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Communism, a socio-political and economic ideology aiming for a classless society and the abolition of private property, has been implemented in various forms across the globe. Despite its theoretical appeal of equality and communal ownership, real-world applications have often led to significant failures. The idea of an equal utopia always hits a substantial roadblock: corruption and greed.
The Bloody Soviet Union: Millions of deaths in the Gulag
The Soviet Union, the world’s first official communist state, was established in 1917 following the Bolshevik Revolution. Initially aiming to create a class free society through state control of the means of production and central planning, by the late 20th century the Soviet Union was plagued by economic stagnation and repression.
The Soviet economy, characterized by central planning, failed to keep pace with the technological advancements and economic growth of the Western capitalist nations. Centralized control led to inefficiencies, lack of innovation, and inferior quality of goods and services. Anyone who has driven a Soviet car or seen government housing can attest to this; the rigid bureaucracy stifled entrepreneurship and adaptability, leading to chronic shortages of consumer goods and a decline in living standards into what amounted to ghettos.
The Soviet government, under leaders like Joseph Stalin, implemented harsh measures to maintain control, including purges, forced labor camps, and widespread surveillance. Being sent to the gulag was not shooting through a Call of Duty arena, it was being dropped off in the barren tundra to work until you died. The suppression of political dissent and individual freedoms created a climate of fear and stifled intellectual and cultural growth. This repression alienated citizens and undermined the legitimacy of the government.
Overall, the total number of deaths attributed to Joseph Stalin's regime is estimated to be between 20 to 25 million people. Some higher estimates suggest up to 30 million.
By the 1980s, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, attempts to reform through policies like Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) were too little, too late. Economic conditions continued to deteriorate, and nationalistic movements within various Soviet republics gained momentum. In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, marking a definitive failure of its communist system.
Maoist China
China’s adoption of communism under Mao Zedong in 1949 aimed to transform the agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse. However, two major campaigns, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, resulted in catastrophic failures.
Mao’s ambitious plan to rapidly industrialize China and collectivize agriculture with The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) led to one of the deadliest famines in history. The campaign involved the forced consolidation of peasant lands into large communes and the establishment of backyard furnaces to produce steel. Unrealistic production targets and poor planning resulted in widespread inefficiencies and crop failures. Estimates range between 15 to 45 million people that died due to starvation and forced labor.
Estimates for the total number of deaths during Mao's rule range from about 40 to 70 million. The lower end of the range comes from through studies of specific events like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, while higher estimates include the broader impacts of Mao's policies across his entire rule.
Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to reassert his control and revive communist ideology. The campaign aimed to purge capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, leading to widespread persecution, violence, and destruction of cultural heritage. Intellectuals, professionals, and perceived political enemies were targeted, resulting in social chaos and economic disruption. Millions were displaced, tortured, or killed during this decade of intense political turmoil.
Both the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution left deep scars on Chinese society. The economic damage and loss of life severely hindered China’s development. It wasn’t until the economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s that China began to recover and modernize, moving away from strict communist principles to a more stable hybrid of communist principles with capitalist expansion.
North Korea
North Korea, under the rule of the Kim dynasty since its establishment in 1948, represents one of the most extreme examples of a failed communist state. The country’s rigid adherence to a centralized, autocratic system has led to severe economic and social consequences.
North Korea’s policy of self-reliance, known as Juche, has isolated it economically from the rest of the world. The government’s control over all aspects of economic activity, combined with international sanctions, has resulted in chronic food shortages, lack of basic infrastructure, and widespread poverty. Industrial output is minimal, so the country relies heavily on foreign aid to meet basic needs, and considering the nations who are willing to conduct trade with a sanctioned dictatorship they are not exactly getting quality goods.
The North Korean regime maintains power through extreme repression, including political purges, forced labor camps, and strict control over information and movement. Citizens live under constant surveillance and fear of punishment for any perceived disloyalty. This environment stifles innovation, productivity, and individual freedoms.
Despite occasional attempts at economic reform and engagement with the international community, North Korea remains one of the most impoverished and repressive countries in the world. The regime’s focus on military development, particularly its nuclear program, further diverts resources from economic growth and development.
The failures of communism highlight the challenges and consequences of implementing a system that often leads to economic inefficiency, political repression, and human suffering. While the ideology promises equality and communal prosperity, the practical outcomes are almost universally the decline from communism to totalitarianism, and all of the dystopian abuses that transformation entails.
Understanding these historical examples is crucial for analyzing the complexities and potential pitfalls of adopting similar systems in the future, at least to those who choose to heed the obvious warnings. The expression has become something of a cliché, but if you choose to ignore the past, you will be doomed to repeat it.
