Module 9 Chapter 21

Why did the communist experiment which was committed to equality, abundance, and human socialism generate failed economies and oppressive brutal and totalitarian regimens?

The communist experiment failed because  communist states could not prosper, economically speaking, neither the Soviet Union economy could sustain their support, along with decline in their military capacity and moral reputation. This collapse began in China in the 1970’s, following the death of their revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in 1976. In Eastern Europe most of the popular movements overthrew their communist governments one after another. Lastly, the end of communism occurred in 1991 in the Soviet Union . Mikhail Gorbachev, a reformist leader who had come to power in 1985,  was not able to revive and save the Soviet socialism which at that time it was falling apart. Instead of reviving the country's economy, it made it worse as it created a political disintegration on December 25, 1991 (p.958). Communist economies were not able to keep up with capitalist countries. Not only that, their economy was stagnant. In the Soviet economy, people did not produce any goods, instead they became greatly dependent on consumer goods from their government; the availability to these goods was not only of poor quality but very scarce. Due to this economic stagnation, their military force could not be sustained  either (p.959). In addition,  two factors also contributed to communism gaining bad reputation. In Russia, during 1928, Joseph Stalin’s leadership changed everything. Prior to Stalin, many families prospered under Lenin’s New Economic Policy that allowed private enterprise and profit making. As Stalin came to power, suddenly that private enterprise was transferred  to collectivize agriculture, and people who have gained economic prosperity were looked down, and were classified Kulaks (wealthy peasants killed or deported to remote areas of the country), their wealth was confiscated, and people were deported to the far north of the Soviet Union. In addition, religion was prohibited, so many priests would disappear and their churches were looted and destroyed (p.949). Furthermore, as countries became more globally connected, the culture became more democratic. Human rights and democracy became more widely embraced as the universal legacy of humankind (p.959), instead of sole propaganda of capitalism. Thus, the economic failure and morality decline of communism had no place in the modern world.