What is communism? What is communism? Its definition, moral code, ideas, principles Stages of communism

People who grew up and received an education in the Soviet years do not need to be explained what communism is. This is such a socio-economic formation, in which everyone seeks to do everything he can for society, and at the same time receives all the material and spiritual benefits that he wishes. For 74 years, a large-scale experiment took place in our country, the purpose of which was to build a society of universal equality. Similar attempts have been made in many other countries.

Marxism as a Science

The practical construction of communism began immediately after October 1917 (old style). Prior to this, a theoretical study of methods and goals was carried out, it continued during the years of the dominance of the world's most advanced ideology. In the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" (1848), composed by Marx and Engels, all the injustices of the capitalist system were listed in detail, and the method of combating them was indicated. The leading role in this process was assigned to the proletariat, as the most class-conscious and united class. Subsequently, Marxism itself became a subject of study, at first a few adherents, and then, after the revolution, and entire institutions understood the intricacies of the "science of all sciences." In universities, students were taught scientific communism. This was supposed to bring closer the bright moment of achieving universal justice, after which there is nowhere to move.

Was it already?

But once, at the dawn of mankind, he already existed. In prehistoric tribes, everyone enjoyed equal rights, the leader was elected in a completely central-democratic way, sought to survive together, and divided the spoils according to needs. Such a social structure was designated by the historical-sociological term “ primitive communism". This did not mean that one should return to the era of stone axes and cave life, on the contrary, the fact of the existence of such a system in the past corrected with Hegelian dialectics in the aspect of the “spiral of development”. If people have already lived once, distributing benefits together and fairly, what can prevent the establishment of such orders at a different, higher level of science, technology and technology? This is how the first Marxists reasoned. Perhaps they somewhat idealized the primitive communal system.

Phases of communism

Humanity, according to Marx and his followers, changed different formations in a certain sequence in the course of its development. Capitalism came to replace feudalism, monarchies were supplanted by republican rule, and then the proletariat inevitably emerged. After the emergence of the working class, the bourgeoisie was already doomed, it itself raised its own executioners and gravediggers. Then the turn came socialist revolution, under which, as the Marxist V.I.Ulyanov (aka Lenin) defined, the unwillingness to live in the old way of the lower classes entered into a kind of resonance with the impossibility of the upper classes to maintain the status quo. But communism could not come immediately. This was hampered by many inertial phenomena, namely, private ownership instincts, backward national identity and even the institution of the family. For general socialization it was necessary to overcome all these atavisms. And the production base must be created so that everyone and everything can be given away for free. In general, for subsequent generations, a task was formulated, called the "triune" (IV Stalin, "Questions of Leninism", 1930). And the period of its implementation is called socialism, after which communism was to come directly. This time was somewhat delayed.

There is also a military

The revolutionary phenomena were accompanied by devastation. This word means mass death of people and their property. Since market self-regulation ceased to function due to the destruction of the economic foundations of Russia, the new authorities began to pursue a policy of war communism. This meant that all the material goods and human resources available at that time were at the disposal of the proletarian state, the organs of which carried out their distribution. Trade was prohibited and declared speculation, all citizens were obliged to work forcibly, receiving a standard ration (there were others for the leadership, according to categories). Money as such has lost not only a payment function, but also all meaning, however, temporarily. The peasants were subjected to a food appropriation, in other words, everything was taken from them. During the Civil War of 1918-1921, according to the authors of the book "History of the CPSU", it was precisely the policy of war communism that was needed. This monstrous time ended after the Kronstadt uprising. Then the NEP was introduced.

Old new politics as a temporary departure

In fact, there was nothing new in the New Economic Policy. Allowing a limited private initiative under the slogan "Get rich!" became a forced measure designed to "let off the accumulated steam" of the popular indignation that threatened the very existence of Soviet power. At the same time, the creation of an industrial and energy base continued for the further spread of Marxism to all new countries. The leaders of the RSFSR, and after 1922 the USSR, realized that as long as the capitalist encirclement existed, it was impossible to build communism. This provision was recorded in many party documents. There were only two options. Either the capitalists of all countries will unite and suppress the shoots of a new society in a single country, or vice versa, socialism will triumph. In any case, war was inevitable.

To the current generation

Communism has been given many definitions. To Lenin's formula "communism is Soviet power plus electrification" in the fifties, the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee NS Khrushchev added another term, chemicalization. By that time, the world socialist system had already been created, which united many countries on different continents, the victory over Nazi Germany and its allies was won, significant achievements in the field of space research and arts were demonstrated, and socialism was declared finally built. Communism is the highest phase in the development of social relations. The end of its construction was announced at the XXII Congress of the CPSU and even named the approximate date of the offensive. The “current generation” was in 1980. But communism never came.

Triune task

The number "3" has always been in our special account. Three heroes, the father had three sons, Far-away kingdom, the Holy Trinity ... Theorists of scientific communism did not pass her attention either. The task of building a fundamentally new society consisted of three equally important points. First, about the earthly. While the inhabitants of the socialist camp compared their life with the living conditions of working people in developed capital countries (they did not want to be with the backward ones) and complained about the constant shortage of many goods, low wages and miserable pensions, it was only possible to broadcast about some advantages (and they, by the way, were) from the high stands. In a sense, the policy of War Communism is the first attempt, at the expense of incredible efforts, to overcome the decline in production that arose after the Civil War. And without the successful development of the material base, it is impossible to talk about progress at all. This time.

The second part of the triune task was to create some kind of special relationship in society, in which the very idea of the possibility of mutual exploitation would be repugnant to all its members. And if the development of the material sphere seemed problematic, then the socio-economic aspect was much more complicated.

And the third, the main problem looked the most difficult. A new person was needed. And where to get it, if everyone around, even very young, is still hopelessly old? The communists had the answer to this question: "Educate!" We developed pedagogical methods and defended dissertations. Did not work out.

Was it possible?

And today there is an opinion that the idea itself is not bad, one might say, good, but its implementation is unsuccessful. Now, if in 1937 the Leninist guard had not been exterminated, or there was no war, or Khrushchev would not have planted corn in the Arctic, or Trotsky would have taken the helm ... But Lev Davydovich had his own ideas about what a proletarian state should be, and in comparison, the Stalinist methods look very benign. So, in particular, he suggested that the entire population of the country be attracted to work in labor armies, that is, in fact, until the complete victory of the world revolution, to support permanent war communism in the country.

This definition is quite suitable for the actions of Pol Pot, and Mao, and Enver Hoxha, and many other figures who went down in history as outstanding fanatics. There were also milder regimes, with "human faces", but the more they softened, the more they moved away from the cherished goal, becoming ordinary revisionists. After all, the main thing that distinguishes a real communist is a complete rejection of private ownership of the means of production. In today's "red" China, there are hundreds of thousands of private enterprises ...

The main ideas of communism took shape by the middle of the 19th century. The doctrine developed by Karl Marx was intended to become an alternative to traditional liberalism and conservatism. This became possible due to the rapid growth in the number of wage workers, which determined a new structure of society: the capitalists began to oppose the class of the industrial proletariat.

Background

A feature of the mentality of the first proletarians was the lack of political culture and serious education, so the propaganda of sufficiently radical communist ideas was not a difficult task. German émigrés were at the forefront of secret societies developing new ideas. In 1834, the Union of Exiles appeared in Paris, an organization calling for a violent change in the political structure. The "Union of Exiles" and the "Union of the Just" that arose after its defeat by the authorities suggested using the services of marginal strata of society - bandits, thieves and vagabonds - to achieve their goals. In 1839, members of the Union of Justice tried to stage an armed uprising, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Some members of the society managed to avoid arrest and moved to London, where in 1847 the "Union of Communists" was created, headed by Marx and Engels.

"Communist Manifesto"

The first program documents of the new organization quite clearly demonstrated the direction of the thoughts of the communists. The charter of the union also sounded the basic idea of communism in the 19th century: the proletarian revolution, which will put an end to the industrialists-exploiters, is inevitable. In the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" that appeared soon, it was emphasized that the overthrow of the previous system would be violent, and that the dictatorship of the proletariat would be established upon the coming of the Communists to power.

Thus, the essence of the idea of communism was not to smooth out the contradictions between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but to escalate them. The reason is simple: without the growth of social tension, the idea of a communist revolution would be unclaimed.

Basic principles and ideas of communism

Outwardly, the constructions of Marx and Engels painted a utopian picture of the future, in which injustice is forever done away with, and each person will be involved in governing the state and redistributing income on a just equalizing basis. This was supposed to be achieved as follows:

all forms and types of property will be in common use;
destruction of private property and any form of dependence;
creation of a system of social relations based on the class approach;
upbringing of a new type of person, whose moral attitudes towards selfless work will replace the previous material interest;
prevalence of public interests over personal;
implementation of the principle of equality of results as opposed to liberal equality of opportunity;
merging of the state and the communist party.

Labor organization principles

First of all, Marx was an economist, so he could not help but think about creating a new exchange equivalent to replace money, which also had to be withdrawn from the life of society. The main ideas of communism also include the creation of labor detachments, in which every person, without exception, was obliged to be a member. To avoid the accumulation of property in the same hands, it was supposed to abolish the right to transfer property by inheritance. The satisfaction of the basic needs of society would be transferred to the party-state, which, on the basis of central planning, would establish consumption rates ("from each according to his possibilities, to each according to his needs").

Logistics and banking were to play an important role in the life of the new type of state. This problem was also solved in line with the political and legal ideas of early communism: all means of transport and communications were to come under the control of the party-state, like all banks. Rent deductions for the use of land were withdrawn from the hands of their previous owners and sent to the state budget. All these measures, according to the thought of Marx and Engels, were to constitute the content of the period of transition to socialism.

Social aspect

One of the main ideas of communism is the creation of a new type of man. The state party was supposed to take over control of education. It was supposed to teach the younger generation free of charge. Serious attention was paid to the ideological training of young people. All young men and women had to accept the basic ideas of communism and scientific socialism, carefully follow them in everyday life. Religion - as a system of views opposing communism - had to be expelled from the spiritual sphere of society.

Eliminating inequality also implied a gradual blurring of distinctions between town and country. However, it was planned to carry out this in a peculiar way: agriculture, managed from the center, was supposed to meet the needs of industrial enterprises.

Destructive elements of the theory

Communism was born in a tough confrontation with other theories of social development, especially with liberalism. If the liberals assumed that every individual is free, and his behavior is reasonable, then communism was based on the need to inject revolutionary ideas into society. The proletariat and the peasantry did not appear to the ideologues of communism to be sufficiently conscious.

This led to the conclusion that the communists' educational work could be sabotaged by their opponents. In practice, this turned into a search for the enemy. All carriers of a different ideology, especially foreigners, unconditionally fell into this category. The communist theory of educating young people in practice is reduced to memorizing the basic postulates of teaching without critical consideration. Hence the rejection of religion from the very first days of the existence of the doctrine: in essence, communism imposed a new faith on people, and in order to consolidate this position it completely dissolved the individual in society.

The first attempt to implement the basic ideas of communism was made in Russia. Although Marx himself was skeptical about the possibility of a communist revolution in Russia, history decreed otherwise. At present, the term "Marxism-Leninism" is used to denote the ideology established in the USSR, but the ideas of Marx rather than Lenin lay at the basis of the political practice of the young Soviet Republic.

The First World War and the Civil War resulted in a complete regression of the productive forces. The declassified and demoralized society turned out to be incapable of productive activity. Meanwhile, the new state needed funds to protect sovereignty in the face of possible expansion from Germany and the Entente, as well as to fight the white movement. At first, the Soviet government tried to adhere to orthodox Marxism: it published diplomatic documents Russian Empire with the aim of discrediting imperialism, she refused to pay debts, citing the abolition of commodity-money relations, etc. But already in April 1918 the inconsistency of such a course became obvious.

War communism

For many historians, there is a rather complex problem: was War Communism an idea or a necessity? On the one hand, this was an attempt to prevent complete collapse economics, on the other hand, war communism was a doctrine that continued the theory of Marx and Engels. There is also a third position: there is no reason to link the regime that was established in Russia after the revolution and orthodox communism. According to these researchers, we are talking only about the natural necessity of the society of the period of mass devastation to organize itself into a commune.

Researchers of the third group, as a rule, do not take into account the ideological component. According to the theory of orthodox communism, the revolution must spread from one country to the whole world, since the proletariat is everywhere an oppressed and disenfranchised class. Therefore, one of the goals of the policy of War Communism was to create a regime that would allow the Soviet state to hold out in a hostile environment until the start of the world revolution.

Scientific communism

The theory turned out to be wrong. After realizing this fact Soviet leadership moved on to building socialism in a single country. Particular attention was again paid to ideology. The teachings of Marx and Engels, and later Lenin, began to be perceived as a scientific discipline, without the study of which Soviet people could not exist. The authors of the idea of scientific communism developed their own methodology of analysis, which, in their opinion, worked in any branch of science - both in history and in biology or linguistics. Dialectics and historical materialism became the basis of scientific communism.

Since the USSR was for a long time the only country in which the communist revolution took place, it was the Soviet experience that was put at the forefront. An essential part of the theory of scientific communism was Lenin's teaching on the technology of carrying out the proletarian revolution.

Communism and socialism

As already indicated, communism from the very first days of its existence sharply opposed the rest of the teachings about the development of society. Utopian socialism was no exception. Theorists of communism pointed out that it was only on the basis of their teachings that it was possible to combine the labor movement and the basic postulates of socialism. A particularly negative attitude of communist ideologists caused the absence in the ideological platform of socialism of the provision about the inevitability of a socialist revolution. In fact, the authors of the theory of communism from the very beginning carried out the idea that it was their teaching that was the only true one.

The meaning of the ideas of communism

Despite all the distortions and mistakes in the application of the teachings of Marx and Engels in practice, the basic ideas of communism had a fairly significant positive impact on the development of social thought. It is from there that the idea of the need for a socially oriented state that is capable of protecting the oppressed strata of society from the arbitrariness of those in power comes, to give guarantees of a tolerable existence and provide an opportunity for self-realization. Many ideas of orthodox communism were accepted by the Social Democrats and implemented in the political practice of many states, indicating the possibilities for a balanced development of the socio-economic sphere of life.

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What is Communism

Communism is utopian philosophical idea about the ideal economic and social arrangement of the state, where equality and justice flourish. In practice, this idea turned out to be unviable and unrealizable for many reasons.

What is Communism in simple words - briefly.

In simple words, communism is the idea of creating a society in which people will be provided with everything they need, regardless of their capabilities. Ideally, under the communist system, there should not have been a poor and rich class, and all the country's resources should be equally distributed among all citizens equally. In this scheme, there is no private property as such, and all people work to create the common good. Naturally, this ideology belongs to the category of utopian by virtue of the nature of man himself.

The essence of communism.

Before you begin to understand the essence of communism, you should understand the fact that the original idea and its practical implementation are completely different things. If the idea itself, in principle, can be called completely idealistic, then the way of its implementation, obviously, cannot be called that. Thus, this expensive and large-scale social experiment to build an ideal society consisted in a complete reformation of power and strengthening the role of the state. The implementation of the plan included such items as:

Abolition of private property;
Cancellation of inheritance rights;
Confiscation of property;
Heavy progressive income tax;
Creation of the only state bank;
Government ownership of communications and transport;
Government ownership of factories and agriculture;
State control of labor;
Corporate farms (collective farms) and regional planning;
State control over education.

As can be seen from this, it is far from complete list reforms, civil society was limited in many rights, and the state took control of almost all aspects human life... From this we can conclude that, despite the declared lofty ideals, the essence of communism was the transformation of citizens into a weak-willed population under the control of the state.

Who invented communism. The origin of the theory of communism and basic principles.

Karl Marx, a Prussian sociologist, philosopher, economist and journalist, is considered the father of communism. In collaboration with Friedrich Engels, Marx published several works, including the most famous one under the title - "Communist" (1848). According to Marx, a utopian society will be achieved only when there is a single "civilian" and classless society. He even described three stages of action to achieve this state.

First, a revolution is needed to overthrow the existing regime and completely eradicate the old system.
Secondly, he must come to power and act as a single body on all issues, including the personal affairs of the public. Then the dictator will be responsible for making everyone follow the ideals of communism, and also to ensure that property or property is not privately owned.
The last stage would be the achievement of a utopian state (although this stage was never achieved). As a result, the highest equality would be achieved, and everyone would willingly share their wealth and benefits with others in society.

According to Marx, in an ideal communist society, the banking system will be centralized, the government will control education and labor. All infrastructure facilities, agricultural facilities and industries will be state-owned. Private property and inheritance rights will be abolished, and large income taxes will be levied on all.

Lenin's Role in Building Communism and War Communism.

At a time when many countries of the world were shifting towards democracy, Russia was still a monarchy, where the tsar held all power. In addition, the First World War led to great economic losses for the country and the people. Thus, the king, who continued to live in luxury, became an extremely unpopular character among the common people.

All this tension and chaos led to the February Revolution on February 19, when the workers closed factory and the soldiers in mutiny together raised slogans against the unjust regime. The revolution spread like wildfire and forced the king to abdicate. The quickly formed Provisional Government of Russia has now replaced the monarch.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Russia, Vladimir Lenin, with the help of Leon Trotsky, formed the Bolshevik pro-communist "party". As the Russian Provisional Government continued to support the war effort during World War I, it also became unpopular with the masses. This sparked the Bolshevik Revolution, which helped Lenin overthrow the government and take over the Winter Palace. Between 1917 and 1920, Lenin initiated "War Communism" to secure his political goals.

Extreme measures were used to establish communism in Russia, which marked the beginning civil war(1918-1922). After that, the USSR was created, which included Russia and 15 neighboring countries.

Communist leaders and their policies.

To establish communism in the USSR, the leaders did not disdain absolutely any methods. The tools Lenin used to achieve his goals included man-made famines, slave labor camps, and the execution of detractors of power during the Red Terror. Holodomors were provoked by forcing peasants to sell their crops without profit, which in turn affected agriculture. Slave labor camps were places to punish those who disagreed with Lenin's rule. Millions of people died in such camps. During the Red Terror, the voices of innocent civilians, White Army prisoners of war and supporters of Tsarism were drowned out by massacres. In fact, it was its own people.

After Lenin's death in 1924, his successor, Joseph Stalin, followed the policy set by Lenin, but also took a step forward by securing the execution of his communist comrades who did not support him 100%. grew. After the end of World War II, the period of the Cold War began, when a democratic society with all its might resisted the spread of communism in the world. The arms race and energy prices severely shook the imperfect planned economy of the USSR, which greatly affected the lives of the population.

Thus, when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, he adopted new principles to rejuvenate the Soviet economy and reduce tensions with the United States. Cold war ended, and communist governments in the border countries of Russia began to fail because of Gorbachev's softer policies. Finally, in 1991, during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, the Soviet Union formally disintegrated into Russia and several independent countries. This is how the most significant era of communism in the world ended, not taking into account several modern countries living in a similar order.

The results of communism.

It is rather difficult to talk about the results of communism if we approach it from the point of view of its citizens' perception of the "scoop." For some, these were the days of hell on earth, while others remember the scoop as something good and warm. Most likely, the differences of opinion are mostly caused by different factors: class, political preferences, economic situation, memories of youth and health and the like. However, the bottom line is that we can only rely on the language of numbers. The communist regime was economically untenable. In addition, he brought millions of those killed and repressed. In a way, building communism can be called the most expensive and bloody social experiment on earth, which should no longer be repeated.

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the ideal of society, which is based on universal well-being, equality of people. According to Marxist theory, the communist formation has a stage of socialism, which is gradually turning into communism - a classless society with a high level of development of productive forces, human consciousness and culture.

Excellent definition

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COMMUNISM

from lat. communis - common, universal) - the higher socio-economic replacing capitalism. formation based on societies. ownership of the means of production, on comradely cooperation free from exploitation, class and nat. oppression of workers. The first step (phase) in the development of communist. formation is socialism. The second, highest stage of development is communist. society. "Communism is a classless social system with a single public ownership of the means of production, complete social equality of all members of society, where, along with the all-round development of people, the productive forces will grow on the basis of constantly developing science and technology, all sources of social wealth will flow in full flow and the great the principle “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Communism is a highly organized society of free and conscientious workers, in which public self-government , work for the good of society will become for everyone the first vital need, a realized necessity, everyone's abilities will be used with the greatest benefit for the people "(Programma KPSS, 1961, p. 62). Like a dream about the destruction of private property, class differences and the establishment of complete social equality K. was born under the conditions of early capitalism.The ideas of community of property, compulsory labor for all, and equal satisfaction of needs spread in Tabor during the Hussite revolutionary movement in Bohemia in the 15th century (M. Guska), during the Peasant War in Germany in the 16th century. in. (T. Müntzer), among the Diggers during the English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century (J. Winstanley), among the participants in the French bourgeois revolution of the late 18th century ("the conspiracy of equals," or the conspiracy of G. Babeuf). The social aspirations of the working masses were also reflected in fantastic descriptions of the ideal communist system: in T. Mora's work, The Golden Book, as useful as it is funny, about the best state structure and a new acute in Utopia "(1516), in T. Campanella's book" City of the Sun, or Ideal Republic "(1623), in" History of the Sevarambs "by Denis Veras (1677-79). In the 18th century. in France, there are communist. theories of J. Mellier, Morelli and G. Mably. In the beginning. 19th century, expressing protest against the capitalist. systems of oppression and exploitation of workers, with utopian. projects to eliminate class differences were made by the utopian socialists, the immediate predecessors of the scientific. socialism A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier and R. Owen. E. Cabet, O. Blanqui, T. Desami called for the creation of socialism through revolution. In Russia, the most prominent representatives of utopian socialism were A.I. Herzen and N.G. Chernyshevsky. Sci. K., as a theoretical. expression of the proletarian movement aimed at the destruction of capitalism and the creation of communist. society, arose in the 40s. 19th century, when the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie came to the fore in the most developed countries of Europe (the uprisings of the Lyons workers in 1831 and 1834, the rise of the English Chartist movement in the middle of the 30-50s, the uprising of the weavers in Silesia in 1844). The founders of scientific. K. Marx and F. Engels appeared. K. from utopia became a science thanks to two great discoveries of Marx: materialistic. understanding of history and the theory of surplus value, which revealed the secret of capitalist. exploitation. Marx and Engels revealed the world-historian. the mission of the working class as the gravedigger of capitalism and the creator of the new order. They have done away with looking at K. as a kind of "rational and moral ideal" invented by brilliant people, with which the capitalist must conform. reality, showing that K. represents "... a real movement that destroys the present (capitalist. - Ed.) state" (K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 3, p. 34 ) and is a natural result of the development of social manufactures. forces and, on the other hand, an inevitable consequence of the class struggle of the proletariat. As a result of an objective analysis of the capitalist. formation, given in "Capital" by Marx, was deeply scientifically substantiated the need for its transformation by revolution into a communist. society. Due to growth, it produces. forces "the monopoly of capital becomes the fetters of the mode of production that grew under it and under it. The centralization of the means of production and the socialization of labor reach a point when they become incompatible with their capitalist shell. It explodes. Capitalist private property strikes. The expropriators are expropriated." "Capital", vol. 1, 1955, p. 766). The socialization of labor and the centralization of the means of production are the main material prerequisites for the inevitable transition to capitalism, the revolutionary transformation of capitalism into socialism. "The intellectual and moral engine, the physical executor of this transformation is the proletariat, brought up by capitalism itself" (VI Lenin, Soch., Vol. 21, pp. 54-55). Marx and Engels put forward and substantiated the idea of the need for a socialist revolution as a condition for the elimination of capitalism and the creation of socialism. For the social emancipation of the proletariat, the conquest of the state is necessary. power, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which itself constitutes only the transition to the destruction of all classes. Marx and Engels showed the need for a transitional period from capitalism to socialism and determined the main contours of the future communist development. society, creating a scientific. the theory of two phases K. Based on the generalization of the experience of the struggle of the working class in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions, VI Lenin further developed the basic principles of scientific. K. Subject to a comprehensive analysis of the entire body of data on the capitalist. society in its imperialistic. stage, Lenin showed that imperialism is the eve of socialist. revolution, that due to uneven economic. and polit. development under imperialism, the victory of socialism is possible initially in a few or even in one, separately taken, country, and the working class will initially win not necessarily in the most developed capitalist. country, and where imperialism is weaker, where the revolutionary. the vanguard of the proletariat will provide leadership to the broad masses of the exploited (primarily the peasantry) and paralyze the instability of wavering societies. layers. At the same time, a necessary prerequisite for a socialist revolution is a certain level of socio-economic. development. Lenin's theory of socialist. revolution was theoretical. the basis of the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917 in Russia, which opened a new world-historical history. an era, an era of transition from capitalism to socialism. In the conditions of a country that embarked on a socialist. way, Lenin, revealing the laws of the transition period from capitalism to socialism, substantiated the socialist policy. state-va during the dictatorship of the proletariat, developed a new economic. policy (NEP), calculated on the victory of socialism, developed a plan for building socialist. society, providing for the industrialization of the country, socialist. cooperation cross. x-in, the cultural revolution. Sov. people under the leadership of the Communist. the party has basically built socialism in two decades. After the Second World War 1939-45 as a result of the defeat of the fasc. Germany and militaristic Japan, the decisive role in the victory over to-rymi was played by the owls. people, from the imperialist. system dropped a number of countries in Europe and Asia, where the revolution was established. build bunk. democracy and socialist began. reorganization of society. The world socialist system has taken shape. At the turn of the 50-60s. world socialism has entered a new stage in its development. In the USSR, where socialism won completely and finally, the extensive construction of communist began. society. In most countries of people's democracies, the socialist is successfully completed. reorganization of the economy, and their peoples are starting to create a developed socialist society. The further expansion of the world socialist system also continues. The experience of the USSR and other socialist. countries confirmed the fundamental position of scientific. K. that the processes are socialist. revolution and socialist. construction is based on certain general laws, which are manifested in all countries embarking on the path of socialism, with and taking into account the diversity of historically formed nat. characteristics and traditions. These most important laws are: the implementation of the proletarian revolution and the implementation of the dictatorship of the proletariat in various forms; the alliance of the working class with the peasantry and other strata of the working people, with the leading role of the working class, headed by the Marxist-Leninist party; transformation of capitalistic. private property in the state. socialistic, gradual cooperation cross. x-in; planned development of bunk beds. kh-va, aimed at building socialism and capitalism, at improving the well-being of the working people; the implementation of the cultural revolution; liquidation of nat. oppression and the establishment of equal and friendly relations between peoples; protection of socialist. conquests from attempts by external and internal enemies; int. workers' solidarity - proletarian internationalism. A scientifically substantiated plan for the extensive construction of K., the creation of its material and technical. the base is contained in the materials and decisions of the XX, XXI, XXII Congresses of the CPSU, in the Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which determines the practical. ways of becoming K. in economic., social, political. and spiritual areas. Socialism and K. as two successive phases in the development of one socio-economic. formations Have a number common features... Both under complete capitalism and under socialism, there is no exploitation of man by man; no nat. oppression and inequality; the means of production are in societies. property; anarchy within societies. production was replaced by a planned organization; development takes place in giant steps. forces; labor is universal - all members of society work; the development of production is carried out in the common interests of the working people, in order to meet the constantly growing material and cultural needs of the entire society and the fullest possible harmonious development of the human personality; management of societies. processes belongs to the workers themselves and is carried out on the basis of scientific. communist. worldview. At the same time, complete K. has a number of creatures. differences from socialism in the level of development produces. forces, the degree of economical. maturity of the entire set of industries. relations, living and working conditions of people. "... The scientific difference between socialism and communism," Lenin pointed out, "is clear. What is usually called socialism, Marx called the" first "or lowest phase of communist society. common property the means of production become, insofar as the word "communism" is applicable here, if we do not forget that this is not complete communism. The great significance of Marx's explanations lies in the fact that he consistently applies here the materialist dialectics, the doctrine of development, considering communism as something developing out of capitalism ... Marx analyzes what could be called the stages of economic maturity of communism "(Soch., Vol. . 25, p. 442). Features of socialism as the first or lowest phase of capitalism are that socialist society does not arise on its own basis, therefore it lasts for a long time "... in all respects, in economic, moral and mentally, it still retains the birthmarks of the old society, from the depths of which it emerged "(K. Marx, see K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 19, p. 18). transformations and development of the productive forces, society is freed from the heritage of capitalism Two forms of socialist property, socio-economic and cultural and everyday differences between town and country, significant differences between people of skill and physical labor, remnants of class differences nd, distribution according to work, etc. - all these features that distinguish socialism from complete capitalism can disappear only on the basis of the development of societies. production. K. means a further, higher level of economic. the maturity of a new society, when it is completely freed from all the traditions and traces of capitalism. K. represents such a society, a cut "... has developed on its own basis ..." (ibid.), I.e. arose by strengthening and further improving the socialist. building, the first phase of K., new societies. relationships. The construction of capitalism means not only overcoming the traces of capitalism that still persist under socialism, but also the development of those features and characteristics that are common to both the higher and lower phases of communism. formations. The main feature of capitalism is that it represents a higher labor productivity in comparison with capitalism and socialism, which provides material abundance at the lowest cost of labor and creates conditions for eliminating the fact that still exists under socialism. inequality in meeting the needs of members of society, replacing remuneration in accordance with the quantity and quality of work ("pay according to work") by distribution according to needs ("from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"). Higher, communistic labor productivity is achieved through gigantic production development. forces in the industry and with. x-ve, building a qualitatively new material and technical. base and will also be a consequence of the growth of qualifications and cultural and technical. the level of the working masses, conscious discipline and creative initiative of workers. Creation of material and technical. base K. is considered in the Program of the CPSU as the main economic. the task of the party and the Sov. people at this stage. Its solution presupposes a transition to a new one, it means. higher than in the most developed capitalist. countries, the level of technology and culture of production, to the highest level of labor organization. The core of the program for building the communist economy is the complete electrification of the entire country. During the creation of material and technical. base K. science will become more and more direct produces. force, and production - technological. application of modern Sciences. The continuous development of social production, scientific and technological progress, perfect and powerful technology create ever-increasing possibilities for people to rule over nature. The highest phase of K. is characterized by a higher level of material and cultural living conditions for members of society than for any other society. Since the construction of capital is based on the principles of material incentives, remuneration for labor during the transition to capital remains the main source of satisfaction of material and cultural needs. At the same time, societies. consumption funds, at the expense of which the needs of people will be satisfied under K., grow at a faster pace than individual wages for labor. The transition to communist. the principle "to each according to needs" occurs gradually, continuously, as the material and production conditions are created, covering more and more diverse human needs: free education, free medical care, state. provision of children in childcare facilities and schools, material support for the disabled, free use of apartments, utilities, provision of the population with benefits, benefits, scholarships, the transition to free societies. nutrition, etc. Under K.'s personal consumption items will be in full possession and disposal of each member of society. Socialist. the principle of distribution according to work will economically exhaust itself in conditions when an abundance of material benefits will be achieved, and work will turn into the primary vital need of every person. Construction of material and technical. base K. will gradually transform the socialist. production relations into communist, create a classless society. Under socialism, there are still two forms of social, socialist. property: state and collective farm-cooperative and in this regard, two classes - socialist. working class and socialist. collective farm peasantry. The difference between the two forms of socialist. property is overcome only as a result of a powerful rise in the entire economy of the country, industry and Agriculture ... Conditions for rapprochement and, in the future, merging of cooperative property with public property are created as the collective and state farms develop further into highly mechanized and highly productive farms, the leveling of material and cultural conditions of life and work in the countryside with urban ones, etc. With full capitalism, there will be a single, nationwide form of communist property, class boundaries between workers and peasants, and socio-economic, cultural and everyday differences between town and country will be erased. Electrification of bunk beds x-va, mechanization, automation and chemicalization of production, the use of electronics, calculating devices, the introduction of the latest scientific. and technical achievements - all this will lead to a radical change in the nature of work. The professions that exhaust a person are disappearing, and the physical is immeasurably facilitated. work. A person is freed from performing tedious, monotonous monotonous mechanics. physical processes and um. labor. Vast horizons are opening up for creative and joyful work that enhances the vital functions of a person. Labor of workers with. kh-va becomes a kind of industrial labor, which, in turn, approaches in its essence the work of engineering and technical. workers. The organic happens. connection of skills. and physical labor in production. activities of people. Based on the growth of cultural and technical. and general education. mass level workers physical. labor rise to the level of people of intelligence. labor. On the basis of the communist. Production. relations, complete social equality of people will be realized. All members of society will have an equal position in society, the same attitude to the means of production, equal working conditions and distribution. With full K., naturally, people are not released from the obligation to work, but due to a change in the nature of labor, due to the high level of consciousness of people, everyone will voluntarily and according to their inclinations to work for the good of society. Labor under conditions of labor is no longer evaluated in terms of its quantity and quality, but primarily on the basis of whether a person works to the fullest extent of his abilities, whether his talents are used with the greatest benefit for the people. Due to the growth of labor productivity, activity in the sphere of material production, which is mandatory for all members of society, will require less and less time and will be carried out with the least expenditure of effort on the basis of scientific research. regulation of labor costs. People are communist. societies will have more time for art, science and sports. They will enter the real kingdom of freedom, a cut that flourishes on the basis of highly productive labor performed in conditions most worthy of a person and giving full scope for his all-round development. Already under socialism, the process of forming a new person begins. The transition from socialism to capitalism requires a high level of consciousness of all socialist citizens. society, creative participation in the communist. the construction of the broadest masses of the people. In this regard, the Communist. the party attaches particular importance to strengthening the ideological. work, educating the masses in the spirit of the moral code of the builder K., the formation of a new person, the further deployment of the struggle against ideological aliens to socialism. influences, with remnants of capitalism in the minds of people. Under socialism, and even more so under K., everyone receives equal opportunities for creative work and education. A comprehensively developed individual is being formed. The main condition for a comprehensive physical. and um. human development - a reduction in the working day on the basis of highly productive labor (see K. Marx, Capital, vol. 3, 1955, p. 833). The implementation of the universal is obligatory. middle polytechnic education, creating conditions for obtaining a higher or secondary special. education for all who wish to learn - all this will provide the necessary prerequisites for the upbringing and all-round development of the new, communist. person, in to-rum are harmoniously combined spiritual wealth, moral purity and physical. perfection. In the polit. relation "... the difference between the first or the lowest and the highest phase of communism in time will probably be enormous ..." (Lenin V. I., Soch., vol. 25, p. 442). A necessary tool for building a complete communist. society is socialistic. the state, through which the workers manage production, direct its development in the interests of the whole society. With the creation of socialist. society and the transition to the extensive construction of K. "... the dictatorship of the proletariat has fulfilled its historical mission and, from the point of view of the tasks of internal development, has ceased to be necessary in the USSR. the present stage to the state of the whole people, to the organ of expression of the interests and will of the entire people "(Programma KPSS, 1961, p. 100-01). In the socialist state and at the new stage of its development, the leading role belongs to the working class. The socialist state will remain until the complete victory of capitalism The main direction in the development of socialist statehood during the period of creation of capitalism is the development and improvement of socialist democracy, active participation of all citizens in governing the state, in the management of economic and cultural development, improving the work of the state apparatus and strengthening control over its activities.As society gradually advances towards full K., when all members of society will be involved in the management of social production, when the observance of the uniform generally recognized rules of communist society will become an internal need and habit of all people, when members of society will voluntarily to work according to their abilities, the interference of state authorities in social relations will become unnecessary, and political management of people will children are replaced by the disposal of things and the management of production processes by the economics. and cultural bodies of society. Socialist. statehood will develop into communist. societies. self management. The development of socialist. economy on the way to K. causes the need to improve organizational. forms and methods of planning and management of bunk beds. h-vom, to develop democratic in every possible way. foundations of management, to strengthen the role of societies. organizations of workers, collectives of workers and employees in solving issues of the activities of enterprises. As society advances towards communism, the role of various organizations of the working people increases, and above all the leading and guiding role of the Communist Party. party. Strengthening and development of state. management of the economy prepares a mechanism for managing production, which is also necessary in full K., when economical. functions of the state will lose their political. character, state. bodies of planning and accounting, management of the economy and the development of culture will become the organs of societies. self-government. However, the withering away of the state depends not only on the internal conditions of a communist society, but also on the external conditions of its existence. As long as capitalism exists in other countries, there remains a need for a special state body to protect the communist society. The most important component of the communist. construction is the pursuit of a policy of fraternal mutual assistance and cooperation with the socialist countries. commonwealth, the policy of proletarian internationalism. In the world socialist system, everything with more power the law of planned, proportional socialist development is in effect. countries. The general line of their economical. and cultural development is leveled. As a result, all the countries of socialism, more or less simultaneously, within one historical. era, will pass into the highest phase K. Improvement of the international system. division of labor through the coordination of nar.-households. plans, specialization and cooperation of production within the framework of the world socialist system, the development of all-round fraternal cooperation strengthens the economic. the base of world socialism. Trends are developing towards the creation of a world communist society in the future. economy, regulated by the workers according to a single plan. Under K. for a long time there will be nat. peculiarities; at the same time, on the basis of a complete community of interests, fraternal friendship and cooperation, the nations will increasingly come closer to each other, until, finally, they merge into a higher communist that unites all peoples. community of people. K. opens up practically unlimited scope for the development of the economy and the improvement of people's lives, the improvement of the human personality. K. is the highest and last socio-economic formation, within the framework of which the true history of mankind will unfold. The construction of socialism and capitalism in the USSR and other socialist countries. commonwealth is a single process that strengthens world system socialism, inspiring nar. masses around the world, contributes to the success of the international revolutionary movement. Communist. construction can only be successfully carried out under conditions of peace. Pursuing the Leninist policy of peaceful coexistence of countries with different social systems, providing the necessary foreign policy. conditions for the transition to K., at the same time contributes to the implementation of historical. mission K. - the destruction of wars and the establishment of eternal peace on earth. Lit .: K. Marx and F. Engels, German Ideology, K. Marx, F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., Vol. 3; them, the Manifesto of the Communist Party, ibid., vol. 4; K. Marx, Capital, ibid., V. 21-23; his, Critique of the Gotha Program, ibid., v. 19; R. Engels, Principles of Communism, ibid., Vol. 4; him, Anti-Dühring, ibid., v. 20; Lenin V.I., State and Revolution, Works, 4th ed., Vol. 25; his, The Next Tasks of the Soviet Power, ibid., vol. 27; his, Great Initiative, ibid., v. 29; him, On cooperation, ibid., v. 33; Program of the CPSU (Adopted by the XXII Congress of the CPSU), Moscow, 1962; Volgin V.P., Essays on the history of socialism, 4th ed., M.-L., 1935; him, History of socialist. ideas, hours 1-2, M.-L., 1928-31; him, Franz. utopian. communism, M., 1960; From the history of socio-political. ideas. Sat. Art., M., 1955; Frantsev Yu.P., Historical paths social thought, M., 1964. E.G. Panfilov. Moscow.

As incomplete, immature communism and complete, mature communism. V narrow sense communism is understood as one of the two, the highest in comparison with the phase, the stage of maturity of the communist formation - complete, mature communism, the final result of the implementation of the historical mission.

The history of the development of communist ideas

Primitive communism

In the early stages of development, primitive communism based on community of property was the only form of human society. The primitive communal system covered the time from the appearance of the very first people to the emergence of a class society, which, according to archaeological periodization, coincides mainly with the Stone Age. It is characteristic of the primitive communal system that all members of society were in the same relation to the means of production, and, accordingly, the method of obtaining a share of the social product was the same for all, which was the reason for the use of the term “primitive communism” to denote it. Primitive communism differs from the following stages of social development by the absence of private property, classes and the state.

Communist ideas of the Middle Ages

At its inception, communist views were based on the demand for social equality based on community of property. Some of the earliest formulations of communism in medieval Europe were attempts to modernize Christian theology and politics in the form of a philosophy of poverty (not to be confused with poverty). In the XIII-XIV centuries, representatives of the radical wing of the Franciscans developed it and tried to apply it in practice. They were equally opposed to mystical or monastic asceticism and the absolutization of private property. In poverty, they saw the conditions for justice in the world and the salvation of society. It was not so much about the common property as about the general abandonment of property. At the same time, the ideology of communism was Christian-religious.

The slogans of the revolutionary struggle for radical participants in the Hussite movement in the Czech Republic in the 15th century (Jan Hus), the Peasant War in Germany in the 16th century (T. Münzer) were calls for the overthrow of the power of things and money, for the construction of a just society based on the equality of people, including with common property. These ideas may well be considered communist, although their basis was purely religious - everyone is equal before God and the possession or non-possession of property should not violate this, the observance of equality in religious rites was required.

Secular concepts of communism

Several centuries later, egalitarian communism appears - the main component of the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th-18th centuries, in particular in England of the 17th century. (J. Winstanley) and France at the end of the 18th century. (G. Babeuf). The secular ideology of communism emerges. The idea of creating a community is being developed, in which the freedom and equality of people before each other is realized through the common communal ownership of property (or by settling the conflict between individual and collective property in an egalitarian way). Property is no longer denied, but an attempt is made to subjugate it for the benefit of the entire community.

The theoretical development of the first systematized ideas about the communist way of life is based on the ideology of humanism of the 16th-17th centuries (T. More, T. Campanella) and the French Enlightenment of the 18th century (Morelli, G. Mably). Early communist literature reflects the transition from plebeian-petty-bourgeois revolutionism to proletarian, but the preaching of universal asceticism and equalization inherent in early communist literature constitutes a reactionary element in its content. The main problem of society was seen not in economics, but in politics and morality.

Utopian communism

The next concept of communism emerged in the context of workers' socialism. There is an awareness of the economic contradictions of society. Labor and its subordination to capital are placed at the center of the problems of society.

V early XIX century A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, R. Owen and other utopian socialists enriched the idea of a just social order with ideas about work as a pleasure, the flourishing of human abilities, ensuring all his needs, central planning, and distribution according to work. However, contrary to communist ideals, the socialists allowed the preservation of private property and property inequality in a utopian society. Expressing their protest against the capitalist system of oppression and exploitation of workers, they came up with utopian projects to eliminate class differences. In Russia, the most prominent representatives of utopian socialism were A.I. Herzen and N.G. Chernyshevsky.

Scientific communism, as a theoretical expression of the proletarian movement aimed at the destruction and creation of a communist society, arose in the 40s. XIX century, when the class struggle between and came to the fore in the most developed countries of Europe (the uprisings of the Lyons weavers in 1831 and 1834, the rise of the English Chartist movement in the mid-30s and early 50s, the uprising of the weavers in Silesia in 1844 ).

Based on the materialist understanding of history and on the theory of surplus value, which revealed the secret of capitalist exploitation, Engels also developed a scientific theory of communism that expresses the interests and worldview of the revolutionary working class and embodies the best achievements of previous social thought. They revealed the world-historical role of the working class as the gravedigger of capitalism and the creator of the new system. Developed and enriched in relation to the new conditions by VI Lenin, the fraternal communist and workers' parties, this doctrine revealed the historical pattern of the replacement of capitalism by communism, the way of building a communist society.

Etymology

In its modern form, the word was borrowed in the 40s of the XIX century from the French language, where communisme is derived from commun- "general, public". The word was finally formed into a term after the publication of "" (1848). Before that, the word "commune" was used, but it did not characterize the whole society, but its part, a group whose members used the common property and common labor of all its members.

Definitions of communism

Communism is a teaching about the conditions for the emancipation of the proletariat.<…> 14th question: What should this new social order be like? Answer: First of all, the management of industry and all branches of production in general will be removed from the hands of separate, competing with each other, individuals. Instead, all branches of production will be under the jurisdiction of the whole society, that is, they will be conducted in the public interest, according to the social plan and with the participation of all members of society. Thus, this new social order will destroy competition and replace it with association.<…>Private property is inseparable from the individual conduct of industry and from competition. Consequently, private property must also be abolished, and its place will be taken by the common use of all instruments of production and the distribution of products by general agreement, or the so-called community of property.
F. Engels, "The Principles of Communism" (1847)

... there is communism positive expression of the abolition of private property; at first, it acts as a general private property.

Communism how positive abolition private property- this human self-alienation - <…>there is valid resolution of the contradiction between man and nature, man and man, genuine resolution of the dispute between existence and essence, between objectification and self-assertion, between freedom and necessity, between the individual and the race. He is the solution to the riddle of history, and he knows that he is the solution.

Communism is the highest stage in the development of socialism, when people work out of the awareness of the need to work for the common good.

Communism is a classless social system with a single national ownership of the means of production, complete social equality of all members of society, where, together with the all-round development of people, productive forces will grow on the basis of constantly developing science and technology, all sources of social wealth will pour out in full flow and the great principle will be realized : "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." Communism is a highly organized society of free and conscientious workers, in which social self-government will be established, labor for the good of society will become for everyone the first vital need, a perceived need, everyone's abilities will be used with the greatest benefit for the people.

Communism as an ideology

Communism, as an ideology, is a system of ideas, values and ideals that expresses the worldview of the working class and its vanguard -. Communist ideology arms the communist parties, international communist movement a clear program for the revolutionary reorganization of the world.

The scientific nature of communist ideology is closely linked with its revolutionary partisanship. In contrast to bourgeois ideology, which hides its exploitative character under the guise of objectivism, communism openly proclaims its partisanship. This feature does not contradict scientific character, but, on the contrary, presupposes a consistent and deep knowledge of the objective laws of the social process. The scientific ideology of the proletariat is opposed to the bourgeois ideology. She is active, offensive. Consistently expressing the aspirations and aspirations of the broad masses of the people, communist ideology is a powerful weapon for the revolutionary transformation of the world, the assertion of the ideals of justice, freedom and equality, the brotherhood of people and nations.

Characteristic features of communism

Communism as a single socio-economic formation is characterized by a number of common fundamental features inherent in both of its phases:

a sufficiently high level of development of productive forces and socialization of labor;
public ownership of the means of production;
universality of labor and the absence of exploitation of man by man;
relations of cooperation and mutual assistance;
planning and proportionality of development with a view to the fullest possible satisfaction of the material and spiritual needs of the working people;
unity, cohesion of society, the rule of a single Marxist-Leninist worldview, etc.

Since the means of production become common property, the word "communism" is also applicable here, if we do not forget that this is not complete communism.