Communism vs Democracy – Difference and Comparison | Diffen
Ideology
Communism is a socialist movement that aims to create a society without class or money. As an ideology, it imagines a free society without any division, free from oppression and scarcity. The proletariat (working class) overthrow the capitalist system in a social revolution, usually via an armed rebellion.
Democracy is a form of government that gives all eligible citizens an equal say in decisions that affect their lives. All people can participate equally, either directly or through elected representatives, in the creation of laws.
Communism is traced back to 16th century English writer Thomas More, who described a society based on common ownership of property in his book Utopia. It first emerged as a political doctrine after the French Revolution, when Francois Noel Babeuf talked of the desirability of common ownership of land and total equality among citizens. Modern communism emerged from the industrial revolution, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto.
Democracy originated in Athens in ancient Greece. The first democracy was established in 508-7 BC. Athenians were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and the legislative assembly was made up of all Athenian citizens, who had a right to speak and vote. However, this excluded women, slaves, foreigners and anyone under the age of 20.
In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia. They changed their name to the Communist Party and created a single party regime devoted to implementing a specific type of communism known as Leninism. They nationalized all property and put all factories and railways under government control. After World War II, Communism spread throughout central and eastern Europe, and in 1949, the Communist Party of China established the Peoples Republic of China. Communism also emerged in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique and other countries. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the worlds population lived in Communist states.
The first nation to become democratic in modern history was the Corsican Republic in 1755. However, it was short-lived, and the first modern nation to establish an official democratic system was France, which established universal male suffrage in 1848. The founding fathers of the United States did not describe their new nation as a democracy, but they also espoused principles of national freedom and equality. All men in the US were nominally given the right to vote in the late 1860s, and full enfranchisement of citizens was secured when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Democracy was a popular government system after World War I, but the Great Depression led to dictatorships throughout much of Europe and Asia. After World War II, the American, British and French sectors of Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan became democracies. By 1960, the majority of countries were nominally democracies, although many had sham elections or were, in reality, communist states. Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile all became democracies in the 1970s to 1990s.
In its ideological form, communism has no governments. However, it considers a dictatorship to be a necessary intermediate stage between capitalism and communism. In practice, communist governments take many different forms, but usually involve an absolute dictator.
Democratic governments take many forms, but in modern democracy, they usually involve elections, where citizens vote for individuals and parties to represent their concerns in government.
There are a wide range of interpretations of communism, usually named after the dictator who created them. They include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Titoism and Eurocommunism.
There are many forms of democracy. They include representative, parliamentary, presidential, constitutional, and direct democracy, as well as constitutional monarchies.
Current communist states are the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Some people also consider North Korea to be a communist state.
According to Freedom House, there are currently 123 electoral democracies in the world. The World Forum on Democracy claims 58.2% of the worlds population live in democracies.
Communism has been criticized as an ideology because it leads to slow technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity. It has also been criticized as unfeasible. Communist states have been criticized for poor human rights records, with the belief that Communist governments have been responsible for famines, purges and war. Stephane Courtois argues that communism was responsible for the deaths of almost 100 million people in the 20th century.
Democracy has been criticized as inefficient and a creator of wealth disparity. It is criticized as a system that allows the uninformed to make decisions with equal weight as the informed, and one which allows for oppression of minorities by the majority.
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Communism vs Democracy - Difference and Comparison | Diffen
- Belgium: the Revolutionary Communist Organisation is here For our generation, communism is no longer taboo - In Defence of Marxism - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Ireland: Statement on the Irish General Election 2024 - In Defense of Communism - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Czechia celebrates 35 years since the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia - Radio Prague International - November 19th, 2024 [November 19th, 2024]
- Communism, Canada and Cuba: new exhibition showcasing photographer Helena Wilson opens in Prague - Radio Prague International - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- The truth behind the infamous "Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation" - In Defense of Communism - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- John Ivison: They came fleeing communism. Now Ottawas expropriating and redistributing their property - National Post - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Nehru in the age of the RSS-BJP, anti-communism and alignment of chakras - The Leaflet - November 14th, 2024 [November 14th, 2024]
- Ahoo Daryaei and the hijab of capitalism - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- KKE's General Secretary D. Koutsoumbas on the result of the US elections and its impact on Greece - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- European Communist Action: Statement on the 107th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution - In Defense of Communism - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Letters: What an uneducated world we live in. MAGA is better than communism. - The Columbus Dispatch - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Neal Stephenson's 'Polostan' is a compact epic about communism, science, and the dawn of the atomic age - Reason - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Documenting Communism: The Hoover Project to Microfilm and Publish the Soviet Archives - Hoover Institution - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Communist Party of Sweden brings back the sickle and hammer on its logo - In Defense of Communism - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- Imperialism: The Example of the Russian Federation - In Defense of Communism - October 21st, 2024 [October 21st, 2024]
- To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism (Guest: Sean McMeekin) - The Heartland Institute - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Echoes of communism: Study finds Germans who lived in the former GDR value free speech less than West Germans - Phys.org - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Echoes of communism: Study finds Germans who lived in the former GDR value free speech less than West Germans - Phys.org - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Meeting of Communist Parties scheduled to be held in Beirut has been postponed until further notice - In Defense of Communism - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Meeting of Communist Parties scheduled to be held in Beirut has been postponed until further notice - In Defense of Communism - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- The time is ripe for Gandhis philosophical alternative to capitalism and communism - Scroll.in - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Communism Yesterday, Today . . . and Tomorrow? - National Review - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- A history of communism with an eye on the victims: Review of To Overthrow the World by Sean McMeekin - Washington Examiner - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- World Order at Stake: Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi Speak at Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation's Annual China Forum - Select Committee on the CCP | - September 26th, 2024 [September 26th, 2024]
- Max Boots Reagan Biography Boosts Communism And Trashes America - The Federalist - September 26th, 2024 [September 26th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Israel - Hadash: It is still possible to prevent an all-out war in Lebanon Ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza - In Defense of... - September 26th, 2024 [September 26th, 2024]
- MEDIA ADVISORY: Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi To Speak at Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation's Annual China Forum - Select Committee on the CCP | - September 21st, 2024 [September 21st, 2024]
- KKE rejects EU Parliament's despicable resolution on financial and military support to Ukraine - In Defense of Communism - September 21st, 2024 [September 21st, 2024]
- Fall of Communism opens the world to Schoper - NUjournal - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- I Grew Up With Soviet Communism; Now as a Trustee I See It Embedded in Californias Ethnic Studies - California Globe - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Red Reviews: Left-Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder - Fight Back! Newspaper - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Fox networks have falsely linked Harris and Walz to socialism or communism over 450 times since Biden's exit - Media Matters for America - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Revolution Festival 2024: The school of communism is back! - The Communist - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- The Struggle To Contain Communism in One Book - Washington Free Beacon - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Book Of The Week: David McCullagh on Communism's forgotten radicals - RT News - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Turkey: Mass protest against US warship docked in Izmir port - In Defense of Communism - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- The US right keeps accusing Democrats of communism. What does that even mean? | Jan-Werner Mller - The Guardian - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- A new Reagan film explores the 40th presidents historic struggle against communism - Washington Examiner - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Letter: Fact-checking fear: Setting the record straight on Common sense vs. communism - Albert Lea Tribune - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Greece (KKE): Article on the war in the Middle East, Palestine and Israel - In Defense of Communism - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Transnational Communism Across the Americas offers valuable insights despite its anti-communist tropes - People's World - August 18th, 2024 [August 18th, 2024]
- Conservative Who Has Been Complaining About Grocery Prices Says Harris Price-Gouging Ban is Communism - The Hard Times - August 18th, 2024 [August 18th, 2024]
- A new Communist Party to be launched in Cyprus - In Defense of Communism - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Isserman Writes about the DNC and Communism - Hamilton - August 14th, 2024 [August 14th, 2024]
- The Reality of Communism - revcom.us - July 22nd, 2024 [July 22nd, 2024]
- PERSPECTIVE: Beijing & Kabul: A Strategic Unity of Communism and Terrorism in Turbulent Times - HSToday - July 22nd, 2024 [July 22nd, 2024]
- 72 Christians Imprisoned or Missing in 4 Communist Countries - International Christian Concern - July 20th, 2024 [July 20th, 2024]
- 35 years after Tiananmen: Communism, Christianity, and China - Mission Network News - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- From communism to stripper restrictions: Florida measures slated to take effect July 1 - Orlando Weekly - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- KKE Europarliament Group: Remove Cuba from the U.S list of "state-sponsors of terrorism" - In Defense of Communism - June 27th, 2024 [June 27th, 2024]
- Kohei Saito, Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism book review - Counterfire - May 27th, 2024 [May 27th, 2024]
- British Communist Party announces first candidates for 4 July General Election - In Defense of Communism - May 27th, 2024 [May 27th, 2024]
- The Communists Are Coming! How YOU can promote the RCI founding conference - The Communist - May 27th, 2024 [May 27th, 2024]
- The Southern Truth About Communism - Black Agenda Report - May 18th, 2024 [May 18th, 2024]
- Swiss rediscover communist zeal after 84-year hiatus - SWI swissinfo.ch - SWI swissinfo.ch in English - May 18th, 2024 [May 18th, 2024]
- Revolutionary Communists take on Tory warmongers - The Communist - May 18th, 2024 [May 18th, 2024]
- Communist Party of Ireland: On the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan terrorist attack - In Defense of Communism - May 18th, 2024 [May 18th, 2024]
- Florida Governor DeSantis signs new law mandating teaching the evils of communism to children as young as five - WSWS - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Communists to run in Karl Marx hometown's election - In Defense of Communism - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Slow Down. How Degrowth Communism Can Save the Earth book review - Counterfire - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- A Survivor of the Cultural Revolution Reviews New Book, 'The Devil and Communist China' - The Stream - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- European Communist Action: Long live the 1st of May Long live socialism! - In Defense of Communism - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Florida children to learn that communism is evil, slavery a skills training program - The South Florida Times - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Pol Pot's Atrocities Still Matter, 45 Years After Khmer Rouge's Fall - Reason - January 12th, 2024 [January 12th, 2024]
- Lenin lives! Join the communists to celebrate his life and ideas! - Socialist Appeal - January 12th, 2024 [January 12th, 2024]
- Goodbye Socialist Appeal The Communist is coming! - Socialist Appeal - January 12th, 2024 [January 12th, 2024]
- Xi Jinpings once-unquestioned authority is showing cracks - The Hill - January 12th, 2024 [January 12th, 2024]
- The Reality of CommunismWhat Is Social Democracy and Why Is It a Capitalist Dictatorship? - revcom.us - January 12th, 2024 [January 12th, 2024]
- Why Did the Berlin Wall Fall? - The Imaginative Conservative - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- 1947 and now - The Interpreter - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Albania's deal with Italy on migrants has been welcomed by many ... - Las Vegas Sun - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Grothman's Bipartisan Hmong New Year Resolution | U.S. ... - Glenn Grothman - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Another View: DeSantis was strong, Haley was sharp, Ramaswamy ... - Press Herald - November 13th, 2023 [November 13th, 2023]
- Communism in Britain: The unbroken thread - Socialist Appeal - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- November 7 as Victims of Communism Day - 2023 - Reason - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Fate of the West - Breakpoint - BreakPoint.org - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- Cruzs new book Unwoke shows readers how to defeat cultural ... - 1330 WFIN - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- The aftermath of the Velvet Revolution was justice delivered? - Radio Prague International - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- Remember, Remember, the 9th of November - The Imaginative Conservative - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]
- Country Road Chronicles: Communist camp in Westerly in the '30s - The Westerly Sun - November 11th, 2023 [November 11th, 2023]