Some questions

[celticnachos]

Hello all, I have to give a presentation about Communism and I need have a very clear and solid understanding of the answers to these questions, I'd appreciate if you guys could help me in answering these.

What is communism? What are its aims, and what practices are put in place to reach them? How does it differ from socialism?

What major nations in the twentieth century are identified as communist, and what roles have they played in international politics?

Why was America and the great majority of the western world so fearful of the influence of communism? What fundamental differences separate communism from western democracy?

[Remus Bleys]

those "major nations" were China and Russia. At least they were the main powers. But they weren't communist, and anyone who calls them communist is an idiot.

Communism aims for a classless stateless society where people are able to live "from each according to his contribution, to each according to his needs"

Communism is socialism. The difference is that socialism is not yet "free access" and is organized on the maxim (marxim?) "to each contribution"

Communism is the negation of "western democracy" and all other aspects of bourgeois force.

however, West vs East was/is very much a conflict between Nations developing capitalism, and developed nations not wanting to loose influence/resources/power

[G4b3n]

Communism is a stateless, classless, and moneyless society in which the means of production are held in common and resources are allocated according to human needs. There are variety of tactics that workers take in order to attempt to establish communism. Many anarchist traditions advocate the use of unions to organize the working class for the goal of a general strike in which production is brought to a stand still. Many Marxist traditions advocate the creation of a vanguard party that is to lead the working class to revolution.

Communism is a form of socialism. Socialism is simply a broad term to describe any anti-capitalist ideology that advocates for the public ownership of the means of production. Communism is also a broad term so it is important to be specific in regards to what you are talking about.

The western democracies were afraid of 'communism' because it threatened property, that was a fear long before the Russian Revolution. As for fundamental differences, the western democracies concentrated the means of production into the hands of a tiny elite called the bourgeoisie. The soviets concentrated them into the hands of a tiny elite called the Communist Party.

[tuwix]

Hello all, I have to give a presentation about Communism and I need have a very clear and solid understanding of the answers to these questions, I'd appreciate if you guys could help me in answering these.

What is communism? What are its aims, and what practices are put in place to reach them? How does it differ from socialism?


Communism have a few meanings. Unfortunately the most popular one is that used as disrespect. If one (likely right-winger) wants to suppose he has too leftist opinions, he calls him communist. And it received as disrespect.
If we return to sources roots of a term, then we find that it has its origin in Latin word which means common (communis). It meant originally a system, where everything is common. And anarchists and Leninists use the term in pretty much the same way. Communism for them is a system where everything is common beside personal property.
In this meaning it is particular part of socialism. But has its own different meanings too. It is used as disrespect too, it is used as description some more friendly for the people capitalist systems like in Sacndinavian countries. It is used to describe state capitalist systems like the Soviet Union and Cuba, etc. But the roots are in another Latin word 'societas' society which means the system where whole society rules.
But there is a pure Marxist meaning in which socialism and communism are the same. Only what anarchists call communism there is known as second/higher phase of socialism/communism.



What major nations in the twentieth century are identified as communist, and what roles have they played in international politics?


To be honest, none. There was description of state capitalist countries as communist as disrespectful. Using this term had a goal to show them as greatest evil that can ever be.



Why was America and the great majority of the western world so fearful of the influence of communism?


Because this world is dominated by richest ones and communism means an end of their influence and their excessive wealth.



What fundamental differences separate communism from western democracy?

In communism in real meaning private property doesn't exist. In capitalism (so-called western democracy) it is sanctified. In communism there is real democracy and all people really rule, and in capitalism democracy is just facade for rule of richest ones.

[newdayrising]

What is communism? What are its aims, and what practices are put in place to reach them? How does it differ from socialism?
Communism is a classless stateless society where goods are produced to fulfill human needs and desires. It's a free access economy, meaning the productive forces have developed enough that everything everyone needs is readily available.
For Marx, socialism and communism are pretty much interchangeable words. However, different currents believe socialism to be a "lower stage", where classes have been abolished but the economy is not yet developed enough to be completely free access. Other currents also confuse "socialism" with the dictatorship of the proletariat, which is what happens when the working class is in power but capitalist relations have not been abolished and there are still different classes.
Communism is also the movement of the working class towards a communist society.

What major nations in the twentieth century are identified as communist, and what roles have they played in international politics?
I don't think any nations have ever claimed to live under communism. Some countries have been, and still are, ruled by self declared "communist" parties that claim(ed) communism as a goal for the future. I, as many other people here and elsewhere, believe they were/are all capitalist because the working class was still exploited for the benefit of another class.


Why was America and the great majority of the western world so fearful of the influence of communism? What fundamental differences separate communism from western democracy?
America was fearful of real communism because its capitalist class didn't want to lose economic and political power. And it was afraid of the so-called "communist" regimes (the ones I called capitalist above) because of imperialist disputes over the world.
The difference between communism and "western democracy" is mainly the fact that capitalist democracy pretends the whole of society has the same interests and is somehow equal just because there's a law saying so, even though there are people who benefit from other people's labor. It's a system that claims to represent different classes at once, while actually belonging to one class, the bourgeoisie, the exploiting class.
Communism, on the other hand, is a society where classes are abolished. And it's the result of independent working class struggle. There's no pretense of representing all classes. It's the movement of the working class towards the abolition of all classes.