On Communism

Communism is first and foremost an economic theory. Because of the powerful systems of propaganda in place in the United States, many people do not, and cannot accept this fact. Communism does not dictate political relationships, it does not claim a political system, and it does not seek to create and control government. Communism is solely a theory of capital, an idea for the best system of economics for a nation.

In the United States, we see quite clearly that the government does not mirror the economic system (formally) and vice-versa. If you think of the concepts of Representative Government, voting, Democracy, and Republicanism, it is hard to see this visible in the economic system of the country. Are corporations democratic? Is a C.E.O. elected? Do workers get to vote for their supervisors? The answer to all three of this questions is frankly, no. That is because the system of economics in America, Capitalism, is not the same, and is in fact an entirely different subject from the governmental one, Democracy.

It should be clear, then, that just as in the United States, where an economic system exists apart from the governmental one, the same is true of Communism. Democracy and Communism are not opposed to one another. They can co-exist side by side, one being the effective political process, and one being the economic one.

[A further post on the intertwining of government, politics, and economy will be posted in the future]