To: Rebecca Agosta

From: George Georgiev

Date: 4 March 2016
Subject of Inquiry: Communism and Socialism in society
Introduction:
With presidential elections around the corner we begin to analyze the different candidates
running for office. We take a look at one of the most radical candidates, Bernie Sanders. He is
openly a Democratic Socialist, but what does this mean? To truly understand what this means
and its significance in our society, we must look back on the history of Communism and
Socialism. Communism was one of the most influential ideologies of all time. Millions of people
lived under Communist regimes and millions more debated whether or not it would be a superior
system. However, as everyone knows, it failed. It hardly needs to be said that the Soviet Union
failed to provide an adequate standard of living, and this was the major reason for its collapse.
But why? The core problem with communism and indeed every all-encompassing ideology is
that it breeds absolute power of a certain group; in the case of communism, this would be the
Dictatorship of the proletariat. So, whats the difference between communism and socialism?
Socialism is the crucial step in getting towards communism. A socialist revolution overthrows
the capitalist class and establishes the system of political rule of the working class. But socialism
also inherits social and economic inequalities from capitalism. It still contains classes. Socialism
and Communism aim to create a dystopian society that entails pure equality among all facets of
life. Socialism cannot be openly found in todays world, but several countries such as, Venezuela,
Argentina, and Peru associate themselves with socialist views, each of these countries is in a
current economic lull. Venezuela is one of the largest producers of Oil, and yet their economy is
tanking under the presence of socialism. Socialism takes the incentive to work out of the
individual. Since it aims for equality in all individuals it means that occupations such as doctors
and lawyers would be paid less and nearly equal to an occupation such as an elementary school
teacher. This deflates the will to pursue such occupations and causes the society under socialism
to become lazy and satisfied by their simpler occupations. This deflates the society and causes
it to eventually decline. Socialism is now very relevant to our American society because of the
shift in views caused by Bernie Sanders. Many people from outside of the United States realize
how destructive Socialism may be, but are Americans as knowledgeable about this topic? Many
Americans do not have personal experience with Socialism like some foreigners may have. My
parents for instance, were born and raised during ruling of Communist regime in Bulgaria. They
were able to escape from the country and make it to the United States as refugees for the search
of better opportunity. They understand how destructive communism and socialism was and can
be. That is one of the identities that can either negatively or positively affect our society. I
believe that Socialism is a faulty economic system that needs to be reevaluated here in America
before it takes popularity.
Proposed Research Methods:
I began my research by googling various background information about Socialism and
Communism. I tried to differentiate the two and describe why it may be beneficial or destructive

for a society like ours. I then wanted to concentrate my overall identity on the American society
and compare it to that of a Communist/Socialist society.
Inquiry Questions:
1. Why was/is communism/socialism unsuccessful in so many countries?
How is socialism different from communism?
Where can you find socialism in the world today?
2. How can coming from different countries affect political views versus being from this
society?
What kind of society is socialism aiming to create?
How does Socialism change a society/individual?