Communism. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the term,
though usually as an insult rather than an accurate political descriptor.
You’ve probably heard Joe Biden called one, certainly Bernie Sanders – maybe even Donald
Trump. Somehow. But what is communism, beyond this ill-defined bogeyman you were taught to hate?
Isn’t it just when no iPhone Vuvezuela 300 gorillion like they say in the YouTube comments?
Let’s find out. Welcome to Socialism 101:
a series designed to educate people with no prior knowledge on the basics of socialism and
communism from an explicitly Marxist-Leninist perspective. There’s a lot of misinformation
about communism spread by those both on the political right and the political left,
so this series seeks to demystify and clarify exactly what it is that we Marxist-Leninists and
Marxist-Leninist-Maoists believe in short, easily-digestible videos. After this “101”
series is finished, there’ll be an Intermediate Socialism 201 and an Advanced Socialism 301.
If this sounds interesting to you, hit subscribe and turn on the bell notifications below.
On that note – Howiya doing? My name’s Paul and I’m an Irish communist.
But what does it mean when I say “communist”? Friedrich Engels, the magnificently bearded
co-author of The Communist Manifesto, wrote that “Communism is the doctrine of the prerequisites
for the emancipation of the proletariat” - a theoretical toolbox that clearly maps
out how to achieve complete liberation for all working people. And this isn’t just by securing
free healthcare or increasing the minimum wage. In 1845, Karl Marx wrote that “We call communism
the real movement which abolishes the present state of things”. The aim is a fundamental
transformation of society, which once and for all ends “the exploitation of man by man”.
We call the people involved in this project “communists”.
But what’s our end-goal? To take away everyone’s toothbrush?
No. You keep your personal property. Please. The goal of communism as a movement, simply put,
is to create a stateless, classless, moneyless society – that is to say, a communist society.
Now, how we get there is a matter of debate among various different sections of the political left:
some, such as anarchists, believe we can have a revolution and establish this
kind of society immediately thereafter. Others, including Marxists like myself,
believe that we’ll need a transitional stage between capitalism and communism –
a transitional stage called socialism. But hang on a minute – what about Communist
States? Don’t these communist states like the USSR and China contradict what’s been said so far?
Well, “Communist State” is a term used pretty much exclusively by those in the Western world.
These countries never called themselves communist states. They called themselves
“socialist states” - it’s in the name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The term “Communist State” is also an oxymoron, given that communism is, as mentioned earlier,
a stateless, classless, moneyless society. Nice job, Western academic big brains.
Now, rather than just seeing communism as a kind of society that we might implement in this country
or that country, it’s more useful to understand it as a stage of historical development.
We Marxists divide history into a number of stages corresponding to different “modes of production”.
We’ll talk more about what exactly we mean by “modes of production” in the next video, but
for now let’s briefly look at the different stages of historical development that we can identify:
The first main stage of historical development that existed was called “Primitive Communism”,
think hunter-gatherer societies. The next stage of development we see
is “Slave Society”, such as those of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Following this, we see the development of “Feudalism”, such
as in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. After feudalism, we’ve arrived at “Capitalism”,
such as in the modern United States of America. Beyond capitalism, we achieve “Socialism”,
such as was achieved in the USSR and China. Finally, after the epoch of socialism,
we will arrive at “Communism”. But what does communism actually
look like? What will life be like for the average person in the age of communism?
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become
accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it
possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the
afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever
becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.” It’ll be a society of abundance with equitable
distribution for all. People will work as they’re able, and receive everything they require;
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”
Sound utopian? Too good to be true? Utopianism is expecting that our planet
can sustain capitalism: a system which requires infinite growth in a world of finite resources.
Communists are simply realists who understand that the choice in front of us is not just “Socialism
or Barbarism”, but socialism or extinction. Now, “what exactly does socialism entail” as the
transitional stage to communism? Well, if you’d like to know the answer to that question and more,
stick around – we’ll be fleshing it out in the coming weeks and months ahead.
Today we’ve looked at what “communism” means as a movement, an ideology, and as a stage in history.
For more, check the sources and resources in the description box below.
Hopefully this has helped to clarify the term for you beyond the usual
“Communism is when big government and no food”. Cheers for watching the video. If you’re able to
support this work, please consider donating a euro or dollar per month on Patreon,
or a once-off donation on Ko-Fi. Links in the description box below.
Thank you to Rare Hero, Cormac Ó Broin, Dan Hunter, Red Corridor Raya, Comrade Romano,
Jason, Michaela Schmid, Mammarius Hex, Ryan Hodgson, Donal O Coisdealbha, Gabriel Bailey,
Hugh Jass, the rjienrlwey condition, Jess, Ian McShea, Libertarian Stalinist, Dan Hunter, soup,
Pontus, Colm Walsh, Hagen Michels, Evan Crossland, “..”, Boricua Guerilla, Roja and Daniel Hamilton.
Wouldn’t be able to make these videos without yous. Cheers, everyone. Slán go Fóill.