My interpretation of Communism

[Issaiah1332]

In my idea of communism everyone works together and decides on everything. There is no government, if a decision is to be made it is voted upon by everyone.

Here is where I get confused. I have heard some people say that in communism, everyone works for themselves, I.E if you need food then you farm. This has to do with getting the fruits of your own labor. I have also heard that everyone has a certain job, such as farming and/or being a doctor. So if you work together and you don't necessarily have to farm your own food, what do you do? Do you trade, saying I have beef and you have a T.V would you like to trade?

I dont really know how to phrase what I wish to ask...I hope you can understand my thought.

[CodeAires]

I think that's the way Marx and Engels intended it to be, but other countries/societies have abused it.

[Whitten]

A communist society consists of numerous people with varying jobs. The fruits of their labour are then pooled together and distributed fairly.

What's important to remember is that there is no private property in communism, so a barter system wouldn't apply.

[Issaiah1332]

Originally posted by [email protected] 26, 2007 05:48 pm
A communist society consists of numerous people with varying jobs. The fruits of their labour are then pooled together and distributed fairly.

What's important to remember is that there is no private property in communism, so a barter system wouldn't apply.
True. Thanks!

[rouchambeau]

Well, that can be your interpretation. There is no single version of communism that anyone who wants to be a communist has to comply with.

I do see a lot of problems with your interpretation, though. First of all, I don't see how much could get done if everyone has to vote on everything first. That also seems rather--for lack of a better word--totalitarian in that individuals will always be subject to a majority, if not deindividualized and conforming to said majority.

Secondly, if one person farms while another specializes in medicine, and so on, then society runs the risk of developing stratification amongst workers of various professions (I.e. you end up with a class of professionals, a class of industrial workers, etc).

Third, I don't like the idea of trade. Trade presupposes that there is private property. When people trade, there exists the opportunity for one to deprive the other of something they need.

I hope this helps. =)

[Issaiah1332]

Originally posted by [email protected] 26, 2007 09:28 pm
Well, that can be your interpretation. There is no single version of communism that anyone who wants to be a communist has to comply with.

I do see a lot of problems with your interpretation, though. First of all, I don't see how much could get done if everyone has to vote on everything first. That also seems rather--for lack of a better word--totalitarian in that individuals will always be subject to a majority, if not deindividualized and conforming to said majority.

Secondly, if one person farms while another specializes in medicine, and so on, then society runs the risk of developing stratification amongst workers of various professions (I.e. you end up with a class of professionals, a class of industrial workers, etc).

Third, I don't like the idea of trade. Trade presupposes that there is private property. When people trade, there exists the opportunity for one to deprive the other of something they need.

I hope this helps. =)
Good points. Could you give me a brief idea of what you think communism is?

[Janus]

Here is where I get confused. I have heard some people say that in communism, everyone works for themselves, I.E if you need food then you farm.
No, that's not what communist society is about, that's what capitalism is about. Everyone works for the collective in communism and are able to extract what they need out of it.


I have also heard that everyone has a certain job, such as farming and/or being a doctor.
Well, Marx believed that there would be a reduced division of labor. However, in today's technologically driven world, that may be a bit hard to achieve particularly for those jobs that require a great deal of training and participation/action such as doctors for example.


Do you trade, saying I have beef and you have a T.V would you like to trade?
No, it's not a bartering system. If you need beef or a TV, you can get it from a store/distribution center. You don't "buy" it nor do you have to trade for it.

[apathy maybe]

What you describe economically could happen in some anarchistic systems. Many people confuse (deliberately some of them I swear) communism and anarchism. They are both class-less state-less societies, but anarchism is much broader then communism.

Below are four posts I've made attempting to demonstrate what "communism" is compared to other things, such as "Marxism" and "anarchism". Enjoy.
http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...st&p=1292261483 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=62035&view=findpost&p=1292261483)
http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...st&p=1292200872 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=58208&view=findpost&p=1292200872)
http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...st&p=1292245203 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=60669&view=findpost&p=1292245203)
http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic...st&p=1292277870 (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=63696&view=findpost&p=1292277870)