Communism has not worked in most countries especially in developed countries. It is still hanging on in some developing and under developed countries . Typically communist countries have poor living conditions , no innovative ideas and pressure from all sides . You rarely get to see a happy population under the communist regime.. In India too the communist party is slowly losing its relevance ..
http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-big-reasons-communism-failed-336631/
You are taking debate to a high level but most members are only interested in condemning repeatedly in different ways. Yes Plato indeed gave the similar advice as Marx. Karl Marx wrote Das Capital based on actual observations and data and brought out effectively how people are exploited to their great benefits by capitalists. Implementation was and is wrong by communists and thus they did not succeed.
Plato's theory of communism was flawed and also very limiting because he allowed some ( artisans ) to own property . His thoughts on family and women was definitely unhealthy for society because he felt family and relationships were stronghold of selfishness. No wonder his kind of communism never worked and cannot be considered as an ideology . Plato no doubt made a lot of contribution to the world in the field of philosophy but some of his views were controversial..." Love is a serious mental disease"
vijay wrote:Utopian ideas are for discussion and better understanding. It is well known they cannot be implemented in practice because average humans are indeed selfish. The kibbutz system in Israel did work for sometime however.
What appears Utopian today may be realized tomorrow. Our aim should be noble and high even if not realizable. If your direction is good, you will definitely accomplish something noble. Success may not be 100% but even if you get 20% success, this is worth. The idea of communism and the efforts of communists have definitely contributed a lot in labor welfare and protection of workers' rights. Today what ever you see in labor legislation and practice- maximum working hours, minimum wages, accommodation facilities, safety provisions, workers' participation in management- have been attained mainly owing to communist thought. There are many politicians and thinkers who are non Marxist but their policies are also influenced by Communism. There are non Marxist socialists as well. Pt Nehru was also influenced by Marxist though but he was not a Communist. But his idea of socialistic pattern of society and five year plans were no doubt attributable to Russian revolution. The social democratic parties in Europe are also an offshoot of communism. They are not Communist but also do not want reckless exploitation of labor. If there were no communist, there would also not be liberal democrats and non Marxist socialists like Nehru and Dr. Lohia.
Any organisation or ideology is bound to have some pros but in communism it is more cons than pros that led to its downfall worldwide...One can also see how in India's context how our erstwhile leaders like Nehru were perpetually in a confused dream world thereby making a mess of the nation and communalising it because of their failed policies which were neither communistic nor capitalistic nor wholly socialistic !!!
With the Indian context, Communist party leaders were pulled in different directions because of fractionalism with a section supporting Russian model of Socialism and another supporting Chinese model . This became a major issue during the Indo Chinese war with the section that supported China going to the extent of criticising Indian role and taking sides with India. The problem with Indian communism has been clarity of thought and direction with regard to their country and party, often leading the masses to question their patriotism !
I remember an incident that took place long back which was later discussed by some magazines then. EMS Namboodripad the scion of communism in Kerala also one of the first CM of Kerala , and AK Gopalan another equally famous communist party leader of Kerala attended a party meeting and later had to attend the thread ceremony of his nephew. There are such contradictions because one cannot disassociate the norms and traditions of the society we live in. With all that communism was looked up by the masses during that period because of the commitment show by the then leaders which is definitely not the case now..
usha manohar wrote:I remember an incident that took place long back which was later discussed by some magazines then. EMS Namboodripad the scion of communism in Kerala also one of the first CM of Kerala , and AK Gopalan another equally famous communist party leader of Kerala attended a party meeting and later had to attend the thread ceremony of his nephew. There are such contradictions because one cannot disassociate the norms and traditions of the society we live in. With all that communism was looked up by the masses during that period because of the commitment show by the then leaders which is definitely not the case now..
A Communist as well as a rationalist or anti religion- all are born in some religious community and follow the rituals. The religious norms and rituals are almost ready made and come naturally. By becoming irreligious, one does not come out of religious community in which born. Personally, I don't believe in many religious rituals but I performed all rituals on my father's death as any Hindu would do. I also feel that there is no harming performing and witnessing any rituals and customs. There is no need to oppose anything even if you don't agree. But we have to oppose and also motivate others when some ritual or custom is very unjust or inhuman. For example, sati system, dowry, extravagant expenses on marriage and death should be opposed. We need not oppose the harmless rituals even if we don't agree.
Most of these parties border on dictatorship where they try to force their views on others like communism and marxism.. In India they cannot afford to banish temples and religious place because it would lead to a back lash and they may get banished . They have therefore taken a middle path which makes them like other parties with diluted ideologies.
@kiran8