Communism

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Communist ideology and doctrine is based on the teachings of Marx and Engels who advocated that class was the most important determining factor of a person and his position within society. In particular, the paper looks at how Lenin, the Bolsheviks and Marx all had very similar understandings of what communism was and how it should be achieved and how Lenin and the Bolsheviks did depart from traditional Marxist - communist doctrine occasionally, stating that it was important to depart from Marxist ideology in order to ensure the furthering of the communist proletarian revolution.

From the Paper:

"However the crucial point of communist thought was that it was a revolutionary theory and that the way that this revolution was achieved was of immense importance. Revolutionary politics however had to wait for the right circumstances to arise before a revolution could take place which would overthrow the capitalist system. "Revolutionary politics had to wait for the social forces and economic crises needed to sustain them" . These circumstances however, could not be forced and could only be brought about through an evolutionary process of state development. "Marx wanted a dictatorship which would rest on the support of the main body of industrial workers but would be exercised with this support by a closely knit group of leaders acting under a common discipline" , otherwise known as democratic centralism. Furthermore, he insisted that these leaders must not attempt to force the pace of revolution unduly and must never allow themselves to get out of touch with the movements of working class opinion. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Geoff Eley, Forging Democracy: the history of the left in Europe, 1850-2000, Oxford, (2002)
• James Joll, The Second International 1889-1914, London, (1955)
• Eric J. Hobsbawm, The Age of Capital 1848-1875, London, (1962)
• Michael Newman, Socialism, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, (2005)
• G.D.H. Cole, A History of Socialist Thought, vol.2 Marxism and Anarchism, London, (1954)

More papers on Communism:

• Essay # 84349 : "Collapse of Communism in Poland"
• Essay # 58991 : "Russia's One Party Power since Communism"
• Essay # 32649 : "Communism and Anarchy"
• Comparison Essay # 37071 : "The Collapse of Communism in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia"

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