communism vs. Communism

With "communism" being America's second favorite scapegoat behind "terrorists," I thought it might be interesting to some people to see a quick briefing on the subject. A disclaimer: I'm still very much just a student of Marxism and socialism in general, so there may be some small errors; I do believe that it is mostly sound, though.

First, a distinction must be drawn between Communism with a capital 'C' and "regular" communism, as well as between communism and socialism. We'll concentrate on the former for now. Communism, in most people's minds, conjures up images of the Soviet Union, of gulags, rations, and secret police. This is not exactly a coincidence or a mistake, but that's a story for another time. While the Russian Revolution of 1917 began with good intentions—the overthrow of the political and economic elite and emancipation of all workers—its vision was eventually led astray by a number of factors; what many think of when they hear the word communism is more closely associated with Stalinism. Stalinism is rejected by many socialists as a perversion of Lenin's theory of the state and of Marxist communism in general. For the same reason, among others, many do not consider Castro's Cuba—and certainly not China—as real socialist states, despite their proclamations.

One of the defining characteristics of the USSR under Joseph Stalin was the cult of personality surrounding his image as Lenin's spiritual successor and the one who could make Russia a serious competitor on the world stage. Stalin dealt harshly with critics and opponents, to a degree far exceeding Lenin's dealings with his. It is Stalin's USSR that often comes to mind when one thinks of a "police state." The centralization of control around a single dictator with near unrestrained power is antithetical to true communism; Marx and Engels warned explicitly against personality cults and vesting too much power in too few leaders. Eugene Debs phrased the reasoning for this rather well when he said, "Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could, for if you could be led out, you could be led back again." It is up to the workers to think and act for themselves, because no single leader, no matter how ostensibly righteous, can be trusted to act in their interest. The Stalin kind of dictatorship is far removed from Marx's "dictatorship of the proletariat," a temporary phase of revolution in which the workers defend their control of the state from the hostile remnants of the bourgeoisie. (Recall the saying "Power concedes nothing without a fight.")

As a result of Stalinism's indelible imprint and the legacy of the McCarthy-era Red Scare, the word "communist" is often used as a pejorative term against someone who challenges the existing social order, or engages in other transgressive advocacy for such causes as universal health care; progressive taxation; gay rights; gun control; corporate responsibility; the protection of civil rights; et cetera, ad nauseam. This use of the word carries with it a strong sense of anti-Americanism and a disdain for democratic institutions; "commies," by this token, are automatically America-haters. The irony, however, is that true socialist organizations are far more democratic than the two-party shell game we have here in the United States. Marxist/Leninist conceptions tend to require strong accountability, electing officials by a direct popular vote (as opposed to the electoral college/delegate system that we use) and providing for the instant recall of an official in the event they don't do their job.

Next up: The fallacy of arguing that the collapse of the Soviet Union discredited communism's viability.