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COMMUNISM – The Ideology of Absolute Equality

Communism is one of the six quasi-democratic or “fringe” political ideologies on the Map My Politics ideology chart, occupying the area on the top left above the populist and state socialist zones and to the left of the fascist zone. Communists believe in a maximum of economic justice, without the disparities between rich and poor that arise under a free market system. To achieve that and related social goals, communists are willing to sacrifice the types of personal and political freedoms that citizens of liberal democracies take for granted. Because this essentially places communism outside the realm of Western governmental tradition, we consider communism on the fringe of the mainstream political ideologies.

Regarding economic liberty, communists are fully-committed to a social justice agenda, which means rejecting a decentralized, capitalist system in favor of a centrally-planned economy, with public ownership of the means of production being the rule, not the exception. As with socialists, communists take it as an article of faith that capitalism cannot deliver a fair and broadly prosperous society. Pure Marxist-Leninist communist theory opposes even a “mixed” economy that regulates private corporations and shareholders, however some hybrid communist states have evolved – most notably the People’s Republic of China – that resemble market-based economies in many respects. But the key distinction is the authoritarian nature of the government, meaning private property is not constitutionally guaranteed and therefore is always subject to the people’s (i.e., the majority’s) right to confiscate or otherwise limit it.

Concerning the y-axis of social liberty, communism is equally unprotective of individual freedoms. Unlike democratic socialism, communism only exists in the context of a single-party socialist state. Citizens in such systems are usually not free to form alternative parties or to meaningfully speak out against the prevailing political order. The extent of the limitations on civil liberties might vary and one might argue that an increase in positive freedom (as provided by government-sponsored healthcare and education) offsets the decrease in negative freedom (free exercise of religion and speech). But whether one chooses to defend the ideology, there’s no question that communism is ideologically authoritarian in nature.

Communism is rooted in the 19th century economic theory of two titans of philosophy, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels used the terms socialism and communism interchangeably and considered this form of government as the inevitable result of a class struggle or revolt of enlightened workers against the capitalist bourgeoisie. The Russian political theorist and revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin, was a key interpreter of Marx, but there are myriad versions of communism, Marxist-Leninist and otherwise, usually corresponding to the particular nationality at issue. The common thread is a morality going all the way back to the post-Enlightenment utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham, which centers on that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number.

Because the United States is – for the most part – a two-party system, communists would be expected to be found within the more economically progressive of the two – the Democratic Party - or in one of the minority parties more aligned to socialist views, such as the Green Party or the Socialist Party. There is even a handful of bona fide American communist parties, although none that has a significant national political presence. Regardless how a communist might choose to engage politically, a fundamental aspect of their participation would be repudiation of free market economic policies. As we stress repeatedly on the Map My Politics site, politics at its most fundamental level is about ideology.

Communism has been a presence in American politics but marginally so, partly because of official and semi-official bans on the advocacy of revolutionary communism. During the two post-war “Red Scare” periods of the 20th century, communism was especially difficult to espouse openly in the United States. There are certainly elected Democrats who are ideologically socialist, but none who have endorsed communism. Past American communist political figures have included John Reed (who was portrayed by Warren Beatty in the movie, Reds), Earl Browder, Gus Hall, Angela Davis, Gloria La Riva and Bob Avakian. Other communist writers and thinkers are W. E. B. Du Bois (who co-founded the NAACP), Bill Ayers and Bhaskar Sunkara.

For further reading about the communist ideology, click here.

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