How to Learn Communist Theory
Communism is rooted in the idea of a classless and stateless society, in which all citizens have an equal stake in the advancement of the country. While only a handful of Communist states remain, Communist theory had a drastic impact on the 20th Century. Wars and many great works of art and literature arose in light of Communist theory. Critics question the feasibility and social effects of Communism, while supporters argue the system's alleged ability to end worker exploitation. Communist theory is simple, but there are many ways to perceive it.
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Instructions
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Read "The Communist Manifesto," which was published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. The book lays out the theories of Communism and why such a system is necessary. Pay close attention to the second section, "Proletarians and Communists," which outlines a list a Communist demands.
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Read historically significant texts that have inspired or have been inspired by communist theory. These works include George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." Such texts will provide you with a lens through which to view communism.
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Research the factors and results of the Russian revolution in 1917, as well as other elements that led to the advancement of communism. Look at the collapse of communism to understand the flaws of the system. Historically significant communist states to explore include North Korea, East Germany and Cuba.
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Look at the theories of Capitalism, Communism's ideological opposite. Explore the pros and cons of a system rooted in private enterprise, such as fiscal independence and worker exploitation. Understanding the elements of Capitalism will allow you a system with which to compare Communist theories.
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I would like to make a few corrections, and also point couple other things. First off Marx, OK his writings do in large part explain much of communist ideology, however one must take into account the time period in which he lived, communist theory has evolved a great deal, and communism in general was ahead of its time. 2nd works such as Animal Farm were about specifics, Orwell a true socialist hated what Stalin was doing to the face of socialism, since Stalin was not a real Socialist, Orwell felt Stalin's form of government was not communism at all, he was right about this since Stalin's practices would fit into the category of totalitarianism, Orwell actually pinned a letter to Yvonne Davet pointing out this fact. Unfortunately comrades we have no real nations to provide examples for communism. The closest would be comrades Lenin's attempt, and Cuba. Lenins failed mainly due to his death, however since communism was ahead of its time Lenin did struggle somewhat with improving the Russian workforce so it could accept the responsibilities of his Vanguard party. We must remember the Russian people were just serfs during this time period, most could not read, and had little to no understanding of political systems,. Cuba on the other hand has Yankee aggressive capitalism to think for most if not all of their failures, since they have endured a crippling blockade, capitalist assassination attempts on their leaders, capitalist influenced invasions, etc. While Castro has handed over power recently, he was unable to do so in the past due to all the outside aggression. Countries like North Korea, have little in common with real communism, and they go against the core beliefs. These nations mostly are examples of totalitarianism. Fortunately for us all comrades communism is on the comeback, capitalism has begun to reveal its ultimate direction to even its most basic citizens, the capitalist based economies are falling apart. The individual first concept of take take take has begun to bleed us all dry. Thankfully Communism will be their as the human race finally evolves to the understanding of the collective, as we began to see through the fictionalized facade that capitalism has masked itself with. Simply put we cannot expect a race of this proportion to go on living only as individuals, we must understand that only as a community, a collective can we expect to balance need with resources, and reach everybody.
