Communism/Capitalism

“Capitalism and communism stand at opposite poles. Their essential difference is this: The communist, seeing the rich man and his fine home, says: 'No man should have so much.' The capitalist, seeing the same thing, says: 'All men should have so much.'” – Unknown (Braude 89)

The U.S. democracy, which functions under the political philosophy of Capitalism, and the U.S.S.R., which was a communist “republic”, are two almost completely opposite systems of government. The two were in constant contention with each other for their differences, and their differences are so great that each system demands that they contest each other in one way or another at all times. Their differences stem from one basic concept: as the quote above demonstrates, American democracy, at its heart, is based on the welfare and promotion of its people, while communism is based on complete conformity, which in essence is tyranny.

“Communism is the death of the soul. It is the organization of total conformity - in short, of tyranny - and it is committed to making tyranny universal.” – Adlai E. Stevenson (Communism Quotes)

Communist Russia was founded by a very ambitious and power – hungry revolution leader, Vladimir Lenin. He expanded on Marxist theories to create a state of ultra conformism and tyranny. No matter what he preached to the poor sect of Russia, the proletariat, Lenin, like all dictators, was primarily concerned with the consolidation of his own power, as evidenced by his lack of actions of concern toward the constantly suffering proletariat under his rule. The communist leaders that followed him were little different. Conformism promotes tyranny in all cases, as the people gather under one law – maker in order to stifle their own disagreements with the law – maker. Communism, therefore, is ultimately completely centered around a power – hungry tyrant who basic wish is to expand his own domain of power and cares little to none for his peasants.

American democracy was founded on the idea that the government serves its citizens. The constitution, along with the declaration of independence and many other founding documents, stresses the importance of a government for the people, which promotes the people’s welfare. American democracy is about the will of the people, and the general consensus toward what will work. It is as much an opposite to Communism as has ever been formulated.

“Capitalism is what people do if you leave them alone” – Kenneth Minogue (Boehm 157)

Part of promoting the welfare of the people is in accepting a philosophy of economics that best allows the people to obtain riches and all comforts they desires. Capitalism, by nature, is an unrestricting philosophy. At its core, it preaches limited government that does not interfere so much in the business of private citizens. It says that if you leave people alone and not restrict their abilities, they will obviously achieve more.

It is difficult to compare American democracy and communism of the U.S.S.R. They almost always stand in contrast. The only similarities they ever had came in form, not practice, as the communist leaders, in the later part of the existence of the U.S.S.R. attempted to form a congress and broaden the responsibilities of the formerly limited judicial system (Politics of the Soviet Union). The two were, in practice, opposites of one another, one promoting the good of the people, and the other the interests of the tyrant.

Boehm, Jim. The Handbook for Exploding the Economic Myths of the Political Sound Bite. Infinity Publishing, 2006.

Braude, Jacob. Lifetime Speaker’s Encyclopedia. Prentice Hall, 1962.

“Communism Quotes.” ThinkExist. 22 September, 2007.

< http://thinkexist.com/quotations/communism/>

“Politics of the Soviet Union.” Wikipedia. 22 September, 2007.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Soviet_Union>