Communism “aims to replace private property and a profit - based economy with public ownership” (Dagger). This form of government was founded by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. Marx a “revolutionary activist,” and German thinker Engels published “the Communist Manifesto.” In the Communist Manifesto, they “outlined their idea of complete equality between the people.” They both predicted that the upcoming proletarian revolution would sweep aside the capitalist system for good (History.com Staff).
Marx and Engels believed that the Communistic form of government should be implemented because privately owned goods (by citizens) would corrupt the good qualities of the owners - by encouraging selfishness (Dagger). …show more content…
Lenin was the “founder of the Russian communist party,” and also “founder of the organization known as Comintern” (Resis). Lenin created the Soviet Union, and he also pulled Russia out of World War One. After Lenin died, there was a power struggle in which Stalin came out on top and became the second person to lead the Soviet Union. Under Stalin, Russia became totalitarian. (Krstich, Madison. Skype interview, 20February. 2018). Stalin purged all these people, he brought the economy under government control, and he outlawed political dissent.
Some aspects of communism include everyone equally sharing everything, which also means no social classes. Another idea is “all persons receive according to their need” (A brief History of Communism). Characteristics of communism are “equitable distribution of wealth and resources, common ownership of businesses and property, and state control of all economic and social activities” (What are the characteristics of a Communist …show more content…
It failed for many reasons, mainly because communism as a totalitarian government was not sustainable.
Works cited
History.com Staff. “Karl Marx.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,http://www.history.com/topics/karl-marx
“Karl Marx.” Karl Marx – New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Karl_Marx
Ball, Terence, and Richard Dagger. “Communism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, inc., 26 June 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism
A Brief History of Communism, http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lrlento/Class%20Project/communism.html
“What are the characteristics of a Communist government?” Reference, IAC Publishing,https://www.reference.com/government-politics/characteristics-communist-government-6ad233b8f4b0d19
Nielsen, Author Robert. “Posts about Why Did Communism Fail? on Whistling In The Wind.” Whistling In The Wind,https://whistlinginthewind.org/tag/why-did-communism-fail/
Resis, Albert. “Vladimir Lenin.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, inc., 18 Dec.