Nazi Flag
Communism vs Nazism
Communism and Nazism – Two historic philosophies that have more in common than many think
In 1939, the world was stunned by the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Here were two competing political systems –Nazi Germany and the Communist Soviet Union – agreeing to work together. Even though Hitler nullified this pact by attacking the Soviet Union, this moment in history highlighted a common bond between these power-hungry philosophies. Despite each side’s adamant claims of being diametrically opposed to the other, Communism and Nazism are fairly comparable worldviews with only minor differences. Communism and Nazism are quite possibly the most vilified political philosophies in the modern era. At their historic zeniths, these totalitarian worldviews captured the attention of the world. Their radical nature inspired revolutions, built empires, and provoked wars. Ultimately, they collapsed upon themselves, and now have been relegated to the dustbin of history.
All radical philosophies are reactionary; Nazism and Communism are no different. Both of these ideologies were considered to be “natural” responses to historical phenomena that were unique to 19th century Europe. For Nazism, the convergence of nationalism and anti-Semitism ushered in this diabolical political movement as a means to building German pride by vilifying the “Jewish menace.” Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” was inspired by the rise of class consciousness during the Industrial Revolution, and the perceived widening gaps in income inequality and wealth.
Nazism and Communism fixate on hierarchies. The racial superiority of the Aryan race is central to Nazism. Built on a foundation of pseudo-science and biological determinism that places Jews, blacks, and other minorities in very low regard, Nazism divides human society along strict religious, ethnic, and racial lines. Communism focuses on economic hierarchy – more specifically the stratification of classes. There are the “haves” and “have-nots,” and Communism seeks to empower the latter to revolt against the former. Each belief system enforces a regimented set of rules for “acceptable” political behavior – painting a very bleak “black-and-white” world with very little wiggle room for divergent political thought.
The philosophical roots of both ideologies can be traced to the Victorian era, but their actualizations into flesh-and-blood political movements didn’t occur until the Modern era. Nazism was obviously ubiquitous during Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich. The political ideology was the brainchild of Hitler, whose rise to power and twisted thoughts created the infrastructure that mechanized its destructiveness. Hitler seized the collective imagination of the German people, who willingly accepted many of the more horrifying tenets of Nazism.
Communism entered the picture with the October Revolution of 1917. However, the application of Communism has been reinterpreted time and time again, which has resulted in various branches – Leninism, Stalinism, and Maoism to name a few – that differed from its original philosophical foundations. For example, Karl Marx postulated that the proletarian revolution could only take place in highly industrialized economies like that of Great Britain. Predominately peasant-agrarian economies, like Russia, were considered “backwards” by Marx, and the last place where Communism would succeed. Vladimir Lenin, the leading figure in the October Revolution and architect for the Soviet Empire, turned this concept on its head to usher in the Bolsheviks as the elite, vanguard party to overthrow tsarist Russia. There is a strong disconnect between what Marx philosophized and how his followers put his words into action.
A strong, centralized government is key to both Nazism and Communism. Bolstered by a military-style police state, each political movement subverts civil liberties, silences dissent, and limits the role of the individual – all in favor of law, order, tradition, and efficiency. Oddly enough, Marx postulated that the state would “wither away” during the transition to a socialist utopia. The totalitarianism present throughout the history of the Soviet Union – from Stalin’s gulags to arms race during the Cold War – highlights another reinterpretation of Marx’s words.
Despite the large historical impact of these ideologies, both of them now stand on the fringes of current political discourse. Nazism has been diminished to the lower echelons of political dialogue: the White Supremacy movement, which is nothing more than thugs with Swastika tattoos and violent tempers. Nazism doesn’t even control a minute fraction of any current governmental power. Meanwhile, Communism still exists – but barely. The People’s Republic of China is a far cry from the Great Leap Forward inspired by Mao; Communism in China embraces big business in a way that would make Marx rollover in his grave. North Korea and Cuba – the remaining Communist countries – don’t exactly arouse fear in the same way as the “Red Menace” once did, due to their own internal dysfunctions. Communism continues to be exposed as an unsustainable political/economic system.
The true strength of any philosophy must withstand the experimentation of history, and it is obvious that neither Nazism nor Communism have fully presented themselves as commendable options for the governance of civil societies.
Summary:
1. Communism is a socio economic ideology that aims at a classless, egalitarian, and a stateless society. Nazism or National Socialism is a totalitarian ideology that was practised by the Nazi Party or the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
2. Nazism became so popular under Adolf Hitler. Communist ideology can be attributed to Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels.
3. Communism stands for a free society where all are equal and every one can participate in the decision making process. Nazism stands for socialist policies but also ensures that a wealthy class stays at the helm of power.
4. While Communism is on the far left, Nazism is considered to be far right.
Jay Stooksberry
“While Communism is on the far left, Nazism is considered to be far right.”
I disagree with this statement. On a line, in my opinion, the far left is total government a true “nanny state”, full of and totally controlled by laws, whereby the self governing responsibility of the people is abrogated and even disregarded. The far right is total anarchy, absolute lawlessness, no responsibility of gov or people to live by even the slightest inherent rights/laws given to all people. Communism/Nazism are principles that move perpendicular along the line of left and right, and are extended from whatever position on the left/right line a particular nation is at. The farther right a nation is the closer the Nazism gets to the L/R line the farther left a nation is the closer the Communism gets to the L/R line. When a nation is totally left there is a right angle line |_ when totally right there is a right angle _|. We, the USA were founded just beyond Anarchy, with a small government, and the ability of the people to govern the nation, the laws, and themselves.
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My right angle line for Nazism should be a straight-line with the right angle at the end right pointing down not up. Due to limitations here I cannot show it. The up down line slides along perpendicularly and across to L/R line and also the U/D line slides accordingly on itself the closer it gets to one end or the other. At dead center the U/D line would make a plus sign across the L/R line. That in fact doesn’t make the perfect Gov either. Correction…
‘We, the USA were founded just beyond Anarchy, with a small government, and the ability of the people to govern the nation, the laws, and themselves.’
Intending to say we were founded to the left of anarchy and to the right of center.
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The USA is now the Mother of all Corrupted world, first of all was made under Stolen land !!! Also Killed Millions of Native Americans to have it !!, You have not even the Right to be Born and to Write
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You can’t be that dull. Every country in the world and every property in the world was probably “stolen” from someone else.
But by that extension, it was ok for Nazi Germany to invade different countries because it was part of the German empire that came before them.
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“considered” far right
The facts are BOTH ( nazis &communists) WANT TO CONTROL business which then controls the people/speech etc
ie the money flow and power
A TRUE SMALL GOVERNMENT philosophy
will have none of that
In the USA the Dems are for controlling business politically speech etc
The small government types head towards the GOP but that turned bad as most of the GOP have gone to the Leftist “freebie give aways” action
So the Tea Party came about
and scared BOTH THE DEMS AND GOP THAT THEY DEMONIZED THEM
along with the ever “helpful” media
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Lol… your article is extremely biased… are you a communist? Let us not forget that in every single communist state the world has ever seen, the members of the communist party are considered to be more important than the rest of society and, as such, have access to a lot more benefits.
Also, communism is not stateless. In communist regimes, the state is strong and has control of absolutely everything (wanna know more about it? read about stasi, the east german political police). It is completely opposed to a capitalist free-market state. The correct would be to say that capitalism is stateless. Capitalism is the most close system to anarchism… capitalist states are minimal and you have the freedom to say or do whatever you feel like doing.
So, the difference between communism and nazism is that the latter has a stronger stand for the concept of race, whereas the former does not.
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You cite only contemporary examples of communism. The ideal communism doesn’t exactly function a those examples do.
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Nowhere in the history of the world dose “ideal communism” exist or has it ever existed. Communism is what it is, not what you want it to be. Communism is one of the most brutal and dictatorial forms of government in history, that’s what communism is.
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Ideal communism did exist.
I was born in Yugoslavia and I can tell you our lives were pretty sweet up until Tito died and religious fanatics started the Balkan wars.
I was fairly young, but I can tell you we ALL had good quality tax funded healthcare, at least 1 month of vacation (with the option of a free trip to the seaside, or going on your own to wherever you wanted – we would go to Germany a lot). Education was first class, our relationship with the US was great. Our industry sector was really healthy. The US imported a lot of our manufactured goods.
Everyone had a job, and enough free time to cultivate hobbies, read, or just chill and embrace nature (which in the Balkans is gorgeous, btw).
All workers actively participated in their workplace’s management, and decisions such as promotions, raises, etc. were made as a group. Some people were wealthier than others, and some would go further in education than others, but that was a matter of personal choice. You could make a living with any job. Absolutely everyone had the minimum necessary for a decent life. Nobody starved, nobody had to get two jobs to survive (although you could if you wanted to save extra $) and nobody lacked at least a little bit of entertainment and like I said before holidays and time to spend with the family.
This was Yugoslavia. A beautiful communist country with shortcomings (like all countries), but most importantly with a culture of equality and cooperation, ruined by religious fanatics.
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I am very pleased that the planet Earth is kept honest people!
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Funny, I know some refugees from Jacksonville Florida after the genocide there in Bosnia/ Yugoslavia . They were all under educated, Malnourished, and had nothing nice to say about “home”…they said the war was the best thing that ever happened to them. Also, Marx states in the communist manifesto that the regular man is not equip for the reality of politics and called for a superior class to rule. Another thing is the idea that natives and social programs a really socialist, they are not. A government service Qdoesn’t indicate socialism, maybe a kind if collectivism.
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Ah, nothing like a good “made the trains run on time” fallacy.
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Yeah, tragedy of Bleiburg, massacre of Backa, Kocevski Rog, Siroki Brijeg, concentration camps where several hundred thousand were tortured and killed, many non-communist killed, many clergy killed, real nice guy, real nice communist place.
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You must have been in a privileged group and either don’t realize it or are just being dishonest. I have done a quick check of a number of websites on the history of Yugoslavia and all of them give a fairly unfavorable account of Tito’s rule over the country, how over the years the economy was decimated and the various factions became more and more dissatisfied and polarized. By the 1990s the country was being torn apart by bloody wars. In fact, I remember when watching one of the major tennis matches, Goran Ivanisevic was very distracted and upset because of what was happening in his home country.
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Either one is bad what we have in the United States is about as good as one can get , I might mention if any one is interested in the history of communism or the Nazi’s you will find it suppresses the people and millions die by being killed or starve to death. They both have the elite class ruling the peons . Who ever wrote this article is either unaware of what he is writing or they are a communist or leans that way . No matter their politics people die as an end result of both.
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if you ever lived in a communist country you would know that to work you have to be part of the communist party, so it’s just about climbing to the top that would give you benefits, not to mention that the so called communists are nothing that power thirsty people, the ideas of marx are just an utopia
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NAILED IT!!
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Disgraceful level of pro-communist bias here. Communism is a “free society” that’s blatant misinformation.
National socialism and communism are actually very similar, the core difference being that national socialism centres around the national worker, whereas communism centres around the international worker. Hence Lenin saying that in order for communism to work, the entire world must be communist.
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Compare Marx’s writings to Hitler’s writings. Notice the lack of genocide, oppression, and racism in the former. Contemplate how Marxist theory was implemented badly in Russia due to a brutal civil war. Figure out that Nazism and Marxism are two very different things.
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http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50724
Yea, those communist leaders were not racist at all…
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That is a fallacy no matter who runs the show the out come is always the same, death and destruction . I actually get sick when I hear someone say if it is run right , the track record of both lead to death and destruction no matter who runs it . I am pleased because there are only a few here that like one or the other ,.
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Nazism is biological racism, marxism is social racism. Genocide? Russian civil war and Stalin’s collectivization – genocide of nobles, clerics, cossacks and kulaks (russian fermers). Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot was better Hitler?! Millions “enemies of the people” or “class enemies” was killed. It’s no genocide?!
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what??
“implemented badly” as if to suggest
it would have worked if not for bad implementation
wow!
they both work to submit people to their authoritative will/whims
re think time!
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Communism and National Socialism agree that the government, run by the right people, should make all the decisions. They just disagree on who are the right people.
Communism is an amplification of the mercantile approach, that the government can decide what economic opportunities are permitted to exist, and what economic products each person is permitted to have.
National Socialism is merely Communism, colored with Darwinism. The Government is permitted to decide who is fit and who is unfit.
The idea that individuals should be free to make their own decisions, and to reap the benefits or suffer the consequences is absent from both ideologies.
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Marx’s model was the US antebellum slave plantation. The masters would sit in the big house and make the decisions. The proletariat would live in the slave quarters, and would accept direction.
The problem is, as Maggie Thatcher said, eventually you run out of other people’s money. When there is nothing left to steal, theft as policy doesn’t work, and so the socialists attempt to force labor, leading to slavery. When slaves are not productive, then increasingly harsh methods are used, leading to torture. When slaves resist being tortured, or try to escape, then the authority will kidnap and murder. The most sad thing to my mind is what happens to the next generation, grown up on the ideat that any productive activity or even thrift leads to having the goods stolen, that courage leads to torture or murder. A generation so educated turns to perversion.
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The only way one can arrive at the false conclusion that Marxism isn’t extensively vested in genocide, oppression and racism is to make it a point to never read Marx, and instead project all your fantasies and wishes onto Communism. Which pretty much describes all Communists.
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You’re obviously biased. ‘Compare Marx’s writings to Hitler’s writings’, no, that doesn’t work here. Look at that communist nutjob Guevara, did he follow ‘Marx’s writings?’ There’s many more deaths, caused by communism than Nazism. Look at what is happening in the world today, who are in the headlines? jews, DSK, Murdoch, Weiner, and the list goes on over history. Hitler was right in TRYING to cleanse Europe. Note closely that i said he TRIED. There is no proof of this ‘holocaust 2’, the first holocaust belongs to the Armenians, which of cause was triggered by the jews. Who are the Socialists? jews, Who are the Communists? jews, the majority of them are jews, some research would show you. The US were on the wrong side in that war, if we joined the Nazis then there wouldn’t even have been a cold war, we could’ve crushed communism and left Europe to Hilter. Also, Israel wouldn’t even be here and all this gaza conflict would not be happening, and there would be less animosity from the muslim world towards the US. Imagine a few years after WW2, the jews relentlessly attacked innocent people, Christians and Muslims. They even killed and destroyed two Palestine Christian villages, Iqrit and Kafr. Why do you think these jews and israel are so ‘democratic’? It’s the closest they can get to their real beliefs, and eventually they would, if we let them. DSK would have destroyed France with his Socialism, luckily he got into that whole situation with the maid.
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No. In modern Russia most jews are liberals and anti-communists (example Kasparov, Nemtsov, Novodvorskaya, Latynina). And most communists are anti-semites, they want to new Stalin, who will restore the Soviet Union and kill/send to GULAG all jews.
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Rather silly post. The US couldn’t have joined the Nazis, as Germany declared war on the US.
Hitler recieved his Iron Cross from his company commander, from the hands of a Jew.
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Hey Folks
What happened to the US Constitution? I think the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing. If followed, it keeps us from all that crap!
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Do you not see the bias in your own post? You have without a doubt read some Richard Wagner as well as some Mein Kampf. Hitler tried to do what he thought was best for Germany, not Europe. He despised anything non-German, including Western Democracy and Russian Communism. His ideas were fueled by Richard Wagner who said that the Jews were not human and that liberalism was destroying the country. He first hinted at the thought of a “final solution to the Jewish question” and Hitler formed it into policy. These men were incredibly immoral and it is disturbing to know that you share the same thought. You minute you dehumanize a group a people you yourself become less human. You think all would be well had the U.S. not intervened or joined the Axis? That is absurd. Kill all the Jews – Then what? Everyone will live happily ever after? BS. Wagner and Hitler believed in Aryan Superiority just as much as they believed in a Jewish enemy. Hitler would not have stopped after Europe, he would have gone after the world. The antisemitism in Germany during the 19th and 20th century was pure paranoia. That’s why Nazism did not prevail. They couldn’t face the fact that they were not “betrayed” by “the jews” in WW1. They needed an excuse because they couldn’t face defeat. The Germans are not superior to anyone. Please don’t let Hitler poison your mind.
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There could not have been a more poorly informed, biased comparison of Nazism and Communism than this.
Nazism is not ‘far right’.
Communism resulted in more overall deaths than Nazism.
Both suppressed other ideologies, free speech and democracy.
Both persecuted political opponents.
Both were extremely authoritarian (even if in theory Communism is Anarchic, manifestly it was just as Authoritarian as Nazism)
Both restricted free enterprise.
And yes both created a wealthy elite, through collectivism! Elitism in the name of anti elitism.
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Absolutely.
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well said Danny !
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Well said. Nazis are Nationalistic left wingers
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The perfect on liner!
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This is a very manipulative communist article, and I’m glad people realize this.
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Nazism: there’s high race (example aryans), another races (example jews or blacks) must die.
Communism: there’s high class (example workers), another classes (example capitalists or clerics) must die.
Both ideologies deny human equality, what’s difference?
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‘Human equality’ is a modern invention.
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Communist have murdered more people than the Nazis ever have. Both are evil. They will both put a gun to your head and require your participation. They are straight from hell.
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That may be true, but it doesn’t mean much. Pre-WWII Germany is the only Nazi government, but there have been many Communist governments, so that is not a meaningful statistic. It’s like saying internal combustion engine cars have killed more people than gas/electric hybrid cars have. True, but meaningless.
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Finally, someone said it. Of course Communism killed a lot more people than Nazism. There have been many communist governments, and only one Nazi government. Anyway, the whole philosophy of Nazism is evil and sick, about racial superiority and killing Jews, black people etc. while with socialism the philosophy is purely about freeing the working class from the shackles of Capitalist exploitation. Communism has been used as a pre-text to terrible dictators, and has been hijacked by sick, twisted men like Stalin who used it as a front to further his power and political ambitions, but it’s not inherently evil and horrific like Nazi ideologies.
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Americans want neither Communism nor Natzism and what it has been doing for 300 years in trying to produce a democracy that is unequal in order to prevent that outcome, but not so unequal as to gravitate toward inequality in the other direction.
But who counted on corporate powers being the enemy Americans must fight to prevent dumping government in its hands?
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simple, both suck but I rather Nazi, at least they are right and they might have killed less people than communists, and communism is a bigger threat nowadays than nazi
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Pedro, that’s dumb. I would prefer communist to Nazi any day. It’s true that communist killed more than Nazi’s, but that’s because the Nazi’s lost so fast. Had they the chance, the Nazi would have destroyed more than the Communist. Entire peoples would have been lost. That is a permanent loss to everyone. Also, the majority of Communist deaths were due to failing socialist economic policy. In terms of economics, Communists and Nazi are VERY similar, and these deaths would have happened anyways.
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I chose neither.
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Nazism was founded by the far right wing
nationalist volkisch movement in post war
Germany. The national socialist party was
very right wing in the sense that they supported
social hierarchy and social inequality which
Happen to be the base principals of right wing
politics. The nazis originally preached anti
capitalist and anti big business but later
flopped on their opinions to gain support of
industrialists.
Communism is a leftist ideology based entirely
around social equality and power to the proletariat
and removal of the bourgeois. Communism is not
totalitarian or fascist at all. The only reason people
see communism and fascism in the same group
is because the only “communist” governments
we have had are really dictatorships under the
guise of communism. A “communist” dictator can
nationalize (government take over) businesses
and have more economic control over the masses.
Ideal communism is stateless.
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Nazism stands for socialist policies but is on the far right? Is it on the right of communism? Yes absolutely. Is it on the right of democratic capitalism? No it is to the left. But what made the nazis so evil was their genocidal eugenicism, not their economics. But the communists were motivated by their economic theory to murder around 100 million people since it’s inception.
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Political ideologies are meant for the people (if not, just for some…) but there is always one factor that makes it not function properly – people
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That explains the push by the far left to reduce the total population of the world; people are the reason why communism does not work~ therefore eliminate them, right? Both are founded on a philosophy that sees people as expendable.
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In theory communism is stateless society owned and run by the worker and intellectuals rather than the financially privileged. In practice, communist societies are run from the top down by the politically connected: The Soviet Union, Mau’s China, Cuba and North Korea.
Despite the fact that his father was a Jewish lawyer, Karl Marx wrote an antiemetic column in the Herald Tribune that was later made into his book, “A world without Jews”. Marx believes in the superiority of the German people and the worthlessness of people in Eastern Europe. His followers envisioned Hitler’s gas chambers. Nazi advertisements and metals incorporated Karl Marx’s images and the hammer and cycle at least as late as 1939. The German communists were in large part incorporated into the Nazi party as they opposed the money changers, the Jews. Only after Hitler had absolute power, did he condemn Marx.
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This is the most intellectually dishonest article I’ve ever seen on communism. Frankly I’m not even sure why I’m taking the time to post this response.
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Wow, listen to the glowing terms the author uses to speak of communism.
In this day and age, how utterly despicable.
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… perhaps the author had the good fortune to live under communism as well as in a democracy …!
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Wow such bull. Author confirmed for shill. Communism is nothing more than a Jewish-created ploy to keep the classes fighting among themselves while they took the power for themselves. Its outlined very clearly in the “Protocols of Learned Elders of Zion” which have been proven authentic by here:
http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=534
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Well, it seems most people posting here think Communism is not such a bad governmental system. That’s good if they live in America because most of our leaders are communists and it appears we are being taken over by that system. Even our Constitutional Rights are at risk. Check out some references to this at http://commieblaster.com
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The Constitution is as much rubbish as the writing of Karl Marx. It describes a system which humans could achieve if they were better people. It is impractical in a society as long as humans have imperfections (forever).
Like the Bible, the Constitution will disappear as an obsolete document written for a world which clearly has changed considerably. People are just filling in the blanks to suit their own image.
If the Founding Fathers saw machine guns I heavily doubt they would give “the right to bear arms”. That’s just one of many things of which people interpret themselves, assuming that it must somehow mean all firearms.
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Except automatic weapons existed at the time the framers wrote the Constitution.
Just because you’re a totalitarian idiot who lacks foresight or knowledge doesn’t maje the Constitution utopic.
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This article is biased communist crap. More people have died under communism than any other form of government. Nazi state not much different in functional reality. Had they lasted longer I’m sure they could have killed just as many as the “communists”. In quotes because different in name only. The reason communists were hated by national socialists is because they took attention away from Hitler and the “mother land”. These communists were truly, as you are, idealists because practically there is no difference.
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Depends on the angle from which one observes. There was Yugoslavia communism which one was ideal communism. Free traveling, free healthcaree,free education,secured job,stable economy, the ability to export and import.Communism in Yugoslavia did not fail because it was not sustainable, but because of the long history of the people and the republics that made up Yugoslavia.Different religions, different traditions, have produced leaders who have guided with nationalism wanted to make a “democratic society”. The fundamentalists came to power, the same ones that caused bloody wars 91-95.When I say long history, by comparison Balkan nations had their own countrys while on the territory of the today United States Indians are still rode horses . It is true that Russian communism killed millions of people, but what about capitalism. What about slavery, WW2,Vietnam war, middle East, all weapons sold to African and South American rebels.This is the legacy of capitalism
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By the way “x” is clueless. The constitution was designed for balance of power between federal and state governments. The spirit of the constitution was that individuals have the right to pursue whatever dreams they have, so long as no harm to others. The constitution framers believed in negative social justice such as you have the right to not get murdered. They did NOT believe in positive social justice such as you have the right to things. Two reasons for this: first it’s immoral because it violates negative social justice because the government STEALS from one group to give to another. Second, it destroys the spirit of a person if they don’t do what they can to support themselves. To what degree they can’t, private charities and gracious donations are far more efficient then government programs which not only steal, but fail miserably. Drugs did not destroy the inner cities. Money did.
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By the way “x” would you propose no government? How brilliant. Then no police, firemen, mail system, banks with protections, standard currency, building standards, food quality standards, predictable water or electrical supply. If you do propose government, then you propose the impossible because you have rejected both left (big government that controls people) and right (limited government that represents people). So your statement is absurd. Our government system has led to the most prosperous nation on earth with people enjoying more freedom than ever before. If you live in this country then please wake up. We have made terrible mistakes but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, which is exactly what the communist left is getting people to believe is the only solution. Obamacare perfect example.
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Lots of problems in this article.
First, there are no citations to authoritative works on the subject. The author’s understanding of these concepts is superficial at best.
Second, communism is not egalitarian in theory or practice. Read The Communist Manifesto, for starters, and you’ll find the seeds of totalitarianism already in Marx & Engels upon which Lenin, Stalin, Mao, et al. justified their theories and actions. Critics noted these tendencies very early, e.g., Bakunin’s predictions way back in the 1800s that Marxism would lead to totalitarianism. Or read Kolakowski’s Main Currents of Marxism for a very detailed analysis of these concepts. Or read Robert Conquest’s histories of Russia.
Third, communism in no way aspires to “a free society where all are equal and every one can participate in the decision making process.” As Kolakowski and many others have noted, authoritarianism is implicit in Marx. By purporting to speak on behalf of the “proletariat” without having been elected or appointed to do so but rather on the basis of quasi-Hegelian prophecies about the inevitability of progress, Marx et al. are simply making an elaborate philosophical justifications for imposing their will upon others. The desires and preferences of specific members of the proletariat are irrelevant to a Marxist.
Fourth, the claim that “Nazism stands for socialist policies but also ensures that a wealthy class stays at the helm of power” is incomplete, at best. The key difference here between the Marxists and the Nazis is one of scale: the Nazis allowed capitalists to retain a small measure of control over their businesses, but also capped salaries, set prices, etc.; in contrast, the communists simply killed the capitalists and/or stole their goods. The wealthy did not dictate to the Nazis, quite the contrary: the Nazis told shopkeepers and businesses how to operate and used force and intimidation to achieve their ends. It’s no wonder that the wealthy, capitalist class supported the Nazis more than they supported the communists: the communists slaughtered capitalists while the Nazis allowed them to live and prosper provided their individual goals were subservient to Nazi goals. For supporting info see Mises “Interventionism” and Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom”
Fifth, the communists and national socialists shared more similarities than differences. Both believed that democracy and capitalism had failed, both believed that top-down control by a small cadre of self-appointed visionaries was necessary, both were anti-liberal and anti-individual rights. The main difference was, again, in scope: Marxists believed that international socialism was inevitable, while Nazis and fascists believed that race/nationality was a decisive factor and that Marx’s predictions of international solidarity had been disproved by WWI. See Hayek.
Sixth, the assertion that the Nazis were radical right wing is arguably only partly true. First, several observers including Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn in his “The Menace of the Herd” (published during WWII), have noted strong leftist/progressive elements in Nazism. Second, much of the Nazis-are-right-wingers rhetoric has come from Communists who wanted to smear the Nazis as capitalist dupes when, in many respects, the Nazis were radical right wing only in comparison to the radical leftism of the Marxists (see MacGregor’s “Two Faces of Janus”).
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The problem is that people don’t know what “extreme right” means, so they go with the communist definition which is a total lie. The radical right is orthodox, isolationist, community-centered, moral, religious, believes in responsability and self-work, and it’s opposed to concentration of power on the government. The “extreme right” is something like the Amish.
The nazis however were both “extreme left” and socialists. The controversy is solved once you realize that all socialist factions hate each other, think their own is the only true form of socialist, and the rest are heretics and not truly socialists. Specifically, communists are really quick to attach the odious label of “right wing” and “fascist” to anyone that disagrees with them, and are hypocrites that praise all communist dictators for as long as they rule, and then call them “right wing” after their governments inevitably fail due to communism being the dumb brother of nazism.
There are differences between nazis and communists, but those are superficial. In their core, both systems are and work the same, and they can be described using the same text by just replacing some “buzz” words by others.
Communists argue that Nazis were not socialist because they killed socialists and communists. But this is exactly how socialists/communists behave once they achieve power. Fidel Castro betrayed Che Guevara. Stalin killed Trotsky and then altered all photos to erase him from history.
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A strong centralized gov’t. that is controlled by few, with fusion centers that collect data on it’s citizens. A nation in which the police are militarized and require ID when the citizens go anywhere even walking down the street. Mechanized drones fly the skies watching its citizens movements. Police stop and search anyone on the street or in there cars. There are racial laws that exist that exlude one group while favoring another in hiring and admissions standards. This is Nazi Germ…err ahh..the Soviet Unio….err.. ahhhh no…it is life under Obama’s America. Freely elected by the people similar to how Hitler was elected. It is life in the USA today.
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Modern Chinese communism is more in line with national socialism than actual communism. Its still a national identity with an awkward mix state-controlled and capitalistic economics
“Communism stands for a free society where all are equal and every one can participate in the decision making process.”
This simply is not true. Nobody is “free” in communism and only the “elite” have the decision making power. However, everyone is still “equal” in the eyes of communism.
“Nazism stands for socialist policies but also ensures that a wealthy class stays at the helm of power.”
That’s because of its weird mix of socialism and capitalism (something that most of the EU is essentially doing).
“While Communism is on the far left, Nazism is considered to be far right.”
It is really hard to put either on the traditional left/right spectrum. Both are totalitarian systems that suppress dissenting opinion (go ahead, try to be gay under communism).
Communism subverts (gee SJW much?) group’s/culture’s values then implements its own ideology. NS does go the traditional conservative/right rout
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Capitalism Can Only Lead To Communism!
Capitalism with Government Intervention has Financial Control over Human Life!
Capitalism that uses a Currency without the controlled backing of Gold or Silver Creates Elite Groups which Control The Middle and Lower classes with help from the Federal Reserve System!
Our Government of The People, By The People and For The People can still be an Excellent Government, as long as we put it back into our own hands. Changing a Government can be difficult but possible as long as all of the people stick together by continuous voting and writing to their political leaders.
Government is controlled by the Rich Elite who have received their Wealth Through Greed. This is okay, but the rich want to stay in high political positions so they can use the Government to maintain their Wealth. Only the Wealthy can receive these political positions, since they are the only ones who can afford the publicity to get there.
Once in a political position, they realize through greed, the political decisions they have to make. Greed is human nature and very hard to control when there is a constant access to financial success from the Federal Reserve System.
Every time the Rich Elite want something done, they do not want to use their money. Instead, they think of a problem that needs capital and then pay for it through our Government, which in turn ends up back into the hands of the Rich.
The more problems they create – war, welfare, institutes, prisons, world affairs – means more money the Government has to borrow, which creates the deficit. This has to be paid through taxes, which means less pocket cash or printing excess Money from the Federal Reserve System, without Gold or Silver backing, which causes inflation. (Fiat Money/Currency)
All this Money ends up in the hands of the Rich through the natural process of business transactions that make the Rich richer and the Greedy greedier. The Rich will control the Middle and Lower Classes because we will all be in debt to these people as long as our Government keeps borrowing, taxing or printing our money.
This transaction is happening naturally worldwide because debt is the best way to control your fellow man. As soon as all the Governments are in debt to the Rich, we will be controlled by a World Government, which will make it easier for Big Business transactions. All mergers will end up with one winner like a Monopoly Game.
After all this happens, the only thing left is the Antichrist. Is there any difference between this and Hitler’s Communistic State?
Capitalism Can Only Lead To Communism!
Alan Burton
Dieterich, Ill.
alanburtoncirclebranch@hotmail.com
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First i want to say interesting article but the second issue is and i speak fluently German to say this the least to many always saying 3rd reich just say empire it make you sound like an idiot to say third reich it’s just being stupid.
Reich means empire so just say empire instead third reich infront of Germans saying this makes people look like a bunch of idiots, Sorry for my foul mouth but it really starts to bother me like people don’t know the meaning of Reich i mean in America they think they are intellectually smart if they say Reich, To combine Reich with English in the eyes of Germans it makes them look like a bunch of Idiots.
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Sir
your summary contradicts your description. please elaborate why ??
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“Communism stands for a free society where all are equal and every one can participate in the decision making process”
I dont know how you can make this comment about communism and also acknowledge that North Korea and Cuba are communists.
Both those countries make all the descisions for their people and the majority of the people don’t dare speak up against their powerful government.
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There is no such thing as “Nazism”. The correct name is ‘National Socialism.’
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There is no such thing as “Nazism”. The correct name is ‘National Socialism’. Could you also refrain from using sensationalist descriptions, such as calling National Socialism a “diabolical political movement”. As you should know, there were many elements of that ideology that were not “diabolical”, at least not by the standards of what had existed before and parallel to National Socialism.
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