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Essay, 7 pages (1800 words)

Is the communist ideology dead after the collapse of the soviet union in the early 1990s?

Introduction

Communism is a political term used to indicate the ownership of major productive resources by a state. The term was initially introduced into practice by Karl Marx who believed that most of the suffering originated from capitalism. Furthermore, communist ideology was embraced by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and implemented during the early 20th century. However, the communist ideology could not bear fruits as it had many setbacks within the country. For instance, the communist ideology led to the shortage of food and consumer goods due to the idea of producing at a cost which affected the growth of the economy. The implementation of the communist ideology led to the collapse of the USSR. Furthermore, the Russian government had tried to implement the idea in other European countries as a way of territorial expansion. Other countries such as China and Eastern Europe witnessed the downfall of the communist ideology and abandoned the strategy. Is communism ideology dead today? Communism is ideology is because it failed when countries such as USSR used it and later when other countries such as China continued to use it after the 1990s.

Dissolving the union meant the abandonment of the communist ideology which was failing the Soviet Union. The new reign of the Russian leader Boris Yeltsin added to the death of Communist ideology after he started initiating programs to promote the economy. The new Russian leader Boris Yeltsin held talks with the newly elected Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich and agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union and concentrate on internal development (Aslund, 2011).. It was evident that the communist ideology had failed based on various economic approaches. For instance, the closure of the Soviet Union and the abandonment of the communism led to the introduction of another economic forum such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The idea was borrowed from the British Commonwealth system which was by then viable and robust compared to communism. Communism approach had also affected the peace between the European countries where Russia had established Soviet republics in foreign territories. Therefore, the end of the union encouraged peace prevails within the region. Also, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the introduction of new techniques of financial freedom which was a mystery during the communist ideology (Burawoy, 1996). Boris Yeltsin also established economic freedom and declared new strategies of stabilizing the financial sector. Yeltsin’s focus was the privatization of various commercial projects whereby individual production would promote competition and increase output. Therefore, the fall of the Soviet Union was a sign of relief to many European countries with the need to decline the communist ideology.

Failure of USSR was due to the structural economic failure of the communist economy. The introduction of communist in the Soviet Union was a strategy of achieving national and geopolitical goals but failed based on the opportunism portrayed by the leaders. Leaders became corrupt and were unable to incorporate the necessity to develop the economy of the Soviet Union. For instance, Mishler & Rose, (2007) discussed that Communist ideology failed because of mixing political and economic strategies. Also, the Soviet regime had proved to have adopted the communist ideology, and its failure had signaled other countries in the disadvantages of the approach. Mishler & Rose, (2007) also discusses the weaknesses of the communist ideologies in the Soviet Union as he mentions wastage of resources, low-quality products, and a shortage of goods in the economy. Additionally, the fall of the Soviet Union drew a bad picture of the implementation of communism in a country. For instance, the Soviet Union ruled through deception where the leaders kept critical information from the citizens. The leaders used the “ appalling state” strategy whereby the government would not disclose relevant information to the public due to dishonesty (Mishler & Rose, 2007). Therefore, understanding how the Soviet Union used the communist ideologies was enough in leading to other countries withdrawing from the implementation of communism.

New economic policies emerged to be better framework than communism after its replacement. The transition from communism to capitalism was not an easy task which saw Russia experiencing a financial crisis. For instance, the Russian default in 1998 affected the economy to the extent of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Sapir, 1999). The Russian 1998 default was caused by the uncertainty of implementing new economic and political strategies of running a nation. Therefore, economic instability was an effect of communist ideology which was earlier used by the Soviet Union hence; no country would employ communism realizing the consequences. Additionally, communist ideology would not have worked with the new formation of capitalism. For instance, capitalism was introduced in Russia which meant the acquisition of private property, a wide distribution of production, and the competition towards the betterment of goods (Desai, 2005). Therefore, moving from communist ideology to capitalism was fueled by the death of the Soviet Union. Also, the end of the Soviet Union helped in welcoming new economic reforms in Russia that increased productivity.

Other nations had adopted capitalism approach, and the intervention of the United States also added to the collapse of the communist ideology. The Soviet Union was accused of using force to rule some countries. Therefore, the intervention of other powerful countries was a sign of ending the Soviet regime. Furthermore, the Soviet Union and communist ideology were still considered as the cold war. The unrest in Eastern Europe due to the increased tension of communist had affected other countries hence; the need for ending the Soviet regime. For instance, the United States of America president Ronald Reagan asked the Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to remove the Berlin wall (Glenn, 2003). The fall of the wall was a new beginning which signified the introduction of capitalism and countries gained their independence from the Soviet Union. Also, some countries acquired the right to vote and hold elections which meant and signified the death of communism. Communist ideologies were in power because of the survival of the Soviet Union. Therefore, communism ended because of the failure of the Soviet Union.

The connection between communist ideologies and the Soviet Union affected both the politics and the region’s economy. The decline of communism was pioneered by the unfavorable conditions brought by the Soviet Union’s leadership strategies. For instance, the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev as the Russian president led to the appointment of Boris Yeltsin who believed that the Soviet Union had failed to favor the economy. Also, the new president thought that the fall of communist ideology was a political move that pioneered new beginnings of economic success. The effects of mixing Soviet Union leadership and communism proved to be worse in Eastern Europe and the death of one instigated the end of the other.  Furthermore, Karl Marx described communism as a strategy which would first practice socialism. A dictatorial leadership would as well implement communist ideologies based on the need to use force to the citizens that are against the programs (Shleifer & Treisman, 2005). Therefore, Boris Yeltsin helped Eastern Europe and Russia in eliminating the failing communist ideology as well as introducing new strategies that would increase economic growth. The president could not consider reintroducing communism as it had failed in the region due to the need for using oppressive procedures of a ruling. Furthermore, the end of communism and the birth of capitalism helped in promoting productivity whereby citizens would work hard to increase wealth.

Communism can be helpful if well-implemented. The failure of communist ideology in Russia was based on the dictatorial leadership and the presence of the Soviet Union. However, various countries still use communism. For instance, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea are examples of communist countries. The practice of communism can help in maintaining a classless nation. The strategy is to ensure equity of resources and eliminate the deep gap between the rich and the poor. Also, communism creates strong community ties, ends exploitation, helps in focusing on education development, advocates knowledge development and acknowledges historical understanding (Alesina & Fuchs-Schundeln, 2007). Some countries that practices communism have few cases of unemployment since the state controls the employment sector and recognizes the efforts of every citizen in the working industry. Therefore, growth and development are paramount and consistent based on the number of employees available in the state. Moreover, communism increases hardworking to be fit in the market. Therefore, the countries still using the approach benefits by being productive and controls the market.

Conclusion

Communist ideology was meant to incorporate the ownership of all the production facilities in a state to promote equality. Many countries such as China and Cuba still use communism and has favored the development of the economy and equality. Some of the advantages of employing communist ideology are promoting economic equality, increasing employment, enhancing industrial development and elevating education due to hiring purposes. Also, communist ideology supports a classless society where the gap between the rich and the poor is minimal and ineffective unlike in capitalist society. However, communism is deemed to be linked with dictatorship argued that most countries that practiced communist ideology were run wrongly and ended up hurting the economy. Some government officials become corrupt due to the availability of plenty of resources from the state-owned properties. Therefore, Communist ideology would be recommendable if implemented in scarcely populated countries because large states would pose a threat to the management of big companies and maintaining equality. Moreover, the Russian government proved to lack cooperation when implementing communism with dictatorship. The country opted to drop both communist ideology and the Soviet Union as a way of reinventing the economic development. Therefore, communism can be termed as outdated in the 21st century as individuals are required to work hard in search of wealth.

References

  • Alesina, A., & Fuchs-Schündeln, N. (2007). Good-Bye Lenin (or Not?): The Effect of Communism on People’s Preferences. American Economic Review , 97 (4), 1507-1528. doi: 10. 1257/aer. 97. 4. 1507
  • Åslund, A. (2011). Revisiting the End of the Soviet Union. Problems of Post-Communism , 58 (4-5), 46-55. doi: 10. 2753/ppc1075-8216580404
  • Burawoy, M. (1996). The state and economic involution: Russia through a China lens. World Development , 24 (6), 1105-1117. doi: 10. 1016/0305-750x(96)00022-8
  • Desai, P. (2005). Russian Retrospectives on Reforms from Yeltsin to Putin. Journal of Economic Perspectives , 19 (1), 87-106. doi: 10. 1257/0895330053147903
  • Glenn, J. (2003). Contentious politics and democratization: comparing the impact of social movements on the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Political Studies , 51 (1), 103-120. doi: 10. 1111/1467-9248. 00415
  • Mishler, W., & Rose, R. (2007). Generation, Age, and Time: The Dynamics of Political Learning during Russia’s Transformation. American Journal of Political Science , 51 (4), 822-834. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1540-5907. 2007. 00283. x
  • Sapir, J. (1999). Russia’s Crash of August 1998: Diagnosis and Prescription. Post-Soviet Affairs , 15 (1), 1-36. doi: 10. 1080/1060586x. 1999. 10641460
  • Shleifer, A., & Treisman, D. (2005). A Normal Country: Russia after Communism. Journal of Economic Perspectives , 19 (1), 151-174. doi: 10. 1257/0895330053147949
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