Communism as a Form of Government

In this paper I will be explaining the type of government called Communism. Communism has several different interpretations. I will explain the basics of Communism. I will also explain some of the complex areas of it. I will explain how it was formed and where it is put into practice.

Karl Marx was German. He was an economist, philosopher, sociologist, and socialist revolutionary. He is the father and know for introducing communism to Germany. He introduced the writing called the Communist Manifesto. He introduced it to Germany in 1848.

The Communist Manifesto that Marx wrote was kind of like a set of rules saying what you could and could not do. There are four sections in the Communist Manifesto. The preamble, Bourgeois and Proletarians, Proletarians and Communists, Socialist and Communist Literature. Through these four sections you get the laws for Communism. It is practiced in several countries including China, North Korea, Vietnam, Loas and Cuba. One early way it was started was with religion. Some believe that Christians practiced a form of Communism, with having no worldly possessions.

Karl Marx's goal of Communism was to get rid of all private property. He believed through Communism that no one should own anything and belong to the government. He was trying to produce a classless society in which there was no rank and all people worked for nothing but only to support the government. In a sense that would be the perfect type of government for a country to have.

Communism wasn't introduced until the 1840's. It comes from the Latin word communis, which means to share or common opinion. The works of a government that may be considered communist appeared about the time of the 4th century. The governing class of leaders works to serving the concerns of the entire country. Private ownership of things would encourage selfishness on the owners of the products. The people must live as one large family that shares ownership on everything, not only of material goods but also of spouses and children.

One issue that came from the communist government was the creation of the black market as a response to having no free market. The black market was created as an underground trade system in which citizens could buy and trade things illegally. In a comparison, a free market is an economic system where prices are determined by the competition between privately owned businesses. In a communist government, only the leaders of the government can decide these factors. The trading in the black market has led to a community of crimes such as smuggling, bribery, and stealing.

The government of Communism has several different ways of electing officials to be in charge. The most common way is self appointed through politics. The second most common way is through force. Vladimir in Russia and Mao Zedong in China were both forced into the position by the citizens of their own country.

A concern for Communism was that information wasn't really getting between government leaders and the citizens of the country. Some of the issues were, limiting outside media, closely watching educational programs, and making threats and intimidation tactics as a way to regulate people's everyday lifestyles. Lastly, the communist government is typically ruled by one person that is either self-appointed or came to power from political revolutions. Karl Marx created a government that would encourage a proud sense of nationalism that would encourage the common good. Today, communism is an economic system that has changed more into a political system that has little similarities to Marx's original ideas for Communism.

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