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By Vejas Liulevicius, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville Communism could not create the just society it promised. (Image: 4thebirds/Shutterstock)Communism and theMasses

The role of masses and individualsis salient in the communist ideology. They act as vital forces that help inshaping history. Marx had a steadfast belief in the power of masses working inorganized and coherent groups. In fact, the revolution was carried out by thesemasses of workers and revolutionary forces.

However, as it turned out, individualsdid not play the expected roles in history. The impact they had in the courseof history was constrained by the impacts of other unknown historical oreconomic factors. History imposes limitations on individuals and prevents themfrom making history as they desire. These limitations come in many social andeconomic forms.

Although masses have significantroles in shaping history, it is the elite individuals that determine the courseof revolution by leading the masses. Marx himself was the first leader whochanged the path communism took towards its destiny, followed by other rulerslike Lenin, Mao, and Stalin.

This is a transcript from the video series The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

Theleaders turned into substantial forces in the history of communism, and thisled to yet another unfavorable phenomenon that was most contradictory to thefundamental beliefs of communism. The idea of social justice and eradication ofsocial classes was central to communism. It promised to eliminate theexploitation of labor, which was partly encouraged by the gap between theworking class and the bourgeoisie. Ironically, a new class of elites emergedthat enjoyed privileges granted to them by the system. So the ideology thatpromoted the eradication of social classes served as a hospitable environmentto develop new classes of privileged elites.

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A dream that communism followed fromthe beginning was to spread the system around the globe. Communists did notwant their ideology to be practiced in just one country. In particular, theypreferred to establish communism in developed countries. This is becausedeveloped countries are naturally home to capitalism, which communism promisedto eradicate.

Despite what was expected, the birthcountry of communism was not the birth land of Marx and Engels Germany. Instead, it started in Russia with Lenins revolution in 1917. Russiawas not an industrial and developed country at the time. Rather, it was anagricultural society ruled by the Tsar marked by intense oppression.

Another internal contradiction in this belief system was communisms stance on nationalism. Nationalism was not accepted by Marx and he dismissed it as a delusion. Although nationalism was a powerful model of community, ethnicity, or birthplace were not supposed to give identity to people. On the other hand, workers were supposed to identify themselves with class.

However, the communist regimesdeveloped somehow confused attitudes towards nationalism. They supported thisideology as a means of solidifying their power. Most communist parties soughtto be portrayed as patriots and followed nationalist policies.

Learn more about Red October: How the Bolsheviks Seized Power.

Communists were future-minded in their manifestos. They wanted to break all the links with the past and anything related to tradition. By contrast, communism itself became a tradition. As with most social and political ideologies, it developed its own rituals, traditions, and scriptures even to the point of giving them divine status.

One of the pillars of communism wasscience as a guiding principle. Communists wanted to free the working class sothat they would have free time to practice creativity and intellectualism.Their ideal population was one consisting of intellectuals who believed inscience rather than dogmatic religions. The communists dismissed religion asmerely superstitious ideas that belonged to the past.

Quite paradoxically, communismitself turned into a sort of faith, or as some have called it, a politicalreligion. In search of politically correct ideas and beliefs, communistsengaged in what is interpreted as secular confession through internal purgesand self-criticisms in the communist parties. There was supposed to be one truetheory that had to remain unchanged. Therefore, those internal purges served asrecommitments to make sure the ideology remains in its purest form.

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The communist ideology which promised to solve all the problems of humankind was not without its internal contradictions and paradoxes. The path of true communists did deviate from the canonical texts written by Carl Marx.

Communism dismissed religion as dogma and superstition. It was considered outdated and was to be replaced by scientific beliefs, which was one of the paradoxes of communism since communism eventually turned into a kind of faith.

Communist regimes have ruled many countries in the world. China, Cuba, and North Korea are the most famous ones. A paradox of communism is that it sought to take over the governments in developed countries.

The main purpose of communism is to bring social justice by abolishing private ownership and free markets which were at the core of capitalism. In the absence of social classes, exploitation of labor is eradicated and everything belongs to the public. A paradox of communism is that a new class of elites with special rights emerged in communist societies.

Communism and religion are conflicting principles. However, it is one of the paradoxes of communism that religious ideas and rituals have been incorporated into this ideology.

Excerpt from:
Paradoxes of Communism: Did Communism Deliver its Promises? - The Great Courses Daily News