Forms of communism : lenin, Marxism,

MAOISM
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2)
3)
4)

Marxist-Leninist trend of communism associated with china

Mobilization of masses
Egalitarianism
Personality cult (a/c some scholars)

Maoism is the Marxist-Leninist trend of communism associated with

Chairman Mao Zedong of the Communist Party of China and was
mostly practiced within China. Nikita Khrushchev's reforms heightened
ideological differences between China and the Soviet Union, which
became increasingly apparent in the 1960s. Parties and groups that
supported the Communist Party of China (CPC) in their criticism against
the new Soviet leadership proclaimed themselves as 'anti-revisionist'
and denounced the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the
parties aligned with it as revisionist"capitalist-roaders." The Sino-Soviet
Split resulted in divisions amongst communist parties around the
world. Notably, the Party of Labour of Albania sided with the People's
Republic of China. Effectively, the CPC under Mao's leadership became
the rallying forces of a parallel international Communist tendency.
Definitions of Maoism vary. Within the Chinese context, Maoism can
refer to Mao's belief in the mobilization of the masses, particularly in
large-scale political movements; it can also refer to
theegalitarianism that was seen during Mao's era as opposed to the
free-market ideology of Deng Xiaoping; some scholars additionally
define personality cults and political sloganeering as "Maoist"
practices. Contemporary Maoists in China criticize the social
inequalities created by a capitalist and 'revisionist' Communist
MARXISM
1) Popular revolution was inevitable
2)
Marxism
Like other socialists, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels sought an end
to capitalism and the systems which they perceived to be responsible

for the exploitation of workers. Whereas earlier socialists often favored

longer-term social reform, Marx and Engels believed that popular
revolution was all but inevitable, and the only path to socialism and
communism.
According to the Marxist argument for communism, the main
characteristic of human life in class society is alienation; and
communism is desirable because it entails the full realization ofhuman
freedom.[28] Marx here follows Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in
conceiving freedom not merely as an absence of restraints but as
action with content.[29] According to Marx, communism's outlook on
freedom was based on an agent, obstacle, and goal. The agent is the
common/working people; the obstacles are class divisions, economic
inequalities, unequal life-chances, and false consciousness; and the
goal is the fulfilment of human needs including satisfying work, and fair
share of the product.[30][31]
They believed that communism allowed people to do what they want,
but also put humans in such conditions and such relations with one
another that they would not wish to exploit, or have any need to.
Whereas for Hegel the unfolding of this ethical life in history is mainly
driven by the realm of ideas, for Marx, communism emerged from
material forces, particularly the development of the means of
production.[29]
Marxism holds that a process ofclass conflict and revolutionary struggle
will result in victory for the proletariat and the establishment of
acommunist society in which private property and ownership is
abolished over time and the means of production and subsistence
belong to the community. (Private property and ownership, in this
context, means ownerships of the means of production, not private
possessions).[32] Marx himself wrote little about life under communism,
giving only the most general indication as to what constituted a
communist society. In the popular slogan that was adopted by
the communist movement, communism was a world in which each
gave according to their abilities, and received according to their
needs. The German Ideology (1845) was one of Marx's few writings to
elaborate on the communist future:
In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of
activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes,
society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for

me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the

morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after
dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter,
fisherman, herdsman or critic.[33]
Marx's lasting vision was to add this vision to a theory of how society
was moving in a law-governed way towards communism, and, with
some tension, a political theory that explained why revolutionary
activity was required to bring it about.[29]
In the late 19th century, the terms "socialism" and "communism" were
often used interchangeably. However, Marx and Engels argued that
communism would not emerge from capitalism in a fully developed
state, but would pass through a "first phase" in which most productive
property was owned in common, but with some class differences
remaining. The "first phase" would eventually evolve into a "higher
phase" in which class differences were eliminated, and a state was no
longer needed. Lenin frequently used the term "socialism" to refer to
Marx and Engels' supposed "first phase" of communism and used the
term "communism" interchangeably with Marx and Engels' "higher
phase" of communism.[34]
These later aspects, particularly as developed by Vladimir Lenin,
provided the underpinning for the mobilizing features of 20th century
communist parties.

LENINISM AND MARXIST LENINISM

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Vanguard party
But internal decisions by democratic centralism
Revolution to overthrow capitalism
Proletrariat internationalism

Leninism is the political movement developed by Vladimir Lenin, which

has become the foundation for the organizational structure of most
major communist parties. Leninists advocate the creation of a
vanguard party led by dedicated revolutionaries in order to lead the
working class revolution to victory. Leninists believe that socialism will
not arise spontaneously through the natural decay of capitalism and

that workers are unable to organize and develop socialist

consciousness without the guidance of the Vanguard party. After taking
power, Vanguard parties seek to create a socialist state continually led
by the Vanguard party in order to direct social development and
defend against counterrevolutionary insurrection. The mode of
industrial organization championed by Leninism and Marxism-Leninism
is the capitalist model of scientific management pioneered by Fredrick
Taylor.[citation needed]
Marxism-Leninism is a version of Leninism merged with classical
Marxism adopted by the Soviet Union and most communist parties
across the world today. It shaped the Soviet Union and influenced
communist parties worldwide. It was heralded as a possibility of
building communism via a massive program
of industrialization andcollectivisation. Despite the fall of the Soviet
Union and the 'Eastern Bloc' (meaning communist countries of Eastern
and Central Europe), many communist parties of the world today still
lay claim to uphold the Marxist-Leninist banner. Marxism-Leninism
expands on Marxist thoughts by bringing the theories to what Lenin
and other Communists considered, the age of capitalist imperialism,
and a renewed focus on party building, the development of a socialist
state, and democratic centralism as an organisational principle.
Lenin's pamphlet What is to be Done? (1902), proposed that the
(urban) proletariat can successfully achieve revolutionary
consciousness only under the leadership of a vanguard
party of professional revolutionarieswho can achieve aims only with
internal democratic centralism in the party; tactical and ideological
policy decisions are agreed via democracy, and every member must
support and promote the agreed party policy.
To wit, capitalism can be overthrown only with revolutionbecause
attempts to reform capitalism from within (Fabianism) and from
without (social democracy) will fail because of its inherent
contradictions. The purpose of a Leninist revolutionary vanguard party
is the forceful deposition of the incumbent government; assume power
(as agent of the proletariat) and establish the dictatorship of the
proletariat. Moreover, as the government, the vanguard party must

educate the proletariatto dispel the societal false consciousness of

religion and nationalism that are culturally instilled by
the bourgeoisie in facilitating exploitation, and to instil
the material scientific outlook of the world and the sense of proletarian
internationalism. The dictatorship of the proletariat is governed with a
de-centralized direct democracypractised via soviets (councils) where
the workers exercise political power (cf. soviet democracy); the fifth
chapter of State & Revolution, describes it:
... the dictatorship of the proletariati.e. the organisation of the
vanguard of the oppressed as the ruling class for the purpose of
crushing the oppressors. . . . An immense expansion of democracy,
which for the first time becomes democracy for the poor, democracy
for the people, and not democracy for the rich: . . . and suppression by
force, i.e. exclusion from democracy, for the exploiters and oppressors
of the peoplethis is the change which democracy undergoes during
the transition from capitalism to communism.[35]
The post-revolutionary Bolshevik government was hostile to
nationalism, especially to Russian nationalism, the "Great Russian
chauvinism", which was seen as an obstacle to establishing the
dictatorship of the proletariat.[36] However, under the regime of Joseph
Stalin, during the Great Patriotic War, Russian nationalism brought back
into favour.[37]

The hallmarks of Marxism-Leninism are: the

revolutionary vanguard party, revolution as a
means to overthrow capitalism, and democratic
centralism.
STALINISM
1) Ideology : Marxist Leninist
2) Theory of aggravation of class struggle
Stalinism was the political system of the Soviet Union and the
countries within the Soviet sphere of influence during the leadership
of Joseph Stalin. The term usually defines the style of a government
rather than an ideology. The ideology was officially Marxism-Leninism

theory, reflecting that Stalin himself was not a theoretician, in contrast

to Marx and Lenin, and prided himself on maintaining the legacy of
Lenin as a founding father for the Soviet Union and the future Socialist
world. Stalinism is an interpretation of their ideas, and a certain
political regime claiming to apply those ideas in ways fitting the
changing needs of Soviet society, as with the transition from "socialism
at a snail's pace" in the mid-twenties to the rapid industrialization of
the Five-Year Plans.
The main contributions of Stalin to communist theory were:
The groundwork for the Soviet policy concerning nationalities,
laid in Stalin's 1913 work Marxism and the National Question,
[39]
praised by Lenin.
Socialism in One Country, stating that communists should attain
socialism in their own country as a prelude to internationalising.
The theory of aggravation of the class struggle along with the
development of socialism, a theoretical base supporting the
repression of political opponents as necessary.
The legitimacy of Stalin's claim to the role of leadership in the Soviet
Union (and thus the international communist movement as a whole) is
a matter of some debate. Advocates of Stalinism cite both Lenin's
praising of the early works of Stalin and the economic successes of the
Five-Year Plans. Opponents, however, point out that certain aspects of
Stalinism (socialism in one country, "revolutionary patriotism", etc.) are
not found in Leninism, and argue that some aspects are even
contradictory to Marxism-Leninism. Also, in Lenin's Testament, a
document written by Vladimir Lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the
first week of 1923 outlining his proposed changes to the structure of
the Soviet governing bodies, Lenin suggested "that the comrades think
about a way of removing Stalin from [the Secretary-General] post and
appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs
from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, namely, that of
being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to
the comrades, less capricious, etc." Both sides of this debate identify

as being ideologically orthodox to Leninism and criticise the other as

being "revisionist."

Libertarian socialism
Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that promote a
non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic society without private property in
themeans of production. Libertarian socialists believe in converting
present-day private productive property into common or public goods,
while retaining respect for personal property.[86] Libertarian socialism is
opposed to coercive forms of social organization. It promotes free
association in place of government and opposes the social relations of
capitalism, such as wage labor.[87] The term libertarian socialism is
used by some socialists to differentiate their philosophy from state
socialism,[88][89] and by some as a synonym for left anarchism.[90][91]
[92]
Currents within libertarian socialism include Marxist tendencies such
as left communism, council communism and autonomism, as well as
non-Marxist movements such as social
anarchism, Communalism, Participism, andInclusive Democracy.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
Democratic socialism

Modern democratic socialism is a broad political movement that seeks

to promote the ideals of socialism within the context of a democratic
system. Many democratic socialists support social democracy as a
temporary measure to reform the current system, but others support
more revolutionary tactics to establish socialism. [citation needed] Conversely,
modern social democracy emphasises a program of gradual legislative
reform of capitalism in order to make it more equitable and humane,
while the theoretical end goal of building a socialist society is either
completely forgotten or redefined in a pro-capitalist way. The two

movements are widely similar both in terminology and in ideology,

although there are a few key differences.
The major difference between social democracy and
democratic socialism is the object of their politics:
contemporary social democrats support a welfare state and
unemployment insurance as a means to "humanize" capitalism,
whereas democratic socialists seek to replace capitalism with a
socialist economic system, arguing that any attempt to "humanize"
capitalism through regulations and welfare policies would distort the
market and create economic contradictions.[93]
Democratic socialism generally refers to any political movement that
seeks to establish an economy based on economic democracy by and
for the working class. Democratic socialists oppose authoritarian
"socialists" as Stalinists and Maoists. Democratic socialism is difficult to
define, and groups of scholars have radically different definitions for
the term. Some definitions simply refer to all forms of socialism that
follow an electoral, reformist or evolutionary path to socialism, rather
than a revolutionary on
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
1) Welfare state
2) Mixed economies
3)
Social democracy is a political ideology that officially has as its goal the
establishment of democratic
socialism through reformist andgradualist methods.[95] Alternatively,
Social democracy is defined as a policy regime involving a welfare
state, collective bargainingschemes, and support for publicly financed
public services. It is often used in this manner to refer to the social
models and economic policies prominent in Western and Northern
Europe during the later half of the 20th century.[96][97] It has been
described by Jerry Manderas hybrid economics, an active
collaboration of capitalist and socialist visions, and, while such systems
aren't perfect, they tend to provide high standards of living. [98]

Social democrats advocate for a peaceful, evolutionary transition of the

economy to socialism through progressive social reform ofcapitalism.[99]
[100]
It asserts that the only acceptable constitutional form of
government is representative democracy under the rule of law.[101] It
promotes extending democratic decision-making beyond political
democracy to include economic democracy to guarantee employees
and other economic stakeholders sufficient rights of co-determination.
[101]
It supports a mixed economy that opposes the excesses of
capitalism such asinequality, poverty, and oppression of various
groups, while rejecting both a totally free market or a fullyplanned
economy.[102] Common social democratic policies include advocacy of
universal social rights to attain universally accessible public
services such as education, health care, workers' compensation, and
other services, including child care and care for the elderly.[103] Social
democracy is connected with thetrade union labour movement and
supports collective bargaining rights for workers.[104] Most social
democratic parties are affiliated with the Socialist International.

SOCIALISM
1) Social ownership of means of production
2)
Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of
the means of production and co-operative management of the
economy.[1] "Social ownership" may refer
tocooperative enterprises, common ownership, state ownership, citizen
ownership of equity, or any combination of these. [2] There are many
varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all
of them.[3] They differ in the type of social ownership they advocate,
the degree to which they rely on marketsor planning, how
management is to be organised within productive institutions, and the
role of the state in constructing socialism.[4]
A socialist economic system consists of a system of production and
distribution organised to directly satisfy economic demands and human
needs, so that goods and services are produced directly for use instead

of for private profit driven by the accumulation of capital.[5] Accounting

is based on physical quantities, a common physical magnitude, or a
direct measure of labour-time in place of financial calculation.[6]
[7]
Distribution is based on the principle to each according to his
contribution. Marxist theory holds that the development of the socialist
mode of production will give rise to acommunist society, in
which classes and the state are no longer present, there is access
abundance to final goods, and thus distribution is based on to each
according to his need.
As a political movement, socialism includes a diverse array of political
philosophies, ranging fromreformism to revolutionary socialism.
Proponents of state socialism advocate the nationalisation of the
means of production, distribution and exchange as a strategy for
implementing socialism. In contrast,libertarian socialism opposes the
use of state power to achieve such an arrangement, opposing both
parliamentary politics and state ownership.[8] Democratic
socialism seeks to establish socialism through democratic processes
and propagate its ideals within the context of a democratic political
system.
Modern socialism originated from an 18th-century intellectual
and working class political movement that criticised the effects
of industrialisation and private property on society. In the early 19thcentury, "socialism" referred to any concern for the social problems of
capitalism irrespective of the solutions to those problems. However, by
the late 19th-century, "socialism" had come to signify opposition to
capitalism and advocacy for an alternative system based on some form
of social ownership.[9] Marxists expanded further on this, attributing
scientific assessment and democratic planning as critical elements of
socialism.[10]
COMMUNISM
1) Classless
2) Common ownership of means of production
Communism (from Latin communis common, universal) is
asocialist movement to create a classless, moneyless,[1]

andstateless social order structured upon common ownership of

themeans of production, as well as
a social, political and economicideology that aims at the establishment
of this social order.[3] This movement, in its Marxist
Leninist interpretations, significantly influenced the history of the 20th
century, which saw intense rivalry between the "socialist world"
(socialist states ruled by communist parties) and the "Western world"
(countries with capitalist economies).[4]
[2]

According to Marxist theory, higher-phase communism is a specific

stage of historical development that inevitably emerges from the
development of the productive forces that leads to excess
abundance of final goods, allowing for distribution based on needand
social relations based on freely associated individuals.[5][6]Marxist
theory holds that the lower-phase of communism, colloquially referred
to as socialism, being the new society established after the overthrow
of capitalism, is a transitional stage in human social evolution and will
give rise to a fully communist society, in which remuneration and
the division of labor are no longer present.Leninism adds to Marxism
the organisational principle of the vanguard party to lead
the proletarianrevolution and to secure all political power after the
revolution for the working class, for the development of universal class
consciousness and worker participation, in the transitional stage
between capitalism and communism.
Council communists and non-Marxist libertarian
communists and anarcho-communists oppose the ideas of a vanguard
party and a transition stage, and advocate for full communism to begin
immediately upon the abolition of capitalism. There is a very wide
range of theories amongst those particular communists in regards to
how to build the types of institutions that would replace the various
economic engines (such as food distribution, education, and hospitals)
as they exist under capitalist systemsor even whether to do so at all.
Some of these communists have specific plans for the types of
administrative bodies that would replace the current ones, while
always qualifying that these bodies would be decentralised and workerowned, just as they currently are within the activist movements
themselves.

In the modern lexicon of what many sociologists and political

commentators refer to as the "political mainstream", communism is
often used to refer to the policies of communist states, i.e., the ones
totally controlled by communist parties, regardless of the practical
content of the actual economic system over which they may preside.
Examples of this include the policies of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam where the economic system incorporates "doi moi" and
the People's Republic of China (PRC) where the economic system
incorporates "socialist market economy".
MERCANTILISM
Mercantilism is a nationalist form of early capitalism that came into
existence approximately in the late 16th century. It is characterized by
the intertwining of national business interests to state-interest and
imperialism, and consequently, the state apparatus is utilized to
advance national business interests abroad. An example of this is
colonists living in America who were only allowed to trade with and
purchase goods from their respective mother countries (Britain, France,
etc.). Mercantilism holds that the wealth of a nation is increased
through a positive balance of trade with other nations, and corresponds
to the phase of capitalist development called the Primitive
accumulation of capital.
Social-market economy[edit]
Main articles: Social market and Nordic model
A social-market economy is a nominally free-market system where
government intervention in price formation is kept to a minimum but
the state provides significant services in the area of social security,
unemployment benefits and recognition of labor rights through
national collective bargaining arrangements. This model is prominent
in Western and Northern European countries, and Japan, albeit in
slightly different configurations. The vast majority of enterprises are
privately owned in this economic model.

Rhine capitalism refers to the contemporary model of capitalism and

adaptation of the social market model that exists in continental
Western Europe today.
State capitalism[edit]
Main article: State capitalism
State capitalism consists of state ownership of the means of production
within a state, and the organization of state enterprises as commercial,
profit-seeking businesses. The debate between proponents of private
versus state capitalism is centered around questions of managerial
efficacy, productive efficiency, and fair distribution of wealth.
Capitalism is an economic system in which trade, industry and
themeans of production are controlled by private owners with the goal
of making profits in a market economy.[1][2] Central characteristics of
capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets andwage
labor.[3] In a capitalist economy, the parties to a transaction typically
determine the prices at which assets, goods, and services
are exchanged.[4]
The degree of competition, role of intervention and regulation, and
scope of public ownership varies across different models of capitalism.
[5]
Economists, political economists, and historians have taken different
perspectives in their analysis of capitalism and recognized various
forms of it in practice. These include laissez-faire capitalism, welfare
capitalism and state capitalism; each highlighting varying degrees of
dependency on markets, public ownership, and inclusion of social
policies. The extent to which different markets are free, as well as the
rules defining private property, is a matter of politics and policy. Many
states have what are termed capitalist mixed economies, referring to a
mix betweenplanned and market-driven elements.[6] A pejorative
characterization, crony capitalism, refers to a state of affairs in which
insider corruption, nepotism and cartels dominate the system. This is
considered to be the normal state of mature capitalism in Marxian
economics.

Capitalism has existed under many forms of government, in many

different times, places, and cultures.[7] Following the demise
offeudalism, capitalism became the dominant economic system in
theWestern world. Later, in the 20th century, capitalism overcame a
challenge by centrally-planned economies and is now the dominant
system worldwide,[8][9] with the mixed economy being its dominant
form in the industrialized Western world.
Different economic perspectives emphasize specific elements of
capitalism in their preferred definition. Laissezfaire and liberaleconomists emphasize the degree to
which government does not have control over markets and the
importance of property rights.[10][11] Neoclassical and Keynesian macroeconomists emphasize the need for government regulation to
preventmonopolies and to soften the effects of the boom and
bust cycle.[12]Marxian economists emphasize the role of capital
accumulation,exploitation and wage labour. Most political economists
emphasize private property as well, in addition to power relations,
wage labour,class, and the uniqueness of capitalism as a historical
formation.[6]
Proponents of capitalism argue that it creates more prosperity than any
other economic system, and that its benefits are mainly to the ordinary
person.[13] Critics of capitalism variously associate it with economic
instability[14] and an inability to provide for the well-being of all people.
[15]
In contrast to both perspectives, socialists maintain that capitalism
is superior to all previously existing economic systems (such as
feudalism or slavery) but that a new form of economic organization,
superior to capitalism, is possible or likely to emerge in the near future.
[16]

The term capitalism, in its modern sense, is often attributed to Karl

Marx.[7][17] In his magnum opus Capital, Marx wrote of the "capitalist
mode of production" and revealed its laws of functioning using a
method of understanding today known as Marxism. However, Marx
rarely used the term "capitalism", although it was used twice in the
more political interpretations of his work, which were primarily
authored by his collaborator Friedrich Engels. In the 20th century

defenders of the capitalist system often replaced the

termcapitalism with phrases such as free enterprise and private
enterprise and replaced capitalist with rentier and investor in reaction
to the negative connotations sometimes associated with capitalism. [18]