Alternative History: What Would Have Happened If America Went Communist?

[Outinleftfield]

Especially during the 1960s and 70s there were a number of radical communist groups in the US, including the Black Panthers, the Weather Underground, and the Symbionese Liberation Army that seeked to provoke revolution in the United States.

What if they won? What would their "communist" government look like? Would it be authoritarian or democratic? What would its policies look like? What communist countries (USSR, China, Albania, Yugoslavia, Cuba, etc.) what it have allied itself with?

Furthermore if it allied more closely with China would the Cold War have even been over or would it have simply changed to being between two strands of communism both accusing each other of revisionism?

[Uppercut]

If a vanguard party grabbed party, there would probably be a riot. People would rebel and there would be riots in the streets, refusing to accept a socialist victory. Considering how backwards we are, martial law would probably be declared, and the army would most likely mutiny against a socialist government. Of course, that's just a pessimistic viewpoint.

If Americans accepted a communist revolution, all of Wall Street would be nationalized and banks would probably be expropriated. All land would be given to the people, administered by the state and local workers' councils would be set up all over the country. A system of soviet democracy would spring up, and these councils would manage the economy through the central planning agency.

As for authority, I'm guessing we would see less police brutality and arrests. Laws would be reformed (guaranteed housing, health care, employment, food, etc.), and hopefully cannabis would be decriminalized or legalized all together. That would free up our jails for actual violent criminals. Oh, and the Sodomy laws in the Southern states have to go.

Overall, I could imagine a very democratic socialist/communist system in America. People would be encouraged to take part in their local soviet elections and to join the party or some other public organization (trade union, cultural institutions, etc.). You can still have some sort of authority on top of soviet democracy without letting it get out of hand.

I would've liked to see us ally ourselves with Mao-era China and Albania, in particular. We could still have friendly relations with the Eastern-bloc countries, although I consider them more state capitalist, than socialist. America could work it's way to becoming an Autarky, which shouldn't be too difficult considering how developed we are.

Freedom of speech would be protected (to an extent) but people could choose to remove or exile people from their community through popular trials. Press freedom would be allowed through participatory local newspapers and whatnot. So long as nobody glorifies capitalism, or advocates counter-revolution, I think pepole's rights could be protected quite easily.

[Wolf Larson]

Christian socialists fled England not from religious persecution but they were running from the new system of property which replaced feudalism. At least under feudalism the land was held in common- the feudal lords would simply come and steal [in the form of taxes] from the peoples surplus goods. So...America was in fact founded by socialists. The small capitalistic land owners of Europe also fled to the new world but they were fleeing taxes....they eventually overpowered [via propaganda] and integrated the Christian socialists in the new world who didn't form a united front in defense of socialism because they thought they could coexist with the capitalistic land owners since there was so much land to steal from the natives. The property class from Europe [the so called founding fathers] formed the united front against the old European state with the help of their friends in finance and with help of their Freemason connections. Bakunin wrote some interesting points concerning the property class and how they formed the wealth for the armies. They actually believed they were freeing man. I don't think they foresaw global industrial capitalism. In the end we simply traded feudal lords for capitalist masters. I think anglo-saxon/western civilization in general might be a disease inflicted upon the earth. Perhaps hierarchy is simply the problem. Illegitimate power. Capitalism is the purest manifestation of hierarchy and illegitimate power mankind has ever seen. Leftist movements have also made the mistake of holding onto hierarchy and illegitimate power so who knows how it would have ended up? If the people actually controlled it I would say the world would be a better place.

[LeninistKing]

If USA had a socialist-government, AIPAC and the Israeli Lobby wouldnt be bribing the US congress to wage wars on behalf of Israel, there wouldn't be fake-terror like 9-11, and poverty-rates in USA would be lower. USA wouldn't have so many Mcdonalds and fast foods, the country wouldn't be so crazy and irrational like under the american capitalism which is full of stupid stores and junk food.

Obesity rates would be a lot lower, the 800 military bases around the world owned by USA would be closed, and since USA is such a big country and such a strong country with the help of nationalized networks like CNN, FOX news (taken over by the US socialist goverment), the ideology of socialist democracy would be spread around the world.

NASA and expensive US programs would be closed temporarily until US governmnent could cure hunger and poverty in USA and in Africa and Haiti. USA would join the ALBA, and socialism would be spread to Canada and Mexico.

and many other things like turning CIA and FBI into socialist secret services in order to prevent capitalists from overthrowing US gov.

Mcdonalds, Wal Mart, Exxon, American Airlines and other corporations would be nationalized under state-control and workers-control.

There would be more trains in USA, more collective public transportation, and americans would be happier coz cable-tv, gyms, Disney World, movies and entertainments would be a lot cheaper under a socialist system.

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Especially during the 1960s and 70s there were a number of radical communist groups in the US, including the Black Panthers, the Weather Underground, and the Symbionese Liberation Army that seeked to provoke revolution in the United States.

What if they won? What would their "communist" government look like? Would it be authoritarian or democratic? What would its policies look like? What communist countries (USSR, China, Albania, Yugoslavia, Cuba, etc.) what it have allied itself with?

Furthermore if it allied more closely with China would the Cold War have even been over or would it have simply changed to being between two strands of communism both accusing each other of revisionism?

[Dimentio]

That depends on what kind of socialism we are talking about. Initially, there would probably be a lot of infighting between different factions. It would also mean quite much resistance from rural areas, trying to with-holding crops from the large cities (where I assume the new ruling group would have had its stronghold).

If the revolution managed to somehow consolidate itself at that point in time, the world would probably have followed. The western European bourgeoisie did not have enough confidence during that time to survive without the clandestine support from the USA.

[Psy]

That depends on what kind of socialism we are talking about. Initially, there would probably be a lot of infighting between different factions. It would also mean quite much resistance from rural areas, trying to with-holding crops from the large cities (where I assume the new ruling group would have had its stronghold).

Farmers supported militant workers movement during the Great Depression including feeding striking workers as independent farmers were also exploited by the bourgeoisie especially during the Great Depression where the bourgeoisie was foreclosing on the land of independent farmers.