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(7)What'sthedifferencebetweenSocialism,MarxismandCommunism?Quora
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RobertPalermo,KelloggInstitutePhDFellowattheNotreDame
46.4kViewsUpvotedbyMarcBodnick,FormerStanfordPhDstudentinPolitics
RobertisaMostViewedWriterinMarxism.
OriginallyAnswered:Whatarethedifferencesbetweencommunismandsocialism?

InclassicMarxisttheory,Communismisthefinalstageoftheevolutionofhuman
socioeconomicrelations.IntheMarxistmodel,thefeudalstateisoverthrownbytheriseof
thebourgeoisie,usheringinthecapitalistepoch.Capitalismisthenoverthrownbytherise
oftheproletariat,whichushersinnotcommunism,buttheSocialiststate.Eachprevious
stepisthenecessarypreconditionforthenext.
Thesocialiststateisthusthepreconditionforcommunism,anditsfunctionistoalterthe
stateofhumanmaterialconditionsinsuchawaythatcommunismcanfunction.The
socialiststatethen"withersaway,"leadingtotheendofpoliticalpowerinanycentralized
formincludingnationstates,ascommunismasenvisionedbyMarxistobean
internationalsystem.Equallyimportantisthedisappearanceofsocialclassdistinctions,
whichgoeshandinhandwiththeendofpoliticalpower:
Wheninthecourseofdevelopment,classdistinctionshavedisappeared,andall
productionhasbeenconcentratedinthehandsofavastassociationofthewhole
nation,thepublicpowerwillloseitspoliticalcharacter.Politicalpower,properlyso
called,ismerelytheorganizedpowerofoneclassforoppressinganother.
Theseconditionsallhavetobemetbeforethecommunistsocietycandevelop.Inthemost
reductionistsense,socialismpresupposesastrongcentralizedstate,whilecommunism
followsoncethestateisnolongernecessary.Marxsummarizedcommunisminthisway:
"anassociationinwhichthefreedevelopmentofeachistheconditionforthefree
developmentofall."
{BothquotesarefromTheManifestooftheCommunistParty.Threeshortworksfrom
whichonecangetaverybasicunderstandingofMarx'spoliticalandeconomictheories
areWage,Labor,andCapital,TheManifestooftheCommunistParty,andThe
EighteenthBrumaireofLouisBonaparte.AnotherinterestinghistoricalworkisLeon
Trotsky'sTheRevolutionBetrayed(1937ISBN0929087488),inwhichtheauthor
outlineswhytheSovietUnionwasdestainedtofail,largelywithinthecontextofclassical
Marxisttheory.}

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JosephGuindi,thermodynamicsengineeraerospace,buildings&sustainable
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OriginallyAnswered:Whatisthekeydifferencebetweensocialismandcommunism?

Countrieswhichweretermedcommunistneverinfactwerecommunist,theyweresocialist
countrieswherethegoalwasachievingcommunism.Cuba,PRC,DPRK,USSR,Warsaw
pactcountries,allofthesecountriespractise(d)socialism,withtheintentofachieving
communismbyDialecticalmaterialism .Theideahereisthatcapitalismisthethesis,
socialismistheantithesis(oropposite),andcommunismisthesynthesis(orresultof
havinggonethroughthetwo).TheStateideologywasdefinitelycommunisttheypracticed
socialisminordertoobtaincommunismeventually.
Socialismisworkers'ownershipofthemeansofproduction,centralplanningofthe
economyandtheabsenceofmarkets,andenforcedequalityinpracticethishasinvariably
turnedintothenightmareofsinglepartytotalitariandictatorship,resultinginwarfare,
conquest,famine,poverty,genocide,corruption,absenceofthemostbasichumanrights
especiallyfreedomofspeech,andintensepropagandaandrevisionism.Whatpeoplecall
todaysocialismismoreproperlytermedsocialdemocracy,somethingcompletelydifferent.
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Communismisessentiallyanarchy,wherethestatedoesn'texistanymore,socialclasses

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(7)What'sthedifferencebetweenSocialism,MarxismandCommunism?Quora

don'texistanymore,noristhereanymoney(socialistcountriesallhavemoney).Thevery
existenceofcommunismisentirelytheoreticalandmostlypseudoscientific,moreakinto
anunobtainableutopia.Communismhasneverexisted,thereisnoevidencethatitiseven
possible(ordesirable),andeveryattemptathavingit,throughsocialism,resultedin
completedisaster.
UpdatedAug29,2015ViewUpvotes
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JoshuaEngel
33.8kViewsUpvotedbyJohnBurgess,Morethan50yearsdealingwith'InsidetheBeltway',
MarcBodnick,FormerStanfordPhDstudentinPolitics
Joshuahas30+answersinSociety.

Thetermshavebeensobastardizedthatthere'sreallylittlevalueinadictionarydefinition.
Ifsomebodyusesthosewords,youjustneedtoaskthemwhattheymeanbyit.Insisting
onhistoricaldefinitionsofthemendsupjustturningintoanargumentoversemantics.
Thetermshavebeenmuddledsincetheircoinageanyway.Ifthere'sonewhichshould
haveadefinitemeaning,it'sMarxism,asthatwouldbe"thetheoriesofKarlMarx".Marx
triedtodefine"communism"and"socialism"inTheCommunistManifesto.Inhis
definition,"communism"istheendstateofhavingkeymeansofproductionownedin
common(communally)withoutclass,while"socialism"isanintermediatetransitionstate
whereasocialrevolution(thatis,oftheworkers,thevastmajorityofsociety)isrequiredto
gettocommunism.
AcceptingMarx'sdefinitionsandtheeconomicandsocialconsequenceshebelievedwould
arisefromthemmakesyouaMarxist,andwhetheryou'reasocialistoracommunist
dependsonwhereyouareinhistory.
Otherselfdescribedsocialistsandcommunistsdefinethetermsdifferentlybothterms
predatedMarxandhehasnoparticularclaimtodefiningthemasidefrompopularity.
Theyarealllooselydefinedtheoriesinwhichprivateproperty(i.e.capital)isnolongerthe
definingforceofeconomics.Beyondthatit'sallkindofupforgrabs.
Otherpeoplewhoaren'tselfdescribedsocialists,communists,orMarxistsdefinetheterms
theirownways,generallyas"anybodywhodoesn'twantwhatIwant".Thechipsfallwhere
theymayfromthere.Ifindthataparticularlyuselessformoflanguage,andsuchpeople
tendtobesimilarlyuselessinotherareasofthinking(includingeconomics),butifyou
insistoncommunicatingwiththem,you'lljusthavetoinfertheirusageofterminology.No
dictionarywillprovidemuchhelp.
UpdatedSep10,2012ViewUpvotesAnswerrequestedbyVishalThapaandSooKim
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ArtemBoytsov,Founder&CEOofTrulloApp,coauthorofGoogleTrends
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NoamChomsky(linguist,author)explainsthatUSSRwasnotasocialistcountryand
explainswhatsocialismreallymeans:

WrittenSep10,2012ViewUpvotes
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PrateekMahajan,SoftwareDeveloperatAmazon
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(7)What'sthedifferencebetweenSocialism,MarxismandCommunism?Quora

OriginallyAnswered:Whatisthebasicdifferencebetweensocialismandcommunism?

Boththetermsareoftenusedinterchangeablyasthedifferencebetweenthetermsceaseto
existintoday'sscenario.
However,ifugodeep,youarelikelytofindasubtledifference:
Socialismisaneconomicsysteminwhichmeansofproductionarestatecontrolled.
Howevercommunismisbroaderinsense,itmeansasocial,politicalandeconomic
movementtoestablishaboundaryless,stateless,moneylessandclasslesssystemin
whichallpropertiesandmeansofproductionarecontrolledbycommunity(community
itselfreferstopeople).
Thusitcanbesaidthatcommunismisasupersetofsocialism.That'swhycountrieslike
China,Vietnam,Laos,Cubaetc.callthemselvessocialistcountriesbutnotcommunistones
fortheybelievethattheyarestillonthepathofachievingacommunistsystembyusing
socialistmethodology.
Westernpowers(CapitalistorAntiCommunist)hardlydifferentiatebetweentheterms
becausebothsocialismaswellascommunismopposecapitalismandprivateownership.
WrittenMay6,2013ViewUpvotes
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CharlesTips,Seriousstudentofeconomics
6.3kViewsCharlesisaMostViewedWriterinMarxism.
OriginallyAnswered:Whatisthedifferencebetweencommunismandsocialism?

IfinEngland,forinstance,ortheUnitedStates,theworkingclassweretogaina
majorityinParliamentorCongress,theycould,bylawfulmeans,ridthemselvesof
suchlawsandinstitutionsasimpededtheirdevelopment,thoughtheycouldonlydo
insofarassocietyhadreachedasufficientlymaturedevelopment.However,the
"peaceful"movementmightbetransformedintoa"forcible"onebyresistanceonthe
partofthoseinterestedinrestoringtheformerstateofaffairsif(asintheAmerican
CivilWarandFrenchRevolution)theyareputdownbyforce,itisasrebelsagainst
"lawful"force.
KarlMarx,1878

TheParisCommune(FrenchRevolution) of1789to1795wasinsomesensethefirst
socialistregime,though,becauseitturnedsobloody,socialistsarereluctanttoclaimit.
FollowingcameanumberofexperimentsinCommunitarianism aroundtheworld,but
mostlyinFrance.Someofthesecommunitiesbrandedthemselvessocialistotherswereat
painstodrawadistinction.

MarxandEngelspublishedTheCommunistManifesto in1848andblastedallsuch
communitiesasnaveexperimentsinUtopiansocialism asopposedtohisscientific
socialismthatwouldresultfromMarxism .Thatprettymuchputanendto
communitarianismashavinganypretensiontorealsocialism,whichisappropriategiven
thatcommunitarianarrangementsareequallylegitimateinrepublicangovernments
employingfreeenterprise.

Marx'sschemewassocioeconomic.Communismwastheeconomicenginethatwould
bringaboutasocialistsociety.Significantly,itisnotagoverningscheme.Marxfeltthat
statepowerexistedinallcasestothedetrimentoftheworkingclassandsosoughta
Dictatorshipoftheproletariat asthesimplisticgoverningarrangement.

TheparlorsofEuropewereabuzzwithdiscussionsofimplementingsocialism.ButMarx's
distrustofgovernmentdidn'tprovidemuchwaytoforcetheissue.Besides,hesaidit
wouldcomeaboutautomatically,asimplematterofcommunismsupersedingcapitalism
asworkersthrewoffexploitation.

ItwasnotuntilafterthepublicationofDasKapital ,VolumeIin1867thatthefirsttrue
effortstoimplementtheeconomicsofcommunismtookplace.Marxhimselflabeledthe
shortlivedParisCommune of1871atruedictatorshipoftheproletariat.

Atthesametime,withMarx'shelp,Socialdemocracy becamethefirstefforttoachieve
socialism,ablendoftheideasofMarxandEngelsandalsoFerdinandLassalle .The
SocialDemocraticWorkers'PartyofGermany wouldbeanefforttoachievesocialism
peacefully,whichMarxadmittedin1872wouldsometimesbepossible,ratherthanvia
revolutionashehadpreviouslyseenasnecessary.

Lassallehadnotroubleemployingtheleversofstatepowertoimplementreforms.This
eventuallyalienatedMarxwholambastedtheuseofstatepowerinhisCritiqueofthe
GothaProgram of1875.Hefeltthatuseofstatepowerwouldproduceadictatorshipof
thebourgeoisie(Liberaldemocracy ).

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(7)What'sthedifferencebetweenSocialism,MarxismandCommunism?Quora

AsSocialdemocracygainedsuccess,largelybecauseOttovonBismarck soughttocoopt
theSPD's(successorpartytotheSPAD)programsandgainpopularitybyimplementing
themhimself,itgainedadherentsandaratherlargenumberofnewtheorists.Laterinthe
century,itgainedafootholdintheUSasprogressivism,anideologythatearlyinthe
followingcenturyhadcapturedmajoritiesinboththeRepublicanandDemocraticparties.

Butthezeitgeistwaschanging.Thesecondhalfofthenineteenthcenturywasmoregeared
towardIdealism thantotheMaterialism Marxhadcenteredhisschemeon.Also,
nationalismbecameastrongermotivationalforcethanclassism.Thenewshapeof
socialismwasSyndicalism whichbecameoneoftherootsofFascism .

Fewrealizeit,butmanyinEuropecreditedtheleftprogressiveWilsonadministrationin
theUSasthefirstinstanceofFascistgovernment.Inparticular,BenitoMussolinicredited
FranklinRooseveltinhisroleindirectingindustryinshipbuildingasassistantsecretaryof
theNavyforhavingprovidedtheproofofconceptforfascism,afactFDRfrequently
mentionedlaterinhiscareerwhencampaigninginItaliancommunities.Inthe20sand
30s,fascistgovernmentsledseveralmajorEuropeannations,andfascistpartieswere
influentialinmanymore.

Butintheearly20s,thankstosomeRussianrevolutionariesexiledtoEurope,communism
itselffinallygotitsstart,andRussiaandseveralsatellitenationsbecametheUnionof
SovietSocialistRepublics.VladimirLeninwaswellawarethatworkersinEuropehad,
contraMarx,increasinglyprosperedasaresultofcapitalism(Marx'stermforfree
enterprise),buthechalkedituptotheexploitationofColonialism .Hewasalsowell
awarethatRussialackedanycapitalistclassatallforcommunismtosupersede.

AndsoLeninmadeseveralmajoradjustments,suchastheemploymentof
Vanguardism ,toMarxianthinking.Anotherwastoemployczariststylerepressionas
themeansofdispellingenemiesandrulinganunrulystate.

ItwasLeninalsowhoturnedMarx'sdefinitionofsocialismonitshead.Becausehe
wantedtointroduceyetanotherwaveofreforms,hepeddleditasthepreviousreforms
hadsuccessfullyproducedsocialism,aprestatetocommunism,whichhisreformswould
achieve.ButevenbytheBrezhnevConstitution(1977SovietConstitution ),theUSSRwas
stilldefiningitselfasasocialistnationjustaroundthecornerfromcommunism.

AndsoMarx:Communism>Socialism

AndLenin:Socialism>Communism

Politicalsciencehasignoredbothanddefinedsocialismasitsmajorformssocial
democracy,fascismandcommunismalongwithmoreminormanifestationssuchas
syndicalism,marketsocialism,ecosocialismandothers.HOWEVER,thereisnot
consistentagreementthatallareformsofsocialism.

Thereisalso,itisworthpointingout,confusionaboutwheresocialismbelongsonthe
politicalspectrum.Marxismwasplacedtotheleftofliberalism(thetrueformthat
counteredmonarchycomingoutoftheAgeofEnlightenment).Thiswasonthebasisof
seekingevengreateregalitarianismandeventranscendingtoalargedegreetheneedfora
governingstateapparatus,whichmakessense.

However,ithasbeenthecasethatimplementationsofcommunism,fascismandeven
socialdemocracyhavebeenauthoritarianandthusrightwing,totherightinmostcasesof
themoretyrannicalmonarchies.Communismandfascismthoroughlydiscredited
themselveswithdespoticmethods,genocides,limitationandevensuppressionofrights,
racism,stateaggression,cultsofpersonality,andpolicestatetactics,inadditiontothefact
thattheyfailedtoachieveproductivitycomparabletofreeenterprise.Socialdemocracyis
authoritariantoalesserdegreebutstillreliesontheshepherdandflockmodeland
statism(justasMarxcriticized)toachieveitsgoalsofredistributionandsocialjustice.
Marxism,whichdoesbelongontheleft,hasproventobeeverybitasutopianashe
brandedcommunitarianism.
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