Causes anf Results of Communism in Eastern and Central Europe

Communism is a political and economic system that became one of the most powerful forces in the world. The Communist Manifesto was a pamphlet that Karl Marx wrote along with Friedrich Engels, in which Marx expressed his basic ideas. Marx believed the only way to ensure a happy, harmonious society was to put the working class in control. Communist had a long-range goal, which was to create a society that provides equality and economic protection to all. Industrialization is the period of social and economic change that transforms an agrarian society into an industrial society.

One of the honors for ‘greatest theories’ in contemporary civilization has to be awarded to Marxism. Invented in late 19th century by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Marxism has had great influences on the development of modern society. Despite its eventual failure, Marxism once led to numerous revolutions that working classes raised against the ruling parties in different countries. Consequently, it paved the way for the erection of the Berlin Wall, the formation of the Warsaw Treaties—communist camp confronting NATO, and the establishment of a world super power, the Soviet Union at the dawn of this century. Even decades later, after all those Marxist milestones

Communism is a system of social organisation which formerly consumed almost a third of countries in the entire world, having originated in Russia. The first official communist state was founded during the Russian revolutions in 1917, due to the inaugural communist political party ‘Bolsheviks’ gaining primal power. Afterwards, the influence of communism spread to other countries with the likes of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany to name a few. These countries that were governed on communist principles were known as the ‘Eastern Bloc’. Even countries in Asia were persuaded into the theoretically human equality system such as China, Laos and Vietnam. Communism was gathering strength to strength every year in the mid 20th century, but eventually its impact was wiped off in the late 20th century when the Berlin War was knocked down in 1989, ending the barrier between the Eastern and Western blocs. Communism arguably was the most influential social experiment in history, but also the most flawed and its failure to change the world permanently will always remain significant in history.

It could be argued that the collapse of the Eastern bloc was inevitable due to the moral bankruptcy of communism. The communist ideology stresses the equality and necessity of protecting the working class. Yet, the corruption of the communist party was increasingly apparent. Thus, it could be argued that the inherent failures of the communist system itself contributed to collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Moreover, this moral bankruptcy resulted in an alienated population. The lack of competition in industry and lack of incentives resulted in low productivity which contributed to the worsening of the Soviets’ economic system. Additionally, due to the quotas enforced by the government, it was not uncommon for managers to lie about the quantity of their production. The fact that there was little

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was one of the most influential thinkers and writers of modern times. Although it was only until after his death when his doctrine became world know and was titled Marxism. Marx is best known for his publication, The Communist Manifesto that he wrote with Engels; it became a very influential for future ideologies. A German political philosopher and revolutionary, Karl Marx was widely known for his radical concepts of society. This paper give an analysis of “The Manifesto” which is a series of writings to advocate Marx ‘s theory of struggles between classes. I will be writing on The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, which lays down his theories on socialism and Communism.

World War II shocked and dismantled many Eastern European countries leaving Europe in a state of shock, with many unanswered, open ended questions. Buildings were blown up, streets cracked, people slaughtered, and governments destroyed. As turmoil struck Eastern Europe, an opportunity arose for a new political system to come into power. However, this process is never a simple one; two common political ideologies fought to control the heart of Europe. Capitalism led by the Western Allies, funded by the United States Marshall Plan, spread providing a short time of economic prosperity. The American’s plan however could not venture as far east as West Germany with Moscow’s direction of Communism led by Joseph Stalin and he took over a large portion of Eastern Europe with many open statements and empty promises. These two ideologies caused an enlarged time of tension stemming from the drastically different values they were known to embrace, leading to a horrific time known as the cold war.

Communism is not some unverifiable, otherworldly entity, but “itself a Power” (218) already in Europe. The power of communism does not come from arbitrary political systems set up by the bourgeois, but from the natural power of labor and workers.

Communism is system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. In some countries, the communist government functioned well while in other countries, the government slowly collapsed on itself. Criticism rose from the masses of the population of each country and caused the people to question if communism was the most favorable system of government. In the late 1950s, Eastern European states’ criticism over communism was harsh and condemnatory as the communists appeared to be doing nothing for the well-being of the countries; overtime, criticism shifted to a more melancholy tone, presenting a comfortable but non beneficial view of communism in the 1980s. Negative views spread throughout the European states and eventually developed on their own.

The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is a political pamphlet summarizing Marx and Engels political theories on communism. Marx and Engels were German authors and revolutionaries with unique ideas for their time. Engels joined the Communist League in 1847, where he outlined twenty-two questions about communism in the “Draft of the Communist Confession of Faith”(Engels). These ideals were restructured and published four months later in his piece, “The Principles of Communism”. Marx saw value in

What is communism? Communism is a term used broadly to designate a ‘theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.’ It refers to the doctrine which underlines the revolutionary movement which aims to abolish capitalism and ultimately to establish a society in which all goods will be socially owned, all economic activates socially planned and controlled, and in which all distributions will be in accordance with the maxim. German author Emil Ludwig described the maxim as “for each according to his capacity, to each according to his need.”(1) It is to be distinguished from socialism which aims by constitutional and democratic

Russia and Poland were once under the single party control, communism. Communism is when the government owns nearly all aspects of society. The government controlled everything from means of production, property, to even media. The fall of communism throughout the world began in the late 1980s. Since the liberalization of the two countries, Russia and Poland have come to long ways. After independence, both countries faced many struggles but are now considered to be powerful middle-class nations today.

Communist rule was confined to the Soviet Union until the end of World War II.

communism in principle. The Soviet Union, which rose in the early 1900s, originated in Russia and spread in the following years across Europe and into Asia. It is important that these elements are compared and examined in order to develop an accurate account of history and historical texts. Oftentimes, communism is a tyrannical political system under a corrupt government. It is important that the principles are also examined to draw a line between theory and reality.

Karl Marx is the most famous theoretician of communism. Johnson acknowledges Marx’s most famous quote: “From each according to his ability; to each according to his need” which is a thought that within itself includes the basic idea of communism. Professor Johnson explains that the deeper deliberation of the concept is that everyone is expected to co-operate in the process of production. The individual citizen’s equal rights of access to consumer goods though would be completely unaffected by his own individual contribution to production. (Johnson) It was expected of people to stop thinking about money and how much they get, how much they can spend and how to get more. Furthermore they had to stop thinking about profit, contracts, banking, loans, insurance etc. The communist leaders thought that would eliminate all the major social problems such as class conflict, political oppression, racial discrimination, inequality of sexes, religious prejudice, and cultural backwardness. They believed it would also put an end to more such “psychological” forms of suffering as isolation and feelings of powerlessness. Johnson claims that the specific type of communism that occurred in Easter Europe was the Marxist-Leninist variant of socialism where people believed that a truly communist society can be achieved only through the powerful overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a “dictatorship of the proletariat”. They thought that

     Communism had one of the greatest political impacts than any other political ideas in the 20th century around the world. What is important and interesting about communism is its background, concept, and why many countries apply to this idea. This essay will generally focus on the background, ideology, and why the countries and political parties applied to this idea.