Communism During The Cold War Essay

In discussions of the Cold War, there exists a debate about whether communism was doomed to fail. The whole idea of communism was to provide an equal standard of living for everyone. The people of China, Russia, Cuba and Vietnam originally met Communism with enthusiasm because it promised freedom from inequality and exploitation of the working class, which made up a large portion of the demographic. Many of the working class lived in poverty and were continuously taken advantage of by the higher classes. Communism was able to grab hold of power usually after a war or revolution when the people and government were in a state of confusion. Even if communism started with good intentions, millions of people died from famine because the government
In China, there were many reforms, which promoted gender equality. A Marriage Law was established which gave women the right to vote and to own property. Hundreds of thousands of women were admitted into women’s associations, which promoted literacy and education. Women made blankets, clothing and shoes for the men in battle. This act was also beneficial to the government because it encouraged women to take part in the revolution. In the Soviet Union, divorce was legalized, as was abortion and women could work actively as the country drove towards industrialization, as well as many other positive aspects for women. “In the Soviet Union, where a small women’s movement had taken shape in pre-World War I Russia, the new communist government almost immediately issued a series of laws and decrees regarding women.” This quote depicts the measure of which the communist governments went to ensure equality. There were many efforts to build socialism in the Soviet Union and China. The governments “first expropriated landlord’s estates and redistributed that land on a much more equitable basis to the peasantry.” This attempt of giving equal shares of land to all also showed the potential of the communist