Communist Theory

CENTRO ESCOLAR UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE – JD1A
Table of Contents

 A. Karl Marx
 The Communist Manifesto / Das Kapital
 B. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin
 The Right of Nations to Self-Determination
 C. Mikhail Gorbachev
 Perestroika
 D. Mao Ze Dong (Mao Tse Tung)
 Law of Contradictions, The Great Leap
 E. Kim Jung Il
 Juche (Socialism centered of the Masses)
 The Political Philosophy of Juche by Grace Lee
A. Karl Marx
• Born in Germany in 1818 and Died in
London in 1883
• The Father of Marxism / Communism
• Marxism is known as the “Conflict
Theory”
• Society is in conflict with each other
and Marxism claims that this conflict is
between the Rich and the Poor.
• Marxism is a Political and Economic
Philosophy
A. Karl Marx
Capitalism v Communism
 Capitalism – Marx described capitalism as a type of society an economic
system based on private ownership and the means of production.
 The Corporations are not owned by those who work for them, the employees nor
jointly, but by the owners only.
 The Rich get richer and the Poor gets poorer.
 Communism - Marx described this as a socioeconomic order structured
upon the common ownership of the means of production and the absence
of social classes, money.
 To put the working class in power and in turn establish social ownership of the
means of production, which according to this analysis is the primary element in
the transformation of society towards communism
B P
O R
U O
R L
G The E
Communism
Capitalists Bourgeoisie
E T
Hegemonic The Working
O Class
V. Class A
I The Exploiter The Exploited R
S Lives for more The Lives to work I
Profit (Rich( (Poor)
I Proletariat A
E T
A. Karl Marx
The Communist Manifesto
 1848 political pamphlet by the German philosophers
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
 Argues that class struggles, or the exploitation of one
class by another, are the motivating force behind all
historical developments.
 Class relationships are defined by an era's means of
production. However, eventually these relationships
cease to be compatible with the developing forces
of production. At this point, a revolution occurs and a
new class emerges as the ruling one.
A. Karl Marx
The Communist Manifesto
A. Karl Marx
Das Kapital (The Capital)
 One of the major works of the 19th-century economist and
philosopher Karl Marx
 Expounded his theory of the capitalist system, its dynamism,
and its tendencies toward self-destruction.
 “capitalist class becomes unfit to rule, because it is
incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his
slavery.” - the capitalist system collapses, and the working
class inherits economic and political power.
Germany Today
The Influence of Karl Marx Today

https://www.dw.com/en/karl-marx-
statue-unveiled-in-trier-for-200-
anniversary-celebrations/a-43674334
Germany Today
Germany Today
Germany Today
Germany Today
Germany Today
B. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin
 Born April 10, 1870, Simbirsk, Russia
 Founder of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
 Inspirer and leader of the Bolshevik Revolution (1917),
and the architect, builder, and first head (1917–24) of
the Soviet state
 Widely considered one of the most significant and
influential figures of the 20th century being a
champion of socialism and working class
 Wrote the book in 1914 entitled “The Right Nations to
Self Determination”.
B. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin
“The Right Nations to Self Determination”
 “An immediate peace without annexations or indemnities and the
right of the peoples to self-determination.”
 The right of nations to self-determination means only the right to
independence in a political sense, the right to free, political
secession from the oppressing nation.
 political, democratic demand implies complete freedom to carry
on agitation in favour of secession, and freedom to settle the
question of secession by means of a referendum of the nation that
desires to secede.
C. Mikhail Gorbachev
 Mikhail Gorbachev was the first president of the Soviet
Union
 He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his
leadership role in ending the Cold War and promoting
peaceful international relations.
 By providing more freedom and democracy to
Soviets, he strove toward “glasnost” and “perestroika,”
openness and restructure
 Worked toward establishing a market economy that
was more socially oriented. Gorbachev’s reforms were
also geared toward increasing productivity and
reducing waste.
C. Mikhail Gorbachev
Perestroika
 Perestroika refers to the reconstruction of the political and
economic system established by the Communist Party
 Politically, contested elections were introduced to reflect the
democratic practices of Western society and allow citizens to have
a slight say in government.
 Economically, Perestroika called for de-monopolization and some
semi-private businesses to function, ending the price controls
established by the government for the past seven decades.
 Short Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlgUiVg5ceU
Russia Today
D. Mao Ze Dong (Mao Tse Tung)
Law of Contradictions, The Great Leap
 Born on 26 December 1983, Shaoshan, Xiangtan,
China
 Mao was a Chinese communist leader and founder of
the People's Republic of China
 He was responsible for the policies of the 'Great Leap
Forward' and the 'Cultural Revolution'.
 Mao is generally credited with uniting the country of
China and making it a significant power in the 20th
century. However, he did this at the cost of millions
and millions of lives.
 Died on 9 September 1976
D. Mao Ze Dong (Mao Tse Tung)
The Great Leap
 An economic and social campaign by the
Communist Party of China (CPC) from 1958 to 1962.
 Transform the country from an agrarian economy
into a socialist society through rapid
industrialization and collectivization.
 Private farming was prohibited, and those
engaged in it were persecuted and labeled
counter-revolutionaries
 Commonly considered to have caused the Great
Chinese Famine. Widely regarded by historians that
The Great Leap resulted in tens of millions of
deaths.
D. Mao Ze Dong (Mao Tse Tung)
The Law of Contradictions
 The interdependence of the contradictory aspects
present In all things and the struggle between
these aspects determine the life of all things and
push their development forward.
 There is nothing that does not contain
contradiction; without contradiction nothing would
exist
 Contradiction is the basis of the simple forms of
motion (for instance, mechanical motion) and still
more so of the complex forms of motion.
 Contradiction is universal and absolute, it is present
in the process of development of all things and
permeates every process from beginning to end.
China Today
E. Kim Jung Il

 Born on 16 February 1941, Russia

 Kim Jong-il was the second Supreme Leader of North
Korea.
 General Secretary of the Workers' Party and
Chairman of the National Defense Commission, which
was declared the highest office of the state
 An unelected dictator and was often accused of
human rights violations
 Kim Jong-il was the focus of an elaborate personality
cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK,
Kim Il-sung.
 Died on 17 December 2011
E. Kim Jung Il
Juche (Socialism centered of the Masses)
 The Juche Idea is not a religion, but an ideology.
 The official ideology of North Korea and the political system that is based
on it. Free religious activity no longer exists.
 Three fundamental principles of Juche: chaju, or independence in politics;
charip (self-sustenance in the economy) and chawi, or self-defense in
national defense.
 The Juche ideology emphasizes North Korea's political, economic, and
military self-reliance. It became the state ideology and sole guiding
principle of the government following the rise of a one-party communist
state in the country following World War II.
 Juche asserts that the individual is the master of one’s destiny and
encourages North Koreans to work as masters of revolution and
construction.
E. Kim Jung Il
Juche (Socialism centered of the Masses)
 Application of Juche in state policy includes the following:
 1. The people must have independence (chajusong) in thought and politics,
economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.
 2. Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully
in revolution and construction.
 3. Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the
country.
 4. The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people
ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.
E. Kim Jung Il
The Political Philosophy of Juche by Grace Lee

 Key Components of the Juche Ideology

 Origins of the Juche Philosophy
 Instrumental Perspective
 Traditional Political Culture
 Individualism
 Philosophical Underpinnings of Juche
Ideology
 Debt to Maoist Thought
 Korean and Confucian Roots
North Korea Today