Was the Soviet Union really communist?
925701
The inherent weakness in communism is that it is subject to abuse by dictators.
315709
Marx wasnt a conservative, communism is extreme liberalism\n\n\nand yes it is
187900
The previous answer is not quite true - as there was no such place as the Soviet Union during Napoleon's time.  Napoleon invaded Russia.\nThe Germans invaded the Soviet Union during World War II and were unsuccessful due to a combination of their own strategic incompetence and a particularaly bitter winter.\nI am fairly sure that during the lifetime of the Soviet Union no one invaded and took land from it.
311153
I have been in Moscow and i saw that they were more powerful when they have a communist regime.They had an unity.I am looking at China and they are very powerful too.\n\nSo, i think communism is not bad.
663427
I think what your classmates are rejecting is Communism. Russia, after all, was the birthplace of Communism. As for the country itself, I would love to visit it someday. It has a fascinating history, beautiful buildings, and a captivating history.\n\nEven today, the Russian government seems paranoid, and obsessed with keeping secrets. Still, Russia is fascinating.
1003419
Communism flourished in Russia after they got rid of the tzar...if you look at the Russian history, there have always been huge discrepancies between the dirt poor and the filthy rich, the country was in a chaos and industrially lacking behind the rest of the world. \n\nSocialism brought equality in social status, the poor were suddenly in charge, they confiscated the rich people's property and money, proclaimig it 'belonged to the state now', which made the state richer. Russia advanced and its industries developed and soon was at par with the rest of the developed world.\n\nAfter the 2nd world war when the Red Army liberated the countries surrounding Russia, to show gratitude to their liberators, they had to convert to socialism: they didn't see how it would change things, they saw that Russia prospered under socialist rule so they thought it would be good for them too. \n\nIn 1968 Czechoslovakia had enough of socialism and decided to get rid of it...within days in August 1968 the country was invaded by Russian tanks, roads were destroyed, people got killed and the goverment got scared - the prime minister had to go to exile and a new prime minister was elected, with a new government, loyal to the Soviet Union.\n\nAfter seeing what the Soviets were capable of, none of the surrounding countries dared to oppose socialism and carried on being socialist until the Velvet Revolution in 1989 brought socialism to an end.\n\nSo you see, it wasn't really an appeal of socialism that did it, the countries around the Soviet Union didn't have much choice in the matter...if you think about it, a 15 million country can't raise its head and oppose very well, because it could be flattened to the ground easily.\n\nTo be honest, there were a few good things about socialism, like free education and free healthcare and that everyone that was able bodied had to work: sitting at home on social security was not an option when you were medically fit to work. If you refused to work, you were declared a parasite and that was a crime for which you could end up in jail. Social security was for those that needed it, the sick, the disabled and if you had a baby, you could stay at home until the child was 3 years old (yes, you see correct, 3 years) you would get statutory maternity pay and your job would be there for you after you came back to work.
173791
That depends on the country, and how they measure crime.  Since communist nations tend to be very restrictive, they seem to have very low crime.  On the other hand, since communist nations control the media and flow of information, crime statistics may not be accurate.\n\n(my opinion follows) And in the end, a communist government itself is a criminal enterprise, since it must exist by taking property and liberties from individuals.  In my book, crime in communist nations is 100%.
560937
What is Communism? \nCategory: News and Politics \nWithout a doubt, you’ve probably heard about communism. And, also without a doubt, you’ve probably heard all sorts of horror stories about it — from your teachers, from the media, from politicians, even from your church pastor or preacher. \n        They tried to scare you. They want to keep you from finding out for yourself. If you asked one authority figure for a second opinion, they usually told you to ask another authority figure. And if that didn’t satisfy you, then they told you to read the history books they wrote for you.\n        Do you see a pattern here? The one person they will never tell you to talk to, however, is a communist. Why? Because a communist might go “off script” and tell you something they don’t want you to hear.\n        So, what is communism? Well, there is communism, the theory, and communism, the society. Let’s first deal with communism, the society.\n        To begin with, communism is a society without bosses or servants, without superiors or subordinates, without masters or slaves — in short, communism is a society without classes and the stress, conflict and antagonisms that go with the existence of classes. Contrary to the history they teach you, classes are a relatively new thing in the human experience, having been around for only about 25,000 of the last 50 million years of human existence.\n        “But,” someone might say, “there are a lot more people alive today than there were back then.” That’s true. What’s also true is that we are smarter, more conscious of our world and more technologically advanced than our ancestors. We really don’t need someone standing over us, telling us what to do and when to do it. If necessary, we can work that out together, in common.\n        Because it is a society without classes, communism is also a society where all aspects of society are developed and administered in common. That means not only the political system, but the economy, culture and social relations too. Can you imagine, having an equal voice, along with your co-workers, in deciding how conditions at your job would be determined? Or, having a say, along with your neighbors, in shaping how the city’s budget will be spent?\n        Democracy is a key element in the development of communism — but not the stale, formal “democracy” we are taught about in school; we are talking about democracy as a practice, a real-world tool that works for those who work.\n        As well, communism is a society without a state. Now, when we talk about a “state,” we are not talking about councils and assemblies that debate issues and adopt policy. When we say “state,” we mean the armed organizations that enforce “order” (the rulers’ “order,” that is), like the police and military.\n        “No police?!” Yes, no police. What are the police really for? Well, when you live in a society where goods and services are restricted to a few, you end up with the many in need. When you have so many in need, you need to maintain order. However, if you live in a society where the needs of everyone in society are met, what need is there for police? If everyone’s basic needs — good food, decent housing, worthwhile education, etc. — are met, what basis is there for most of the crime in society?\n        Sure, there may be times here and there that may require some kind of investigation or enforcement unit, but those times would be relatively few and far between, and could easily be handled as they come up.\n        It is also the case that communism is a society without money. “Without money?!” Yes, without money. Why does money exist? Basically, it was invented so that one group of owners wouldn’t get screwed by another set of owners. But, if you have a society where the factories and workplaces are owned in common, and we can sit down and plan out three months, six months or even a year in advance what w
895901
it's A Communism. I am not really sure on this one so please give me feed back.
550836
Communism is just dictatorship by another name.\n\nUnder the communist system you only require one political party - a party of the people, as every one is equal and therefore the is no requirement for additional parties.\n\nThe old USSR was closer to the true communist system than many people imagined.\n\nEven Karl Marx, regarded as the founder of socialism, did not see communism as being right for the people. He called it a form of State Capitalism, whereby the ruling dictact had absolute control, thereby denying the proletariat (the ordinary people) a say in running the country.
1023297
Ha. The "commies" are truly viewed as ev-il and injust, only because of Stalin and the other soviets who mucked up Marx's ideals! \n\nThe ignorance surrounding communism is outrageous.  People will never know that communism was supposed to benefit the whole and that the "Proletariat" was the group that misinterpreted and ruined it.  Also, they don't know that Marx had ideas for an INDUSTRIAL country to adopt his theories not an AGREGARIAN country like China. \n\nIgnorance is the key here. If people under 18 don't go to college, don't read Marx and have parents that grew up in the 50's and 60's the answer is YES. There is an anticommie sentiment prevelant here.
934132
Yes, it probably will be a major force again someday.  We historians have a quote we live by: "The only thing we learn from History is that we don't learn anything from History."  Ideologies like communism never die because people forget what happened before them.  There are still people who believe in it as the way to stop world strife.  They often claim that Soviet communism just wasn't "done right" or that it has to be tried worldwide to be successful (communism can't survive copmetition which should make one wonder if it is a viable system to begin with).  Every ideology has its true believers and someday, communists will get an upper hand in some unfortunate nation where they'll wreck havoc for a couple of generations before being tossed aside again.
420937
Yes, the media was " alive " when Communism was a bad thing. Actually, Communism is still a bad thing.\nLiving under Communism would be like living under your parents only on steroids.
170424
I am talking in a economical sense. Politcally I do not how to answer your question. True communism requires equally distribution of capital. Socialism does not. Both have high levels of government ownership of industry.
978884
The regime collased in Russia.  China's regime is strong.  And they're Communist in name only.  Communism means no private capital, no private profit.  But I myself have owned shares in TWO Chinese companies, one of which I sold for a profit and both of which pay dividends.  That's capitalism!  They're too embarrassed to admit that they abandoned Communism years ago, but they did.
257466
CRUSH CAPITALISM!!!!\nSeriously dude, how hard was that?  Think about Berlin, etc.  Also, a lot of the ethnic cleansing had been done in Russia by this point (enough Ukrainians killed off for Stalin).  Uncle Joe Stalin was in charge and FDR had given him rule over a lot of territory unnecessarily.  Comintern would be supported, and the Cold War against the US and the rest of the capitalist world be maintained, especially through vicarious conflicts, like the Korean War, where the Russian Communists supplied weapons and troops to a few idealogical Koreans to "give the gift" of Communism.  The Koreans requested help from the US and the Greeks, etc. (the Greeks had just recently defeated a Communist incursion).
916604
Communism, capitalism, and socialism are primarily economic systems.  There are a variety of political philosophies and systems that interface with any of these.  Added to that is the fact that many nations have economic and political systems that blend aspects of these various systems.\n\nKim Jong Il might use the mantle of communism, but North Korea is far from being a communist or socialist state.  Most of its population lives in poverty.  Famine is a constant threat for them.  There is no equal distribution of goods.  Kim Jong Il is a dictator, as was Stalin.  Their regimes were about centralized power and nothing about socialism or communism.