Fall of the Red

Communism failed in the erstwhile USSR and practically in every other nation where it was practiced, for the following reasons (according to me) Communism can never succeed as long as there is greed in man’s heart. Communism advocates the sharing of a common wealth among all members of the community, but few of us would like to do that (not even me). Communism suppresses the rise of individual free spirit, free entrepreneurship. It advocates following certain rules and guidelines in order to get the privileges of the community. (but man is born free and would like to die free, who wants to be compelled to stand in line and get bread in lieu of submitting your soul to the state?) Communism breeds inefficiency and mediocrity (I mean if you are certain of getting your bread and bedding, why would you strive hard to get it? Similarly, if you know that no amount of excellence will get you better life than your neighbour, why should you take the extra trouble?) Communism gives rise to followers but seldom leaders of men in the true sense. That’s why, within a few decades of birth, most communist states were reduced to pauper states, arrogantly flaunting their show of pomp, splendour and decadence. As an economic idea, communism is excellent. But for it to survive in a practical world, it needs to infuse its best with the best of capitalism. Neither hard-core capitalism nor naked communism, are good for human growth. Communism is that which gives capitalism its human touch and capitalism is that which gives communism its free spirit!

First of the Soviet Union was not a Communist state. It was a totalitarian state that pretended it was a Communist State. Personally I feel Communism is not achievable. All Humans and animals are evil and greedy and look out for themselves, which explains evolution as the strongest survive and the weakest perish. Communism relies on the fact that Humans are good and can work together which is completely opposite of human and animal nature greed and self-protection. If Humans can change nature and how it acts upon us then we can achieve Communism but until that day it will never work as Marx and Engle intended it to.

Hi, As has been said, Russia was not a communist state, or more precisely, in Marxist terms, it had not completed the revolution where power is handed over to the proletariat but remained with a political elite. Perhaps Marx, a student of Hegel, should have read a little Nietzsche, then he might have understood that power is rarely given away! Ok, so why did the Soviet Union Fail? Firstly the achievements of the USSR outstrip those of any capitalist country, to turn what was basically a medieval country with no infrastructure into a world power in such a brief period of time was a truly remarkable achievement. There are two main reasons, as I understand it, the first is US antagonism to USSR the second is the proximity of wealthier countries. People will always want to flee to an easier way of life if they can. Is Russia better off under its new regime? A lot of Russians would say no. Crime and corruption are rife. Let's ask a new question, why had capitalism failed in US? US being the single most economically powerful country in the world has imposed restrictive trade conditions on other countries and also uses heavy subsidies. Many of its citizens lack adequate education, health care and nutrition. Violence, both by criminals and agents of the Law are rife. Its electoral system is grossly corrupt, to the point where, were it not so powerful there might have been international pressure for reform. All this will change if Europe unites; with an economy 5 times the size of US the boot, so to speak, would be on the other foot. A US forced to remove its trade barriers would suffer drastic economic problems. Europe would experience a boon. The conclusion? Mixed economies are best. all the best urban

On a smaller scale, Communism is a viable option. In some of the responses I've seen people claim Communism won't work while man has greed in his heart. While true to a point, we don't have to be perfect people to have Communism work. It just won't work perfectly, like any other system of government. If a people decided that it would be collectively more beneficial to come together and contribute to the well-being of the entire society, it would work. A possible motive other than pure altruism would be the desire to be taken care of. If everyone's looking out for everyone else, you know you won't have to fail alone. Humans have an innate need to belong to a "pack", which is one of the reasons Communism is so appealing. If one could find a balance between a democratic republic and pure communism, I think great things could be accomplished for a country. Blessed Be

I believe communism failed in the USSR because it wasn't proper communism. It was hugely corrupt with the leaders earning a lot more than the populace. This is not communism! I believe communism can definitely work, probably in small isolated communities but for it to work on a large scale it has to be a global thing. People say globalisation isn't a good thing but I disagree to a point. The more people have a global outlook the more they'll realise the gross injustices in the world. if the world of labour was to go on strike communism could rule supreme!!!