Capitalism vs Socialism

Capitalism and socialism are somewhat opposing schools of thought in economics. The
central arguments in the socialism/capitalism debate are about economic equality and the role of
government: socialists believe economic inequality is bad for society and the government is
responsible for reducing it via programs that benefit the poor. e.g. free public education, free
or subsidized health care, social security for the elderly, higher taxes on the rich. On the other hand,
capitalists believe that government does not use economic resources as efficiently as private enterprise
and therefore society is better off with the free market determining economic winners and losers.
The U.S. is widely considered the bastion of capitalism and large parts of Scandinavia and Western
Europe are socialist democracies. However, the truth is every developed country has some programs
that are socialist.

An extreme form of socialiam is communism..

Comparison chart

Capitalism Socialism

Philosophy: Capital (or the "means of production")
is owned, operated, and traded for the
purpose of generating profits for
private owners or shareholders.
Emphasis on individual profit rather
than on workers or society as a whole.
From each according to his ability, to
each according to his contribution.
Emphasis on profit being distributed
among the society or workforce in
addition to receiving a wage.

Ideas: Laissez-faire means to "let it be";
opposed to government intervention in
economics because capitalists believe
it introduces inefficiencies. Free
market produces the best economic
outcome for society. Govt. should not
pick winners and losers.
All people should be given an equal
opportunity to succeed. Workers
should have most say in their factory's
management. The free market suffers
from problems like tragedy of the
commons.Government regulation is
necessary.

Economic System: Free-Market economy. Wealth redistributed so that everyone

in society is given somewhat equal
shares of the benefits derived from
labor, but people can earn more if they
work harder. Means of production are
controlled by the workers themselves.

Key elements: The accumulation of capital drives
economic activity - the need to
continuously produce profits and
reinvest this profit into the economy.
"Production for profit": useful goods
and services are a byproduct of
pursuing profit.
Economic activity and production
especially are adjusted to meet human
needs and economic demands.
"Production for use": useful goods and
services are produced specifically for
their usefulness.

Economic Relies principally on markets to Planned-Socialism relies principally

coordination: determine investment, production and on planning to determine investment
distribution decisions. Markets may be and production decisions. Planning

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 Capitalism Socialism

free-markets, regulated-markets, or may be centralized or decentralized.

may be combined with a degree of Market-socialism relies on markets for
state-directed economic planning or allocating capital to different socially-
planning within private companies. owned enterprises.

Political Classical liberalism, Social liberalism, Democratic Socialism, Communism,

movements: Libertarianism, Neo-liberalism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism,
Modern Social-Democracy Syndicalism

Ownership The means of production are
structure: privately-owned and operated for a
private profit. This drives incentives
for producers to engage in economic
activity.
The means of production are socially-
owned with the surplus value
produced accruing to either all of
society (in Public-ownership models)
or to all the employee-members of the
enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership
models).

Religion: Permitted/Freedom of Religion freedom of religion

Key Proponents: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Milton Robert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl
Friedman, Fredrich Hayek, Ayn Rand Marx, Fredrick Engels, John Stuart
Mill, Albert Einstein, George Bernard
Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma Goldman

Way of Change: Fast change within the system. In
theory, the relationship between buyer
and seller (the market) is what fuels
what is produced. Government can
change rules of conduct/business
practices through regulation or ease of
regulations.
Workers in a Socialist-state are the
agent of change rather than any
market or desire on the part of
consumers. Change by the workers
can be swift or slow, depending on
change in ideology or even whim.

Tenets
One of the central arguments in economics, especially in the socialism vs. capitalism debate,
is the role of the government. A capitalist system is based on private ownership of the means of
production and the creation of goods or services for profit. A socialist system is characterised
by social ownership of the means of production, e.g. cooperative enterprises, common ownership,
direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises.

Proponents of capitalism espouse competitive and free markets, voluntary exchange (over forced
exchange of labor or goods). Socialists advocate greater government involvement but the differ in the
type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets versus planning,
how management is to be organised within economic enterprises, and the role of the state in
constructing socialism.

Criticisms of Socialism and Capitalism

Criticisms of Capitalism
Critics argue that capitalism is associated with: unfair and inefficient distribution of wealth and
power; a tendency toward market monopol or oligopoly (and government by oligarchy); imperialism,

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counter-revolutionary wars and various forms of economic and cultural exploitation; repressions of
workers and trade unionists, and phenomena such as social alienation, inequality, unemployment, and
economic instability. Critics have argued that there is an inherent tendency towards oligolopolistic
structures when laissez-faire is combined with capitalist private property. Capitalism is regarded by
many socialists to be irrational in that production and the direction the economy is unplanned,
creating many inconsistencies and internal contradictions.
In the early 20th century, Vladimir Lenin argued that state use of military power to defend capitalist
interests abroad was an inevitable corollary of monopoly capitalism. Economist Branko Horvat states,
"it is now well known that capitalist development leads to the concentration of capital, employment
and power. It is somewhat less known that it leads to the almost complete destruction of economic
freedom." Southern Methodist university Economics Professor Ravi Batra argues that excessive
income and wealth inequalities are a fundamental cause of financial crisis and economic depression,
which wil lead to the collapse of capitalism and the emergence of a new social order.
Environmentalists have argued that capitalism requires continual economic growth, and will
inevitably deplete thefinite natural resources of the earth, and other broadly utilized resources. Murray
Bookchin has argued that capitalist production externalizes environmental costs to all of society, and
is unable to adequately mitigate its impact upon ecosystems and the biosphere at large. Labor
historians and scholars, such as Immanuel Wallerstein, Tom Brass and latterly Marcel van der Linden,
have argued that unfree labor by slaves, indentured servants, prisoners, and other coerced persons
is compatible with capitalist relations.
Many religions have criticized or opposed specific elements of capitalism; traditional Judaism and
christianity, and islam forbid lending money sat interst, although methods of Islamic banking have
been developed. Christianity has been a source of both praise and criticism for capitalism, particularly
its materialist aspects.
Criticisms of Socialism
Criticisms of socialism range from claims that socialist economic and political models are inefficient
or incompatible with civil liberties to condemnation of specific socialist states. There is much focus
on the economic performance and human rights records of communist states, although there is debate
over the categorization of such states as socialist.
In the economic calculation debate, classical liberal Friedrich Hayek argued that a socialist command
economy could not adequately transmit information about prices and productive quotas due to the
lack of a price mechanism, and as a result it could not make rational economic decisions. Ludwig von
Mises argued that a socialist economy was not possible at all, because of the impossibility of rational
pricing of capital goods in a socialist economy since the state is the only owner of the capital goods.
Hayek further argued that the social control over distribution of wealth and private property advocated
by socialists cannot be achieved without reduced prosperity for the general populace, and a loss of
political and economic freedoms.

Hayek's views were echoed by Winston Churchill in an electoral broadcast prior to the British general
election of 1945:
a socialist policy is abhorrent to the British ideas of freedom. Socialism is inseparably interwoven
with totalitarianism and the object worship of the state. It will prescribe for every one where they are
to work, what they are to work at, where they may go and what they may say. Socialism is an attack
on the right to breathe freely. No socialist system can be established without a political police. They
would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo, no doubt very humanely directed in the first
instance.

Communism vs Socialism

In a way, communism is an extreme form of socialism. Many countries have dominant

socialist political parties but very few are truly communist. In fact, most countries - including staunch
capitalist bastions like the U.S. and U.K. - have government programs that borrow from socialist
principles. "Socialism" is sometimes used interchangeably with "communism" but the two

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philosophies have some stark differences. Most notably, while communism is a political system,
socialism is primarily an economic system that can exist in various forms under a wide range of
political systems.
Comparison chart:-
Communism
Philosophy: From each according to his
ability, to each according to
his needs. Free-access to the
articles of consumption is
made possible by advances
in technology that allow for
super-abundance
Definition: A theory or system of social
organization based on the
holding of all property in
common, with actual
ownership ascribed to the
community or state
Ideas: Human societies have always
been divided into warring
classes. The Industrial
Revolution has enriched the
wealthy and impoverished
the poor. The workers must
overthrow the bourgeois.
Economic Wealth redistributed so that
System: everyone in society is given
equal shares of the benefits
derived from labor. All
means of production are
controlled by the state.
Political System: No leader, directed directly
by the people. This has never
been actually practiced, and
has just used a one-
party system.
Social All class distinctions are
Structure: eliminated.
Economic Government controls all
Coordination: business, as well as Business
decisions.
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Socialism
From each according to his ability,
to each according to his contribution.
Emphasis on profit being distributed
among the society or workforce in
addition to receivinga wage.
A theory or system of social
organization based on the holding of
most property in common, with
actual ownership ascribed to the
workers
All people should be given an equal
opportunity to succeed. Workers
should have most say in their
factory's management. The free
market suffers from problems like
tragedy of the
commons.Government regulation is
necessary.
Wealth redistributed so that
everyone in society is given
somewhat equal shares of the
benefits derived from labor, but
people can earn more if they work
harder. Means of production are
controlled by the workers
themselves.
Multiple parties, but the
ruling partyusually goes by the name
"Socialist".
Class distinctions are diminished
Planned-Socialism relies principally
on planning to determine investment
and production decisions. Planning
may be centralized or decentralized.
 Communism Socialism

Market-socialism relies on markets

for allocating capital to different
socially-owned enterprises.

Free Choice: In real communism, where a All choices, including education,

leader does not exist, religion, employment and marriage,
everything is chosen are up to the individual.
freely.In those that have been All healthcare and education is
practiced though, all choices, provided free to everybody
including education, religion,
employment and marriage,
are controlled by the state.

Political Leninism, Trotskyism, Democratic Socialism, Communism,

Movements: Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism,
Left-Communism Syndicalism

Key elements: An enhanced form of the Economic activity and production

principle of "Production for especially are adjusted to meet
use". human needs and economic
demands. "Production for use":
useful goods and services are
produced specifically for their
usefulness.

Religion: Abolished. freedom of religion

Private Abolished two kinds of property, private

Property: property, such as land, houses,
clothing, etc. owned by the
individual. Public property,
factories, and means of production
owned by the state but with worker
control

Key Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Robert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl
Proponents: Vladimir Lenin, Leon Marx, Fredrick Engels, John Stuart
Trotsky Mill, Albert Einstein, George
Bernard Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma
Goldman

Discrimination: In theory, all members of the The people are considered equal,
state are considered equal laws are made when necessary to
protect people from discrimination

Ownership The means of production are The means of production are

structure: commonly-owned, meaning
no entity or individual owns
productive property.
Importance is ascribed to
"usership" over "ownership".
socially-owned with the surplus
value produced accruing to either all
of society (in Public-ownership
models) or to all the employee-
members of the enterprise (in

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 Communism Socialism

Cooperative-ownership models).

Way of Change: Government in a Workers in a Socialist-state are the

Communist-state is the agent
of change rather than any
market or desire on the part
of consumers. Change by
government can be swift or
slow, depending on change
in ideology or even whim.
agent of change rather than any
market or desire on the part of
consumers. Change by the workers
can be swift or slow, depending on
change in ideology or even whim.

Means of Proletariat engages in violent Proletariat engages in taking charge

control: rebellion. of the factories and means of
production.

Variations: Include Marxism, Leninism, libertarian-socialism, and anarcho-

Stalinism and Maoism socialism, anarcho-syndicalism

Economic differences between socialists and communists

In a Socialist economy, the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively
or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. On the other hand, in a
communist society, there is no centralized government - there is a collective ownership of property
and the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
For a Capitalist society to transition, the first step is Socialism. From a capitalist system, it is
easier to achieve the Socialist ideal where production is distributed according to people's deeds
(quantity and quality of work done). For Communism (to distribute production according to needs), it
is necessary to first have production so high that there is enough for everyone's needs. In an ideal
Communist society , people work not because they have to but because they want to and out of a
sense of responsibility.
Political differences
Socialism rejects a class-based society. But socialists believe that it is possible to make the
transition from capitalism to socialism without a basic change in the character of the state. They hold
this view because they do not think of the capitalist state as essentially an institution for the
dictatorship of the capitalist class, but rather as a perfectly good piece of machinery which can be
used in the interest of whichever class gets command of it. No need, then, for the working class in
power to smash the old capitalist state apparatus and set up its ownthe march to socialism can be
made step by step within the framework of the democratic forms of the capitalist state. Socialism is
primarily an economic system so it exists in varying degrees and forms in a wide variety of political
systems.
On the other hand, communists believe that as soon as the working class and its allies are in a position
to do so they must make a basic change in the character of the state; they must replace capitalist
dictatorship over the working class with workers dictatorship over the capitalist class as the first step
in the process by which the existence of capitalists as a class (but not as individuals) is ended and a
classless society is eventually ushered in.
Communism vs Fascism

In many ways, communist and fascist movements had opposing ideologies but both ended up
being repressive political systems based on the control of a single leader. While communism is based
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around a theory of economic equality, fascism is based around the glory of the state and strength
displayed through violence and conquest. Both communism and fascism originated in Europe and
gained popularity in the early to mid 20th century.
Comparison chart:-

Communism Fascism

Philosophy: From each according to his
ability, to each according to
his needs. Free-access to the
articles of consumption is
made possible by advances
in technology that allow for
super-abundance
No single philosophy. The state must
gain glory through constant conquest,
aka war. Belief that the past was
glorious, and that the State can be
renewed.

Economic Wealth redistributed so that Focused on glorifying and

System: everyone in society is given
equal shares of the benefits
derived from labor. All
means of production are
controlled by the state.
strengthening the State. Both Fascist
Italy and Nazi Germany attempted to
pursue self-sufficiency.

Ideas: Human societies have always Union between businesses and the
been divided into warring State, with the state telling the business
classes. The Industrial what to do, with private ownership.
Revolution has enriched the Also Known as National-Socialism.
wealthy and impoverished
the poor. The workers must
overthrow the bourgeois.

Definition: A theory or system of social A government system led by a dictator

organization based on the having complete power, forcibly
holding of all property in oppressing opposition and criticism,
common, with actual regimenting all industry and
ownership ascribed to the emphasizing an aggressive nationalism.
community or state

Economic Government controls all People control businesses properly, but

Coordination: business, as well as Business Government makes business decisions.
decisions.

Political System: No leader, directed directly One charismatic leader has absolute
by the people. This has never authority. Often the symbol of the state.
been actually practiced, and
has just used a one-party
system.

Political Leninism, Trotskyism, Nazism, Falangism

Movements: Marxism-Leninism, Maoism,
Left-Communism

Social All class distinctions are Strict class structure believed necessary
Structure: eliminated. to prevent chaos. Everyone has a

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 Communism Fascism

specific, defined role. While a certain

race is considered superior,
individuality among members of that
race is discouraged.

Religion: Abolished. Fascism is a civic religion - citizens

worship the state through nationalism.
The state only supports religious
organizations that are
nationally/historically tied to that state;
e.g. the Iron Guard in Romania
supported the Romanian Orthodox
church.

Free Choice: In real communism, where a The individual is considered

leader does not exist, meaningless; they must be dedicated to
everything is chosen the power of the State. Traditional
freely.In those that have been gender roles are upheld.
practiced though, all choices,
including education, religion,
employment and marriage,
are controlled by the state.

Key Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler

Proponents: Vladimir Lenin, Leon
Trotsky

Private Abolished Permitted

Property:

History: First conceived by Thomas Term coined by Mussolini in the 1920 s

More in his book Utopia in when he gained control of Italy. Other
1516. Most famously major fascist regimes include the Nazi
associated with Karl Marx Party in Germany (1933-45), the
and his Communist National Union in Portugal (1934-68),
Manifesto in 1848. First used and Francoist Spain (1936-1975).
by the Bolshevik party when
they took control of Russia
in the 1917 October
Revolution.

Key elements: An enhanced form of the Used to want to control the government,
principle of "Production for usually used by a harsh or demanding
use". leader.

Discrimination: In theory, all members of the Belief in one superior race (Nazism).
state are considered equal Blames societys problems on members
of other races or social groups.

Way of Change: Government in a Change can only occur within the party
Communist-state is the agent and the system itself.

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 Communism Fascism

of change rather than any

market or desire on the part
of consumers. Change by
government can be swift or
slow, depending on change
in ideology or even whim.

Famous Stalin (USSR), Mao Mussolini (Italy), Hitler (Germany),

Examples: (Peoples Republic of China) Franco (Spain), Ion Antonescu
(Romania)

Modern Cuba Recent far-right dictatorships include

Examples: Pinochet's regime in Chile and Peron's
regime in Argentina. Many Neo-Fascist
organizations exist and engaged in
terrorist attacks in the US, Germany and
the UK in the 1990s.

Variations: Include Marxism, Leninism, Nazism, National Socialism, Falangism,

Stalinism and Maoism Strasserism

Means of Proletariat engages in violent Force and national fanaticism through

control: rebellion. rallies etc.
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two of the most brutal and evil fascist leaders in history.

Contents
1 What is Communism and
Fascism?
2 Philosophy
3 Social Structure and Class
Hierarchies
4 Political System
5 Economic System
6 Individual Rights
7 Videos explaining the difference
8 History of Fascism and
Communism
9 Modern Examples

What is Communism and Fascism?

Communism is a system or a theory of social organizations where the holding of all property is
common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or state.
Fascism is a system where the government is led by a dictator. The dictator has complete authority
and forcibly oppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and emphasizing an
aggressive nationalism.
Philosophy
Communists believe that a utopian (perfect) society can be achieved if, and only if, the proletariat (or
working classes) overthrow the capitalist system in a social-revolution, usually using armed
rebellion. Communism is an extreme form of socialism.

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Fascism is based around the glory of the nation state. Fascists believe that constant conquest of other
nations is necessary to uphold this glory. Fascist parties and movements in various countries differed
significantly from each other. But they also had many characteristics in common, including extreme
militaristic nationalism, opposition to parliamentary democracy conservative economic policy that
favored the wealthy, contempt for political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy
and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: peoples community),
in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation.
Social Structure and Class Hierarchies
Communists inspired by Karl Marx believe class hierarchies must be abolished by the state
seizing control of private property and industry, thereby abolishing the capitalist class. Oh the other
hand, fascists believed in a rigid class hierarchy, especially rule by an elite, and were opposed to
socialist movements. Fascism upholds a strict class structure, ensuring that every member of society
has a specific, unchangeable role. Often in fascist societies a certain racial group is considered
superior and national and ethnic unity is encouraged at the expense of individuality. For example,
Hitler's fascist regime glorified the Aryan race and called for the extermination of Jews during World
War II.
Political System
Both fascism and communism are against the democratic process but with some differences.
Fascism looks down upon parliamentary democracy. Fascist leaders
like Hitler and Mussolini participated in electoral politics before coming to power. But after seizing
power, fascist leaders tended to abolish political parties, oppose universalsuffrage and became
dictators and rulers for life.
In a communist system, there is rule -- in theory -- by a single party. Democracy was to be practiced
only within the party, constrained by the policy of democratic centralism i.e. full and vigorous debate
would lead to a decision that would determine the partys line on an issue, whereupon the partys
central leadership would close off debate and require adherence to the party line. In short, the
revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat had to be a dictatorship of the communist party in the
name of the proletariat.
Economic System
Communism is based on the equal distribution of wealth. The tenet of Marxian communism was
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Everyone in society receives an
equal share of the benefits derived from labor, e.g. food and money. In order to ensure that everyone
receives an equal amount, all means of production are controlled by the state.
Fascism allows for private enterprise, but its economic system is focused entirely on strengthening
and glorifying the state. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany aimed for self-sufficiency, so that each
country could survive entirely without trade with other nations. See Fascist corporatism
Individual Rights
In both communism and fascism, individual choice or preference matter less than society as a whole.
In communism, religion and private property are both abolished, the government controls all labor
and wealth, and individual choices such as job or education are dictated by the government. While
private property is permitted in fascism, most other choices are also controlled to increase the strength
of the State.
History of Fascism and Communism
Communism can be traced back to Thomas More, who wrote about a society based around
common ownership of property in Utopia in 1516. Communism is most commonly associated with
Karl Marx and his 1848 book The Communist Manifesto. Marx was a critic of the Industrial
Revolution who disagreed with how capitalism took advantage of the working classes. He imagined
that a utopia would be formed when all people were economically equal.
The first real-world example of Marxist Communism was in Russia in 1917, when the Bolshevik
Party seized control in the October Revolution. This was the beginning of many communist
revolutions in the 20th century, including in China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
Angola and Mozambique.

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Modern Fascism originated in Italy in the 1920s, when Mussolini gained control and coined the term
fascism to describe his form of government. Fascism then spread throughout Europe, including to
Germany beginning in 1933 with the Nazis, and Portugal in 1934.
Modern Examples
Communism is still practiced in Cuba and North Korea. Communism is also nominally the system of
government in China, but Chinas current economic system is far more capitalist in nature than
traditional communism.
No countries are currently ruled by fascism, but neo-fascists (or neo-Nazis) exist in many countries,
including the US. The bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995 was caused by neo-fascists.
Communism vs Democracy

Diffen
Economics
Democratic and communist political systems are based on different ideological principles. Although
superficially they seem to share the "power to the people" philosophy, in practice the two systems of
government structure the economic and political fabric of society in markedly different ways.
In the economic sphere, communism calls for the government to take control of all the capital and
industry in the country in an effort to get rid of economic inequality. On the other hand,
a democracy respects individuals' right to own property and means of production.
The political landscape is also very different in a democracy vs. under communism. In a democratic
society people are free to create their own political parties and contest in elections, which are free of
coercion and fair to all contestants. In a communist society, however, the government is controlled by
one political party and political dissent is not tolerated.
Comparison chart

Communism Democracy

Philosophy: From each according to his All eligible citizens get equal say in
ability, to each according to his decisions
needs. Free-access to the articles
of consumption is made possible
by advances in technology that
allow for super-abundance

Definition: A theory or system of social is ruled by the omnipotent majority.

organization based on the In a Democracy, an individual, and
holding of all property in any group of individuals composing
common, with actual ownership any minority, have no protection
ascribed to the community or against the unlimited power of the
state majority. It is a case of Majority-
over-Man.

Economic Wealth redistributed so that Usually capitalist

System: everyone in society is given
equal shares of the benefits
derived from labor. All means
of production are controlled by
the state.

Political System: No leader, directed directly by Elected officials

the people. This has never been

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 Communism Democracy

actually practiced, and has just

used a one-party system.

Social All class distinctions are Class distinctions can become

Structure: eliminated. pronounced due to capitalist society.
Varies from state to state

Free Choice: In real communism, where a Permitted within legal limits

leader does not exist, everything
is chosen freely.In those that
have been practiced though, all
choices, including education,
religion, employment and
marriage, are controlled by the
state.

Religion: Abolished. Permitted

History: First conceived by Thomas Originated in ancient Athens

More in his book Utopia in
1516. Most famously associated
with Karl Marx and
his Communist Manifesto in
1848. First used by the
Bolshevik party when they took
control of Russia in the 1917
October Revolution.

Private Abolished Permitted

Property:

Discrimination: In theory, all members of the
state are considered equal
In theory, all citizens have an equal
say and so are treated equally.
However often allows for the
tyranny of the majority over the
minority

Famous Stalin (USSR), Mao (Peoples Ancient Greece, the United States,
Examples: Republic of China) France, the UK

Modern Cuba More than half of the world,

Examples: including the US, Canada, Western
Europe, Australia, New Zealand,
Japan, etc.

Variations: Include Marxism, Leninism, Include direct democracy,

Stalinism and Maoism parliamentary democracy and
presidential democracy

Democracy

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Contents
1 Ideology
2 Origins
3 Modern Development
4 Government system
5 Variations
6 Current Examples
7 Criticism

Ideology
Communism is a socialist movement that aims to create a society without class or money. As an
ideology, it imagines a free society without any division, free from oppression and scarcity. The
proletariat (working class) overthrow the capitalist system in a social revolution, usually via an armed
rebellion.
Democracy is a form of government that gives all eligible citizens an equal say in decisions that affect
their lives. All people can participate equally, either directly or through elected representatives, in the
creation of laws.
Origins
Communism is traced back to 16th century English writer Thomas More, who described a society
based on common ownership of property in his book Utopia. It first emerged as a political doctrine
after the French Revolution, when Francois Noel Babeuf talked of the desirability of common
ownership of land and total equality among citizens. Modern communism emerged from the industrial
revolution, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto.
Democracy originated in Athens in Ancient Greece. The first democracy was established in 508-7
BC. Athenians were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and the
legislative assembly was made up of all Athenian citizens, who had a right to speak and vote.
However, this excluded women, slaves, foreigners and anyone under the age of 20.
Modern Development

Hammer, sickle and the red star are universal symbols of communism. Also seen are some famous
communists, from bottom clockwise, Chen Duxiu, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx,
Friedrich Engels.
In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia. They changed their
name to the Communist Party and created a single party regime devoted to implementing a specific
type of communism known as Leninism. They nationalized all property and put all factories and
Page 13 of 14
railways under government control. AfterWorld War II, Communism spread throughout central and
eastern Europe, and in 1949, the Communist Party of China established the Peoples Republic of
China. Communism also emerged in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola,
Mozambique and other countries. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the worlds population lived
in Communist states.
The first nation to become democratic in modern historywas the Corsican Republic in 1755. However,
it was short-lived, and the first modern nation to establish an official democratic system was France,
which established universal male suffrage in 1848. The founding fathers of theUnited States did not
describe their new nation as a democracy, but they also espoused principles of national freedom and
equality. All men in the US were nominally given the right to vote in the late 1860s, and full
enfranchisement of citizens was secured when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Democracy was a popular government system after World War I, but the Great Depression led to
dictatorships throughout much of Europe and Asia. After World War II, the American, British and
French sectors of Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan became democracies. By 1960, the majority of
countries were nominally democracies, although many had sham elections or were, in reality,
communist states. Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile all became
democracies in the 1970s to 1990s.
Government system
In its ideological form, communism has no governments. However, it considers a dictatorship to be a
necessary intermediate stage between capitalism and communism. In practice, communist
governments take many different forms, but usually involve an absolute dictator.
Democratic governments take many forms, but in modern democracy, they usually involve elections,
where citizens vote for individuals and parties to represent their concerns in government.
Variations
There are a wide range of interpretations of communism, usually named after the dictator who created
them. They include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Titoism and
Eurocommunism.
There are many forms of democracy. They include representative, parliamentary, presidential,
constitutional, and direct democracy, as well as constitutional monarchies.
Current Examples
Current communist states are the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Lao Peoples
Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Some people also consider North Korea
to be a communist state.
According to Freedom House, there are currently 123 electoral democracies in the world. The World
Forum on Democracy claims 58.2% of the worlds population live in democracies.
Criticism
Communism has been criticized as an ideology because it leads to slow technological advance,
reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity. It has also been criticized as unfeasible. Communist states
have been criticized for poor human rights records, with the belief that Communist governments have
been responsible for famines, purges and war. Stephane Courtois argues that communism was
responsible for the deaths of almost 100 million people in the 20th century.
Democracy has been criticized as inefficient and a creator of wealth disparity. It is criticized as a
system that allows the uninformed to make decisions with equal weight as the informed, and one
which allows for oppression of minorities by the majority.
Note:- it is just a mere copy paste from google because of lack of time. I have done this because i felt
guilty without my contribution i am using all others.but soon i will come with my own document

Dr. Pavan Kumar Turlapati

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