The Student Room Group

Why is communism bad?

Don't neg this, because I'm just curious...
Why does everybody hate communism so much? To me, it sounds a sort of good society, equal pay, equal cost of everything.... I know people will say 'oh but a bin man will get paid the same as a doctor' ... yes, but surely, a footballer gets paid more than a doctor in our society, so surely communism is a better society in that aspect? :confused:

EDIT: Why all the negs? I was just asking :c
(edited 11 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
It has been described as "a perfect system in an imperfect world."

Basically, humans are too corrupt to maintain the equality; just look at Stalin, there will always be "more equal" people.
Reply 2
It does not work practically.
Its not bad - on paper.

On paper communism is a great way of doing things

the problem is people - power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. communism can be benign and tolerant. the people who use it to run a country as a rule are not
Even if society was able to function under Communism, which has been proven impossible due to greed, I still like the freedom t go out and be successful. I'm greedy and selfish but that's just me.
Reply 5
All religion is banned because people must surrender totally to the state.
No personal freedom.
Some people provide greater value to the world than others so should get more back provided everyone is clothed, fed, educated and so on.
No right to personal property means that it's harder to start a new life elsewhere if they're suffering persecution.
Total control of the economy means the state can commit genocide simply by starving out 'undesirables' which it can get away with more easily than if it were to use gas chambers or soldiers.


BTW, only a tiny minority of the most elite footballers get big money as is the case in any job including the physician profession, perhaps your life is just more centred around celebrities and footballers than it is around what some doctors are developing and making huge amounts of money from.
(edited 11 years ago)
Like others have said, it's not the worst idea, but when it's put into practice it's repressive.

Would you like to live in China or north Korea?

There's no freedom of speach, no democracy and why would people want hard/stressful jobs, if they're getting paid the same as people basically dossing around, having fun all day at work. nobody gets rewared for hard work, so all the cleevr people move away to other countries where they can earn a lot.

BUT i have been to Cuba recently. There is a lot of poverty there and the American trade embargo doesnt help. The negative press of communist countries in capitalist ones makes them seem even worse. But Cuba was a beautiful country with friendly people. And the £ is strong against there local tourist currency. I think 1 peso is 65p. But everything was so cheap that even if a pound was a peso you would be getting a fair deal. So it's a good country to go on holiday to, especially with the wildlife and diving/snorkeling sites.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 7
Because Horst Wessel said so.
Reply 8
There is no reward for doing more than is required apart from a warm fuzzy feeling.

Put it this way, jobs like doctors in emergency rooms are extraordinarily stressful, plus they have to have staff on 24/7, which means night shifts. Yet they are rewarded the same as everyone else.

As for footballer argument, they're entertainers more than anything. It's not just them playing football that brings them the money, it's them being publicly ridiculed when they do something bad but also having to maintain (as a collective) this bad behaviour to keep people interested.
Reply 9
Original post by Menefrego88
Because Horst Wessel said so.


but what would he know, the commies kicked his ass
Like others have said communism isn't that bad on paper but when put into practice people take advantage and are able to twist it.

Also it eliminates any kind of competition and democracy.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 11
IT DOESN'T WORK. There will always be someone who has more power than everyone else in the group, Its just nature.
Reply 12
Original post by TheHansa
All religion is banned because people must surrender totally to the state.
No personal freedom.
Some people provide greater value to the world than others so should get more back provided everyone is clothed, fed, educated and so on.
No right to personal property means that it's harder to sell up and leave if they're suffering persecution.
Total control of the food supply means the state can commit genocide simply by starving out 'undesirables' which it can get away with more easily than if it were to use gas chambers or soldiers.


BTW, only a tiny minority of the most elite footballers get big money as is the case in any job including the physician profession, perhaps your life is just more centred around celebrities and footballers than it is around what some doctors are developing and making huge amounts of money from.


Now I'm no expert, but can you clarify a few things for me.

Does communism explicitly ban religion?
Is your personal freedom restricted?
You cannot own property?

I know some of these have happened in the past, but is that communism or just corrupted attempts at communism?
Reply 13
cus it just does not work in practise
It doesnt furfil the needs of the peoples requirement. I.e if i said you have to have porridge for breakfast. Esssentially you give up you're right to control the things around you.
Don't forget that Karl Marx said that somewhere does not just "become" communist as it will not work, but rather a socialist state will gradually and organically become communist over a lengthy period of time.

I'm inclined to agree with that, if we woke up communist tomorrow it would be a disaster, for it to succeed it would have to be via a protracted, lengthy change that would probably take longer than our own lifetimes.

There has never been a communist state (even the very term 'communist state' is an oxymoron), despite what certain states have claimed over the past century, and if there ever will be one (of which I'm not convinced), it will not be for many, many years.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by TheHansa
but what would he know, the commies kicked his ass


Actually they shot him when he answered the door shows they couldnt fight him one on one anyway the red got killed by Gestapo. Anyway Die Fahne Hoch :smile:
Original post by Clare~Bear
Like others have said, it's not the worst idea, but when it's put into practice it's repressive.

Would you like to live in China or north Korea?

There's no freedom of speach, no democracy and why would people want hard/stressful jobs, if they're getting paid the same as people basically dossing around, having fun all day at work.


In China people work very hard. China has open capitalist policies. Chinas communist government has 80,000 officials not much of a communist country to say the least.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_rule_of_Cambodia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_zedong#Legacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge

This is why Communism was bad. All of these tragedies were inflicted during the process of creating - or, while attempting to create - a communist state.
It is the worst thing possible. How can people achieve their maximum potential in a communist state? In the end, a lot of the cleverer people leave to other countries and the communist country is left with a lack of professionals. Awful idea.