Why Communism & Democracy Don't Mix

Discussion in 'Communism' started by Motion, Oct 3, 2014.

  1. Motion

    Motion Senior Member

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    The main problem I see with communism and the reason so many communist countries have been dictatorships is that communism seems to be the type of system that in order for it to "work" it and the communist party has to be the only game in town. Communist policies need to be the dominate policies in a country. But if you allow for a multi-party democracy too many voters may vote against these communist policies. This complicates things for communist.

    This explains why the Chinese gov't will only allow the communist party to be the only party because they know too many voters will vote them out if they are given the option. If Cuba had allowed for a multi-party system Castro knows that him and his party would have been voted out years ago in Cuba. So again,democracy or multi-party democracy will complicate things for communism and this explains why so many communist countries have ended up being authoritarian.
     
  2. Pressed_Rat

    Pressed_Rat Do you even lift, bruh?

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    Communism and democracy (mob rule) sound pretty similar to me. The US was never intended to be a democracy where 51% have the power to enslave the other 49% The US is supposed to be a constitutional republic, where our leaders are held accountable according to the Constitution. We seem to have forgotten about that, however. We keep having this democracy word shoved down our throats. But what does democracy mean exactly? It doesn't mean shit when both political parties are controlled by the same handful of bankers and corporate interests. It's little more than an illusion to make you think you have a choice through the electoral process, which is a joke.

    Communism, on the other hand, is and always will be a tool used by the state to consolidate power and control on behalf of its elite rulers. Communism is nothing more than monopoly capitalism, and monopoly capitalism is precisely what we have today in America. It's a far cry from so-called "free market" capitalism, which has really never existed, and certainly doesn't exist today.
     
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  3. BlackBillBlake

    BlackBillBlake resigned HipForums Supporter

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    Democracy certainly has big problems, and not only in the US, The basic equation of corporate and banking control of politicians is one that runs through the UK and Europe, Japan.
    If I vote according to my own inclination, and for those I feel actually represent my interests in a UK election, I'd have to vote Green. But the fact is that living where I do, I might as well not vote at all, as the Greens don't have any chance to win. So I can't actually vote for anyone I feel will represent me in any meaningful way.
    So I feel that democracy is largely broken.

    However, I think it was Churchill who said 'democracy is the worst form of government except for anything else that's ever been tried'.

    I think if I had to live in a totalitarian state such as the Soviet Union, I'd feel even more dis-empowered.

    I think it's debatable whether the Soviets ever actually got anywhere near real communism. They ended up with a centrally planned economy which was really a form of state capitalism. I think they were doomed because to make it work they would have had to spread the revolution and established world communism. Trotsky thought so. Stalin disagreed.

    The OP is correct that in such as system you can't have democracy. If you had any at all it could only be to choose between communist candidates, and most people wouldn't regard that as democracy. But actually, it's not so different from the choice offered to me at the next election, between one set of neo libs or another. It just comes down to style and emphasis.
     
  4. aesthetic

    aesthetic Z

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    Castro wouldn't have been voted out.
    Hes one of the worlds few revolutionary figures that succeeded in overthrowing corruption.


    America is corrupted capitalism, or rather a business.



    The only way for Communism to exist the way Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels imagined it, is if we were living 200 years ago in primitive land when the Manifesto of The Communist Party was written And substantial changes would have to be made.

    Like for instance, the lack of micromanagement and how broad of it's philosophy is.
    The Communist Manifesto is simply a college thesis in comparison to how complex life is today.

    And to be incredibly broad, Democracy in essence is what the communist party is. Basically a big fucking union.
     
  5. Motion

    Motion Senior Member

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    Castro's Cuba is one of the most repressive around.

    Read all about it:

    http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/cuba
     
  6. Individual

    Individual Senior Member

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    Centralized government over large and diverse populations and Democracy don't mix.
     
  7. BlackBillBlake

    BlackBillBlake resigned HipForums Supporter

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    I think there could be big advantages for ordinary people if we could break it right down to a network of small,co-operating, self governing communities. On a global scale. I think this could be done if enough people wanted it.
     
  8. tikoo

    tikoo Senior Member

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    I have just the ID card in my wallet for travelling the multi-world of co-operative communities .

    UNITED NATIONS
    International citizen status : no restrictions

    Birthplace : Sac County , Iowa USA
    Birthdate : 9 27 1954
    Language proficiencies : Qwee , English


    The local sheriff thinks it's ok .
     
  9. stormountainman

    stormountainman Soy Un Truckero

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    Communism is a form of Democracy, because it is a system of government where the people vote for official to run the government. Many in the US of A think that when you have Democrats in power, you have a Democracy; and, when you have Republicans in power, you have a Republican form of government. That is totally false, because a Republican form of government is a form of Democracy. The explanation is not about political parties. It is about the Type of goverment. A pure Democracy means the people get to vote on every issue pretaining to government. In a Republic, the elected officials get to run things. Cuba, Russia, and China all have elected and appointed officials running things. In that last 100 or so years, a new kind of government has evolved, a corporate dictatorship. Today, we have many countries that are run for the specific purpose of advancing the wishes of corporations, with total disregard for the interest of the people. Does that sound familiar?
     
  10. BlackBillBlake

    BlackBillBlake resigned HipForums Supporter

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    All too familiar.
     
  11. AceK

    AceK Scientia Potentia Est

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    sounds like America. the interest of the people isn't necessarily the best interest of the government, there's no money in that, so it will always be in their best interest to provide the means for rich corporations to stay rich and get richer.
     
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  12. Motion

    Motion Senior Member

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    If communism is viewed as a from of democracy then it's not the best form of democracy. If you look at China and Cuba they both are communist only to the extent that their governments are able to suppress other options for their people.

    China jails democracy activist for 6 years - World news - Asia-Pacific - China | NBC News


    New Castro, Same Cuba | Human Rights Watch
     
  13. Pressed_Rat

    Pressed_Rat Do you even lift, bruh?

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    Does it sound familiar? No, in fact everything you just wrote sounds like unintelligible gibberish.

    Democracy might mean something if people's votes actually counted, and they had real choices other than corporate puppets and ineffectual third-party candidates.

    Again, the United States is a republic, or so that is what it is supposed to be. The US is NOT, nor was it ever intended to be, a democracy. A republic has nothing to do with "officials" running things. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Officials run things whether it's a democracy, republic, or a fascist dictatorship.

    Democracy is mob rule, in which a dumbed down public has the power to oppress and enslave the minority without their elected officials ever being held accountable for what they do once they're in office. This seems to be the case more than anything in modern-day America. Yeah, we have corporate fascism in America more than ever before, and it's mostly thanks to idiots who believe in democracy and vote (and re-elect) criminals like Obama into office.
     
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  14. stormountainman

    stormountainman Soy Un Truckero

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    I was not talking about the best democracy. I was saying IT IS A FORM OF DEMOCRACY. And I am saying it in the context of POLITICAL THEORY. People get PHDs in POLITICAL THEORY. By the way, when people say America is a democracy, it is like saying Oral Roberts is a real university.
     
  15. stormountainman

    stormountainman Soy Un Truckero

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    NO, you are the one that is wrong. A Republic is a form of Democracy. Every accredited university professor can tell you that. By accredited I mean schools outside the Bible belt, or bacon grease belt, or what ever you call it.
     
  16. BlackBillBlake

    BlackBillBlake resigned HipForums Supporter

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    The US republic is allegedly a democracy - but there's no reason you couldn't have a non-democratic republic. Plato, who probably invented the idea of a republic outlined a republic that was to be far from democratic.
     
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  17. stormountainman

    stormountainman Soy Un Truckero

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    Right on BlackBillBlake, there are many forms of Republic. For one, Libya under Gaddafi was a Jamahiria, or "Islamic Republic" as he called it in English. In the epic of Gilgamesh, there is an example of a Republican form of government with a bifurcated congress just like we have in America. And King Gilgamesh lived 14000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Don't forget the People's Republic of Viet Nam. America is far from a good example of a free people's Republic. The right wing people here are always disparaging the people of Boulder in Colorado by refering to the town as, "The People's Republic of Boulder."
     
  18. Individual

    Individual Senior Member

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    What? And Gilgamesh was not a stone age King. Perhaps 4500 years ago?

    But, on topic, Communism and Democracy can exist quite well on a small scale, but then so can any mix of government on a small scale when those who disagree with it are free to go elsewhere, while those who find it acceptable remain. The only problem is those who are needed/depended on most are usually the ones who leave.
     
  19. stormountainman

    stormountainman Soy Un Truckero

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    The oldest record of The Epic of Gilgamesh is a lot older than your 4500. But I don't want to get off on "exactly when he walked the earth". The important point that I made is that his was a Republican form of government, meaning people voted for representatives. And as a leader, Gilgamesh was require to seek approval from "both houses" of his government before going to war. Now about the stone age comment, I say there are plenty of stone age minds in the US Congress, usually seated on the Republican side of the hall. As far as the "leaving" and "needed" goes, I have no idea waht you are saying. I can remember during the Viet Nam war many Rightwingers saying "America, Love it or Leave it." I always thought they were ignorant. And they, meaning the Republicans, were never the model citizens they claimed to be.
     
  20. Pressed_Rat

    Pressed_Rat Do you even lift, bruh?

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    Nowhere in the US Constitution does it even mention the word Democracy.
     
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