Written by Communism is a political and economic arrangement in which there is collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange.
It is a political or economic ideology in which people believe in common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange.
In a communist society, private ownership of the means of production is not allowed.
Also, the community collectively owns the property and the means of production for the benefit of all.
Another common feature of communist societies is that they are usually classless, and stateless.
Also, the means of production in these societies are usually controlled by the community.
Examples of communist states are China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba.
Features of Communism
1. Collective ownership: This is one of the most distinctive features of communism.
The means of production, distribution, and exchange in communism are collectively owned for the benefit of all and society.
That is, land, factories and resources are collectively owned for the common good.
2. Classless society: The goal of communism is to establish a society in which there is no discrimination between the rich and the poor.
It aims to create social equality by eliminating the gap between the rich and the poor.
3. Equitable distribution of wealth: In communism, social and economic inequality is eliminated by distributing resources and wealth equally among community members.
Indeed, the whole idea of collective ownership, as emphasized by communism, is to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth and resources in a way that improves the social and economic welfare of citizens.
4. Abolishment of private ownership: Communism entails the collective ownership of the means of production and properties.
Therefore, in a communist society, private ownership of the means of production is prohibited.
5. Central planning: The economy of a communist state is planned by a central planning agency or the government itself.
The central planning agency will oversee the economy and decide what should be produced, how it should be produced, and how it should be distributed.
6. Common good objective: The profit motive objective is replaced by the common good objective in communism.
In a communist society, decisions about the use and distribution of resources are made with the goal of advancing the social and economic welfare of the community as a whole.
As a result, in communism, the common good is a goal that is pursued for the benefit of all community members.
7. One-party system: In practice, most communists state usually have a one-party system, in which a single political party hold monopoly on political power and controls the government unchallenged by another party.
The justification for a one-party system in communist societies is that communism is a revolutionary process which requires a strong party to continuously hold power so that it can advance communist values.
It has been argued that if a multi-party exist in communism, there may be frequent change in political parties, which could affect communism because every political party has its own political ideology.
Therefore, communist states typically have a one-party system for the reason of continuity.
Advantages of Communism
1. Economic equality: There is a high level of economic equality in communism because everyone shares in the wealth and resources of the community.
Indeed, the equitable distribution of wealth in communism usually leads to a reduction in poverty and a reduction in inequality.
2. Abolition of class exploitation: Private ownership of the means of production is completely abolished in communism.
As a result, the possibility of the rich exploiting the poor is completely reduced in communism.
3. Maximizes social welfare: Unlike capitalism which maximizes profit, communism seeks to maximize social welfare by ensuring that all citizens have equal access to resources and social benefits
Everyone in society has equal access to social amenities like education and healthcare facilities since communism does not discriminate between the rich and the poor.
4. Centrally planned economy: In a communist state, a central agency or the government plans for the economy.
Communism allows the government to plan for both the short-term and long-term infrastructural developments of the state.
Disadvantages of Communism
1. Lack of incentives to work hard: n a communist society, everyone shares in the benefits of labour, regardless of each individual effort towards the production of goods and services.
As a result, there are no financial incentives to work hard because it is impossible for an individual to become wealthy via their own efforts.
2. Suppression of individual rights: This is one of the inherent disadvantages of Communism.
Most communist regimes have been characterized by the suppression of the individual rights of members of society.
The explanation for this seems plausible. In a bid to achieve its goal, the government may need to exercise a high level of control over the economy and society, potentially leading to the suppression of individual freedoms and rights.
Therefore, the rights of citizens are often suppressed in communist states in order to achieve the common goals of the state.
3. Inefficient resource allocation: Under communism, the laws of supply and demand do not guide how resources are distributed.
Resource allocation in a communist state is usually centrally planned by a central authority.
However, the central authority might not have all the information required to allocate resources efficiently.
As a result, they may allocate too many resources to the production of one good and too few resources to the production of other important goods.
So, central planning in communism has the potential to result in inefficient allocation of productive resources.
Indeed, the inefficient allocation of resources in communism can lead to the emergence of black markets, where citizens can produce and sell goods that that are not sufficiently produced by the state.
4. Lack of political opposition and authoritative tendencies: Communist regimes are notorious for anti-opposition practices.
Communist states usually have a one-party system with the ruling government often governing the state like an authoritative government.
In most communist states, political opposition of any form is not tolerated as the government is notorious for employing threats against the opposition.
Freedom of the press is practically nonexistent as the communist government hold firm control over the press and censor the activities of the pressmen.
