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Communism

Early Socialism:
Socius=common, united, cooperative
French revolution motto: Liberty, Fraternity, Equality -equality did not happen
Utopian Socialist:
● Saint Simon: divided the society into the working class and the idling class (like nobility),
gave the power the working class
● Furier: phalanstery system -> self-contained utopian community
● Owen: English industrialist, didn’t want to exploit his workers -> founded commune-like
villages
Early French Socialists:
● Proudhon: father of anarchism (questioned the authority of the state) “property is theft”
● Blanc: called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment
Scientific Socialism (Marxism):
Based on the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, the Communist Manifesto:
● In the name of internationality, call for solidarity: “Workers of the world, unite! You have
nothing to lose but your chains"
● Sources:
○ German philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Feuerbach)
○ English economics(Smith, Ricardo)
○ Utopian socialists
● Philosophy: materialism -> everything that truly exists is matter; everything is material,
thus all phenomena we see are a result of material interactions
● Economics: focusing on the historical and structural shifts in the mode of production, class
conflict, and the role of productive forces in driving social change within capitalist societies
● Historical perspective: appearance of private property resulted in class conflicts:
○ Ancient times: slaves, free men
○ Middle ages: landlords, serfs
○ Modern times: capitalists, workers -> capitalists exploits the workers
The proletariat will eventually win, creating a classless, and propertyless society
● Revolution theory: class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat will lead to a
worker’s revolution that will evolve into a world revolution. After a dictatorship of the
proletariat private property will cease to exist. A socialist society will abolish inequalities,
social classes and money.
I. International Workingmen’s Association:
The aftermath of the Industrial Revolution: divisive opinion
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Trade union movements:

● free market economy resulted in economic crises (1857, 1873) so protectionism (restricting
imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas,
and a variety of other government regulations) was introduced -> appreciation for local products
and domestic workforce which resulted in the formation of trade unions
● 1860’s: Trade Union Congress (English trade union covenant)
I. International Workingmen’s Association - London, 1864
● Initiated by Marx to revive the worker’s movements, bringing together the world’s worker
movements
● The movement was weakened by several conflicts: (French-German)
○ anarchist movement grew stronger: against all forms of authority and seeks to
abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically
including the state and capitalism
○ anarchist wanted radical actions like assassinations against capitalists
○ eventually they were expelled from the association
● The movement stopped in 1876
Branches of marxism:
Labour Party’s appearances in European parliaments (from the end of the 19th c.)
● Western Europe: consolidation period after the Second Industrial Revolution -> no
unemployment, less poverty -> no longer wanted to overthrow the capitalist governments
● Germany: Ferdinand Lassalle - General German Workers' Association (1863, social reform
aims, general suffrage), 1869-Social Democratic Workers Party -> was banned by Bismark, from
1899 permanent Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP)
Division of Marxism:
● Revisionists: Eduard Berstein revisioned marxism and introduced social democracy:
supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist and democratic approach
toward achieving limited socialism
● Centrist marxism: (Trocky, Kautsky, Bauer, McDonald) abolition of capitalism with using
trade unions and parliamentary system
● Revolutionary marxists=Communists: (Russia-Lenin; Germany-Liebknecht, Rosa
Luxemburg) radical marxism, promising immediate revolution and dictatorship of the proletariat
Second International:
● 1889-100 year anniversary of the French revolution
○ Introduce Labour Day: as a memory of the Chicago Workers strike (1886)
○ Still divided because of the different branches of marxism
Christian socialism:
● The industrial revolution made an impact on the religious societies like the Christian Church
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○ The Church’s influence decrease with the urbanization process

○ Secularisation: Church lost influence even in traditional areas like education, family
law matters (marriage, divorce), civil registration
● Initiations of the Church:
○ Ketteler, bishop of Mainz, started organization of Unions on a Catholic basis
○ Adolph Kolping: Kolping Society -job training, education for young people
○ 1891: Rerum Novarum encyclical by Pope Leo XIII.
- role of the state is to promote justice through the protection of rights, while the
church must speak out on social issues to teach correct social principles and ensure
class harmony, calming class conflict
-peaceful relationship between employer and employee, rejected exploitation
● Christian political association:
○ At the end of the 19th century political parties with christian and socialist values
emerged: the protection of women, children, weak, poor fell on the state
-Hungary: Ottokár Prohászka, bishop of Székesfehérvár is known for work in
this area

Bolshevik takeover:
● February revolution:
○ Series of protests about fuel and food shortage and inflation
○ Soldiers refused to fight, deserted the army
○ The generals gave Nicolas II. an ultimatum: he must abdicate on March 3, ending the
reign of the Romanov dynasty
○ Successful revolution: Provisional Government led by Prince Lvov
● Failure of the Provisional Government:
○ Didn’t quit the war
○ No land redistribution
○ No centralized power (Petrograd Soviet Party)
● Bolshevik popularity:
○ In spring 1917: the party was small, most of its leaders emigrated or exiled
○ 1917 April: Lenin published April Theses - permanent revolution: goal, the
dictatorship of the proletariat
○ 1917 Summer: the Kerensky offensive failed -> political crisis, the bolshevik
program was “suitable” for solving the problems (land reform, peace)
○ Right-wing forces led by General Kornilov tried to overthrow the new Kerensky
Government, but the bolsheviks helped to put it down
○ Bolshevik majority in the Petrograd Soviet Party bed by Trockij
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● Bolshevik takeover:
○ Lenin and Trockij planned an immediate armed uprising
○ 1917. November 6-7: overthrew the Provisional Government, Red Guard marched
into Saint Petersburg and took over the strategic points, arrested a government officials -
> bloodless coup
○ All-Russian Congress was opened:
-decree on soviet power: meaning the dictatorship of the proletariat
- decree on peace: truce with Germany
-decree on land: confiscating land from landowners and monasteries without
compensation, redistribution among the peasants
Ideology and early actions:
● The State and Revolution - book written by Lenin: how he pictures socialistic, equal state
○ describes his views on the role of the state in society, the necessity of proletarian
revolution, and the theoretic inadequacies of social democracy in achieving revolution to
establish the dictatorship of the proletariat.
● No specific program about achieving the dictatorship of the proletariat: improvised actions:
○ Establishing a one-party system
○ Role of the state was absolutised, used violence
○ Social equality: 8 hour work days, paid leave, civil marriage, abolishing ranks and
privileges, free medical care
○ Nationalization in industry and commerce
● The land question:
○ Long-term: abolition private property, complete state ownership
○ They did do redistribution at first to satisfy the peasants, but strict supervision of
production
● World revolution:
○ Thought themselves to be the first representatives of the world revolution
○ Revolution didn’t expand as expected so Lenin introduced temporary period of
peaceful coexistence with the capitalist world
○ Third International: advocated world communism
Russian Civil war:
● Red (Bolshevik-led socialist state headed by Vladimir Lenin) vs. White (led mainly by the right-leaning officers of
the Russian Empire) Army
● War communism:
○ nationalization of industries
○ requisition of agricultural surplus from peasants
○ ticket system, obligatory labor duty, strikes forbidden
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○ State control of foreign trade

○ Rationing of food and most commodities with centralised redistribution
● Blosheviks won but the economy almost completely crumbled
○ Peasants didn’t produce, strikes, black markets
● Kronstadt rebellion (1921. feb.): insurrection of Soviet sailors, naval infantry, and civilians
against the Bolshevik government -> ended war communism
● Polish-Soviet war: (1920-21)
○ Poland occupied West-Ukraine and West-Belarus
● By 1922 the situation stabilized -> establishing the Soviet Union (in theory union of
federated republics)
● New Economic Policy (NEP): temporary solution that would include "a free market and
capitalism, both subject to state control", while socialized state enterprises would operate on "a
profit basis"

Communist Soviet Union:

Stalin’s autocracy:
● Lenin died in 1924: didn’t thought either Stalin or Trocky was suitable for his position
● Differences:
○ NEP: Trocky wanted less influence of NEP in the economy->more control over the
peasants and agriculture (Stalin thought otherwise)
○ World revolution: Stalin accepted Lenin’s theory about the world revolution not
happening immediately, Trocky didn’t think coexistence with the capitalist world was
possible, trusted in an immediate revolution
● Stalin’s secret alliance - troika with Kamenev and Ziniviev -> eliminated Trocky
○ After 1928- Stalin terminated the troika and ruled alone
Shift: (1928-29)
● The economic development of the NEP stopped in 1926
● Spoiled foreign relationships: with China, Great Britain
● Internal tensions: peasants got richer (more influence)
● As a reaction: Stalin had to speed up the socialization
● Terminated the NEP, started the collectivization
Collectivization:
Agriculture:
● Forced, immediate collectivization - formation of kolkhozes
● Adopted Preobrazhensky’s "primitive accumulation of capital” theory (the capital for
industrialization should be taken from agriculture)
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● Peasantry desperately tried to resist (hiding crops, slaughtering animals) ->production

relapsed (allowed quitting kolkhozes but eventually they were forced to return for good)
● Didn’t made a difference -> didn’t have the necessary equipment and technology for
large-scale industrial use
● 1932-33: Holodomor - Ukrainian famine
○ Despite a year of bad production, Stalin continued the collectivization resulting in
mass starvation (7-10 million people died)
○ Some thought it was an intentional genocide
Industry:
● First 5 year plan: (1928-32)
○ System based on increasing the quantity of production
○ If people didn’t achieved the set quantity they blamed somethings (pesticides, saboteur
lawsuits)
○ The biggest portion of the investments went to the heavy industry (new sectors:
machinery industry)
○ Customer goods industry didn’t get enough capital: permanent lack of products
● Second 5 year plan: (1933-37)
○ More attention in customer goods
○ Achievements: statistically overtook England, France, Germany (but GDP still
behind)
Foreign trade:
● grain and raw material export ->could finance import (weapons, machines)
● Tried to decrease machine import
Economic Policy:
Goals:
● Wanted to achieve self-sufficiency, independent from capitalist powers
● Preparation for a (possible) war
Planned economy:
● Led by: Gosplan - State Planning Committee
○ Ignored market conditions- unrealistic plans
○ Exploitation of the labour force ->stakhanovite movement: modeled themselves
after the mythic productivity of the Russian coal miner Alexei Stakhanov, workers sought
to increase their production by improving efficiency
● Lead to:
○ Faking economic data
○ Wastefulness: labour force, material, energy
○ Damaging the environment
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● No improvement in standard of living

● Fearful life of the peasants and workers
Characteristics of Stalin’s dictatorship
Violent organizations:
● Secret police: Cheka (later KGB)
● NKVD: People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs ->Beria
Eliminating enemies:
● 1934: Kirov (popular member of the party - Stalin got him killed)
● 1940: Trocky (assassinated in Mexico)
Show trials:
● the guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined, purpose of holding a
show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a
warning to other would-be dissidents or transgressors
○ 1936: First Moscow show trial: execution of Zinoviev and Kamenev
○ 1937: Second Moscow show trial
○ 1937: Tukhachevsky trial (“decapitation of the army”)
○ 1938: Third Moscow show trial: execution of Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda
○ 1940: execution of Yezhov
Gulag:
● Labour camps everywhere in the SU but most famous ones in Siberia (Kolyma)
● In theory the goal was reformation, but in reality the work was needed
● Inhumane circumstances, high mortality rate (million people until WW2)
Cult of personality: pictures statues of Stalin
Society:
Superiority over the capitalistic world
Propaganda:
● Economic achievements (lot of the times unrealistic)
● Improving standards of living
● Ideal socialist man:
○ Loyal to the party, educated on the ideology
○ Loves to work, family-centric
● Artist in propaganda:
○ Literature, painting, films
○ Idealistic themes
○ Artistic tools: red colour, sickle, hammer, Marx, Engles depiction