Socialism Vs. Communism Vs, Totalitarianism

From A Charging Elephant:

Socialism vs communism vs totalitarianism?


Posted on September 5, 2010

by dancingczars
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How do these three fit together? what are there similarities? what are their differences?

Socialism is an economic system. It uses government ownership of the means of production (e.g., factories) to direct the economy. It uses social welfare programs to promote universal employment, health care, and pensions. It is practiced, in limited form, as “social democracy” in much of Europe, which is part free-market economy (companies directing production by determining customer wants and supply and demand) and part state-run (mass transit [airlines, buses, trains], some critical industries). Socialism does not have to be democratic, though. Socialism is also very broad: some socialists want to nationalize all major businesses, some want to nationalize just a few. So, socialism is more a set of economic theories than a single ideology.





Communism is similar, except that communism (IN THEORY) is governed by the people, for the people. So, communism combines socialist theories of economics with political control. In communism, the role of the Communist Party is central, and it controls most aspects of society.

Even motorcycle clubs are run by the Party. It is supposedly class-less, with everyone being equal, and all property being owned by everyone collectively, not by individuals. Karl Marx saw it as the ideal and inevitable system, but every effort to implement it has failed, at least partially because almost all people are generally self-interested and greedy most of the time.



Totalitarianism is a political system. In totalitarianism, the government is undemocratic in the extreme: it is a total dictatorship. Totalitarian states have a powerful secret police, no protection of individual rights, a leader who rules without political challenge in elections or serious political restraints of any kind, and similar traits. However, some normal authoritarian dictatorships have these characteristics. What makes a totalitarian government unique is ideology. The government wants to actively reshape the minds of the population, to make them follow a certain cause and believe in a certain way, changing the very nature of society. Totalitarianism, according to political scientists, is very rare. It existed in the Soviet Union for a time, but ideology became less important to the Soviets after Stalin died, so the USSR stopped being totalitarian. Nazi Germany is the other classic example of a totalitarian government.



So, communism, with its notion that the Party is part of everything, lends it itself to totalitarianism, but not all communist countries are totalitarian. Likewise, not all totalitarian countries are communist: the Nazis were generally capitalists, but their absolute dictatorship and ideology made them totalitarian.



Socialism and communism are very related. Both see the means of production as being owned by the public, not by private companies. Both try to create an egalitarian, class-less society, where the poor are given more and the rich are given less, so that everyone is closer to being equal. Communism is simply more communal — with nobody owning private property — and emphasizes the importance of the Communist Party as the embodiment of the will of the people.



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