approach it.”
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Murica!
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« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2015, 04:06:05 PM »
« Edited: March 02, 2015, 10:20:50 PM by Murica! »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Territory

Is this a good answer?


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Oakvale
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« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2015, 04:36:04 PM »


No?
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Goldwater
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« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2015, 04:40:23 PM »

No.
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bedstuy
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« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2015, 04:43:37 PM »

No.

It's always going to be smarter to set up a realistic, efficient system and fix the inequities than it is to create a utopian system with no view to efficiency or realism.  Markets and private property simply produce a far, far higher standard of living and quality of life than command and control. 
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All Along The Watchtower
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« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2015, 05:11:49 PM »
« Edited: March 02, 2015, 05:15:39 PM by PR »

Initially I wanted to answer with something like "Have people forgotten the last century already?" but then I realized that it's a moot point anyway, since the odds of achieving Communist utopia are rather low (other things that are less than likely to happen:  Jesus will return in our lifetime, Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States, BushOklahoma will make a fundamental change in his attitude and behavior, etc.).
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DemPGH
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« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2015, 05:40:19 PM »
« Edited: March 02, 2015, 06:19:32 PM by DemPGH »

I doubt it, and I'm not sure that it's necessary to combat the inequalities and predatory nature of open market capitalism. I really think that democratic socialism would do it. I'm not convinced that Communism need be the end point (Marx, because he sees economics as organic and evolutionary, sees Communism as an end point - I do not see it as an end point). That said, I'm not opposed to centralization in certain areas either.
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politicus
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« Reply #12 on: March 04, 2015, 04:31:56 AM »
« Edited: March 04, 2015, 04:59:57 AM by Charlotte Hebdo »

Some say the Soviet Union has proven that Communism does not work. Others say that it was not applied correctly. Do you think Communism can work as a form of human government?

This at least is false. The Soviet Union and all the societies modelled on it proved that the (fairly heretical) Leninist interpretation of Communism did not work, not that Communism itself can not work. Soviet society was never communist in any meaningful sense.

But like others have said: You need to define what Communism is before you can answer this and also at what point is "works". Is it essential to have as high a standard of living as in the modern Western world for it to work? Does the state need to whither away for it to be true communism? etc.

Anyway, given the difficulty of getting something as limited as Democratic Socialism off the ground, why bother with Communism?
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politicus
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« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2015, 04:34:47 AM »

Also: Soviet leaders did not themselves claim the USSR was a Communist society, only that it was their end goal.
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Antonio the Sixth
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« Reply #14 on: March 04, 2015, 05:50:11 AM »

I have no idea, but I think it's futile for the Left to pursue this goal in the present social and political conditions, as we should instead focus on redistributing the wealth created by capitalism as equitably as possible.
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Donerail
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« Reply #15 on: March 04, 2015, 07:17:43 AM »

Yes in the abstract, in that there are hypothetical conditions under which communism could work, as Cory mentions. The better question is probably "Can communism work in our lifetimes?", to which the answer is no, probably not.
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ingemann
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« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2015, 06:02:31 AM »

Communism as the ideological construction we know. No that couldn't exist. Could communism have been made workable? Yes quite likely and to some extent it was made workable in the short and medium term by USSR, through not in the long term.

So a better question would be; what policies could USSR have implemented which would have made them a long term viable state? And would such a state be truly communist?

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morgieb
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« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2015, 09:00:27 AM »

No. Society is too greedy for that to happen.
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Snowstalker Mk. II
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« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2015, 12:48:01 PM »

No. Society is too greedy for that to happen.

The idea that human nature is inherently skewed towards greed is utterly false (as is, really, the idea of human nature). This is merely our state under a socio-economic system which emphasizes the individual above all else.
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Murica!
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« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2015, 12:59:49 PM »

No. Society is too greedy for that to happen.

The idea that human nature is inherently skewed towards greed is utterly false (as is, really, the idea of human nature). This is merely our state under a socio-economic system which emphasizes the individual material wealth above all else.
FTFY.
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© tweed
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« Reply #20 on: March 06, 2015, 04:38:32 PM »

as Eric Hobsbawm said - the really-existing Soviet state was very much a product of the 20th Century.  it will not exist again.

beyond that, this question has no meaning.
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politicus
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« Reply #21 on: March 06, 2015, 06:12:24 PM »

beyond that, this question has no meaning.

Why not?
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Redalgo
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« Reply #22 on: March 06, 2015, 10:23:47 PM »

I agree with Cory. In a society that has a vast abundance of material resources, computers and machines to perform all (or nearly all) forms of labour necessary for the survival of humanity, and egalitarian values enjoy a broad base of support communism would be a viable system. It would require discontinued use of currencies, socialization of all non-personal properties, and breakdown of all forms of social hierarchy that are propped up using threats of coercion.

Personally, I wouldn't much care to continue on towards that if democratic socialism becomes established.
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© tweed
Miamiu1027
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« Reply #23 on: March 07, 2015, 10:48:20 PM »


what do you take the question to mean?
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FEMA Camp Administrator
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« Reply #24 on: March 08, 2015, 01:21:52 AM »

Communism as the ideological construction we know. No that couldn't exist. Could communism have been made workable? Yes quite likely and to some extent it was made workable in the short and medium term by USSR, through not in the long term.

So a better question would be; what policies could USSR have implemented which would have made them a long term viable state? And would such a state be truly communist?



Doesn't that term automatically exclude something from being communist?
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