The Problems With Communism

If there ever were a true utopia, communism would be the economic system. All people would be equal. Each person would contribute to their ability, and each person’s needs would be met. Excess would be shared as community wealth.

In reality, if all the wealth were split equally today, tomorrow there would be rich people and there would be poor people. If the wealth were split the next day, the rich would lose their incentive to produce.

Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism

Regardless of which economic basis is the subject, it is not inherently good or evil in and of itself. The good and evil within each economic basis will be the people who use or abuse the opportunities that lie in each one.

To better understand each economic base in its simplest form, here is a brief description of each and its ideal use:

Communism is the economy of the family. If everyone contributes the most they can, and takes from it only what they need, the amount that is left can be used in many different ways for the enjoyment of the entire family. Besides families, other familiar things that are based on the communist theory are credit unions, farm co-ops, and fraternal organizations.

The Difference Between Communism and Marxism

The basis of the communist economic theory is often attributed to Karl Marx for his book Das Kapital. While Marx certainly defined much of what would later be heralded by those who have high regard for the communist theory, his name is often attributed to regimes that don't reflect any of the ideals Marx puts forth in his economic theory.

As a philosopher, Marx is not as highly regarded for his economic theory as he is for his predictions about how society would react when poor people amass sufficiently and have had enough of business as usual.