Difference in anarchism and communism

[robob8706]

What are the major differences between the two?

[Rex_20XD6]

Anarchism: The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished.
Communism: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

-Dictionary.com

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2004, 07:22 AM
Anarchism: The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished.


Communism: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

-Dictionary.com
There is no difference between communism and anarchism. They are both concepts of a society where there is no state, class, government or hierarchy.

In a classical marxist sense communism is the final stage of a transitional period between capitalism and communism. Anarchists disagree with Marxists that there is a need for a transitional period.

dictionary.com is a pile of shit, and you shouldn't take political definitions from it. The people who wrote it don't know what they're talking about.

[elijahcraig]

I'd also like to say that Communism as the final stage of Marxist dialectic, also has the difference with anarchism that anarchism embraces the concept of democracy, while not having a state. Communism has no democracy, because Marxism recognizes the inability of political power as a function in society when the society is stateless.

[Don't Change Your Name]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2004, 05:22 AM
Communism: A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
Communism is NOT a "system of government". That sources is very biased by the way ("equally shared"???? the typical crap about how we want people "to be good and share because you are utopian" :rolleyes: ) Communism represents a society where everything is owned in common and in such a society there won't be classes or the need for a state.

Anarchism and communism are usually associated and the differences are this:
1) Communists think that to create such a society the state should nationalize every industry and it should control everything through the party, while Anarchists are more fond of abolishing the state and making every industry self-managed and creating various voluntary associations "connected" between each other
2) Communists think that a strong state is needed to protect the revolution from counter-revolutionaries, imperialist foreign countries, and to "guide the workers", before withering away, while Anarchists tend to think that the state is useless and militias must be formed to protect the revolution at local levels, and tha communists exaggerate such a need
3) Communists think we need authorities to control everything while anarchists reject that idea seeing that such an authoritarian state as communists propose will corrupt itself or become very violent (a "dictatorship over the proletariate" instead of a "dictatorship of the proletariate")
4) Communists think that the state should control the economy on an authoritarian, centralized way while anarchists think that other alternatives based on descentralization and self-management are better, more efficient, more democratic and reflect what people wants on a better way
5) Anarchists usually consider that people should have as much personal liberty as possible while it's not harmful to others, while Communists (especially Leninists) many times argue that the state should try to impose some "moral laws" to protect society
6) Anarchists prefer federalism, assemblies and councils to deal with various common issues, communists prefer centralized power (sometimes with various councils to represent people)

I hope you get it

[monkeydust]

Originally posted by The Anarchist [email protected] 27 2004, 07:12 AM
There is no difference between communism and anarchism. They are both concepts of a society where there is no state, class, government or hierarchy.

In a classical marxist sense communism is the final stage of a transitional period between capitalism and communism. Anarchists disagree with Marxists that there is a need for a transitional period.

dictionary.com is a pile of shit, and you shouldn't take political definitions from it. The people who wrote it don't know what they're talking about.
I disagree.

Whilst it's certainly arguable that Anarcho-Communism is "Actual Communism", it's far from the case that "Anarchism is Communism".

For starters, the ideas central to Anarchism (abolition of hirearchy, the demolition of the state etc) do not necessarily have to coincide with a large degree of egalitarianism. Anarcho-Capitalism is often seen as an extreme from of Classical-Liberalism, in which the market is able to operate free from any state forces, this system, however, is clearly not Communist in the least, market inequalities giving rise to substantive social injustice.

Likewise, Communism is not necessarily always Anarchist in approach. Many (perhaps even a majority) of this board would argue that Communism should take exist as some form of Anarchy, and should also be brought about without the Socialism as a transitionary phase. Yet Communist thought is more broad than this alone.

In a general sense, I personally would say that Communism is Anarchist, but that Anarchism is not necessarily Communist.