COMMUNISM VS. DEMOCRACY.   Term Paper ID:24144 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analyzes why Russia, China & Cuba chose communism & U.S. chose democracy.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Analyzes why Russia, China & Cuba chose communism & U.S. chose democracy. Paper Introduction: This study will examine the reasons why communism is embraced in some nations (such as Russia, China and Cuba) and rejected in the United States, which instead embraced constitutional democracy. The study will argue that the choice of communism or democracy depends in large part on the political structure of each nation before it made its choice for communism or democracy. Each nation's political choice is in large part a response to--and a rejection of--the previously existing political reality. Democracy in the United States was in part a rejection of the British monarchy. Cuba's choice of communism was in part a rejection of the corrupt dictatorship of Batista. In addition, the political and economic history of each nation plays an important part in its choice of democracy or communism. The Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Such leaders as Mao Zedong and, until his recent death, DengXiaoping, have brought little but a repressive government and a poorlyperforming economy, mirroring the experiences of communism in Russia andCuba. Paul, Minnesota: Greenhaven, 1986), 174.----------------------- 3 Cuba's communist experience will likely endwhen Castro's regime ends. Those are the promises of communism asexpressed by Marx and Engels, but the world has yet to see those promisesfulfilled. That trust hasproved to be justified as the United States and its democratic institutionsmove effectively into their third century, while communism crumbles innation after nation. Cuba and the United States. Communism in Russia collapsed primarily because it failed miserablyin delivering the economic and political justice it promised to deliver inits ideal expression in Marx and Engels. In pamphlet after pamphlet and speech after speech, he heaped scorn on those of his fellow Marxists who subscribed to the democratic process. [3]Ibid., 231. . The poor in both nations, however, supportedthe revolutions. Pre-communist Cuba and Russia were similar in that the wealthy peopleof both countries did not want the revolutions to succeed. Communism in Cuba has proved to be as unsuccessful in Cuba as it wasin Russia, in both political and economic terms. The Russian promised a "dictatorship of the proletariat," whichwas seen as a promise for power to be put in the hands of the people.However, in both nations, a dictatorship of the leaders of the revolutionresulted. Communism was born in the theories of Marx and Engels and in theapplication of those theories by Lenin in Russia. . Viewing their choice in the most favorable light, the Russian leadersembraced communism simply because they felt its economic principles wouldbring the justice and peace absent under the czar. Cuba's choice of communism was in part a rejection of the corruptdictatorship of Batista. The poor performance ofCastro's communist Cuba, however, is in part due to the economic pressuresbrought against that little nation by the anti-communist United States.Responsibility for the repression of the people of Cuba, however, restsentirely in Castro's hands. Itsleaders wanted more freedom than the colonies had experienced, whichdemocracy would make ensure. Communism survived as long as it did in Russia only because itsleaders, from Lenin to Stalin to Khrushchev to Brezhnev, controlled themilitary and political machinery of the country and were able to force thepeople to obey: "The communist phenomenon represents a historical tragedy.Born out of an impatient idealism that rejected the injustice of the statusquo, it sought a better and more human society--but produced massoppression."[3] The same experience occurred in other nations where communism wasseen as an ideal solution to the political, social and economic injusticescreated by the regimes which communism was selected to replace. St. No"dictatorship of the proletariat" emerged in 1917 and no such proletariatrule ever emerged under the seven-decade rule of the communists in Russia.Russia originally embraced communism only in the sense that the leaders ofthe revolution embraced communism. [6]Bruno Leone. Democracyin the United States hardly lives up to that ideal image any more thancapitalism lives up to the ideal principles of the free market andindividual initiative. Cuba and the United States (NewYork: Franklin Watts, 1987), 76. Communism (St. Unlike the situationin Russia before the communist takeover, Cuba had been democratic beforeBatista's takeover by force in 1952. The United States was a relatively wealthy nation with socialand political stability, aside from its differences with Britain. [4]Edward Dolan and Margaret Scariano. camefrom the nation's poor, the ones who had suffered the greatest deprivationat the hands of the government."[4] On the other hand, "Batista was heavilysupported by wealthy landowners, industrialists, and business leaders."[5] The Cuban people and the Russian people were led by theirrevolutionary leaders to expect democratic institutions, at least after areasonable post-revolutionary period during which stability would berestored. However,capitalism--democracy's economic partner--has also proved effective andacceptable to the American people, despite its flaws (especially the greatdisparity between the rich and the poor). [2]Ibid., 17. For a backward country lacking the skills and savings that capitalism requires, the model looked good in theory. Russia, apoor nation torn internally by conflicts over the repressive and absolutistczar, chose communism as a radical solution to severe social, economic andpolitical problems. But Soviet experience proves after seven decades that following it produces not the predicted utopia but a realm of shortage, shoddy merchandise, low productivity and ubiquitous corruption.[6] The revolutionary leaders of Cuba, China and Russia embracedcommunism, rather than the people of those nations. The founders of the UnitedStates, elitist though they certainly were, still believed more thanRussian, Chinese and Cuban communist leaders in the ability of the peopleto freely participate in political and economic processes. Russia, like Cuba and China after their revolutions,was simply in too much turmoil to attempt the kind of democracy attemptedin the United States. Democracy in the United States was in part a rejection of the Britishmonarchy. Democracy in theUnited States certainly has its flaws (such as campaign financingcorruption), but those flaws call for reform rather than revolution. They prosperedunder the czar and Batista. Meanwhile, democracy continues to flourish in the United States. Giving those leadersthe benefit of the doubt, they believed that communism would bring theeconomic justice and political liberty lacking in the regimes which theyoverthrew with their revolutions. However, democracy and capitalism--to date, at least--have proved durable because most of the people are relatively satisfiedwith it. This study will examine the reasons why communism is embraced in somenations (such as Russia, China and Cuba) and rejected in the United States,which instead embraced constitutional democracy. Communism. When Castro led a successfulrevolution against Batista in 1959, the Cuban people expected thedemocratic institutions to be restored. Although some early twentieth century advocates of communismargued that this political ideal included democracy, Lenin did not seedemocracy as desirable or possible, at least in the beginning: The Bolshevik leader of the more radical faction of the Russian Marxists made no bones about his intentions. Castro specifically promised that elections would be held once hetook over. The will of the peopleplayed a major role in ousting the czar, but that will was squelched byLenin and his fellow Marxist revolutionaries and would not be heard fromagain until the fall of communism and the accompanying fall of the SovietUnion itself. He made it amply clear that in his view Russia was not ripe for a socialist democracy and that socialism would be constructed in Russia "from above." so to speak, by the dictatorship of the proletariat.[2] As idealistic as Marx might have been, Lenin took his ideas andapplied them with little idealism to the harsh realities of Russia afterthe fall of the czar and the establishment of communist rule. As in the cases of Russia and Cuba, China's embrace of communism wasbased not on the desires of the people but rather on the will of therevolutionary leaders who overthrew the previous regime. The study will argue thatthe choice of communism or democracy depends in large part on the politicalstructure of each nation before it made its choice for communism ordemocracy. The Grand Failure. Unlike democracy in the United States, communism inthe Soviet Union failed to meet the basic economic needs of the people orto provide social and political stability and as a result it has beenrejected and replaced by democracy. In the ideal form,communism was seen by the Russian revolutionaries as an antidote to therepression, injustices, inequalities and corruption of the czar's reign: Communism's domination of much of the history of the twentieth century was largely rooted in its role as the timely "grand oversimplification." Locating the origins of all evil in the institution of private property, it postulated that the abolition of property would permit the attainment of true justice and of the perfection of human nature.[1] The contribution of Marx to communism included a critique ofcapitalism and its negative effects, and a solution to those problems incommunism. In the aftermath of the SovietUnion's failed communist experience, Russia and the other republics of theformer Soviet Union are experimenting courageously, awkwardly, and ofnecessity with both democratic and capitalistic forms of political andeconomic practice. Just as Lenin established a communist tyranny in Russia, so didCastro establish the same in Cuba. In addition, the political and economic history ofeach nation plays an important part in its choice of democracy orcommunism. Each nation's political choice is in large part a response to--and a rejection of--the previously existing political reality. In fact, however, once in power, that is preciselywhat Castro did. No truly democratic election has evertaken place in Cuba in the almost forty years of Castro's rule. NewYork: Franklin Watts, 1987.Leone, Bruno. A brief period of tight political and economic controls may have beenexpected and acceptable to the people of the three countries in the wake ofrevolutionary turmoil, but in all three nations communism has proved long-lasting and unsuccessful: Ravaged by a century of foreign invasion, civil war and internal decay, China set out in 1949 to rebuild itself on the Lenin-Stalin economic model. . BibliographyBrzezinski, Zbigniew. They were not satisfied with the tyranny of the British monarchybefore the American Revolution and rejected it in favor of constitutionaldemocracy. Communism failed in the Soviet Union, is failing in Cuba, and isbeing severely modified economically if not politically in China. Despite denials about his communistaffiliations, Castro denied he would introduce that brand of economics andpolitics into Cuba. New York: Charles Scribner'sSons, 1989.Dolan, Edward, and Margaret Scariano. In Cuba, for example, the repressive tyranny of Batista had resultedin a government with no responsiveness to the people. . Democracy has been maintained in the United States for over twohundred years in large part because it has worked successfully. Theessential reason it continues to be embraced by the people of the nationsis simply that it continues to be an effective political process whichincludes their participation and which meets their needs. . Also like Cuba andRussia, China has found little of the promised workers' paradise undercommunism. Unlikecommunism, democracy is not both economic and political approach. The two approaches to politics (and economics) are ideals. [5]Ibid. Paul, Minnesota: Greenhaven, 1986.----------------------- [1]Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Grand Failure (New York: Charles Scribner'sSons, 1989), 1-2. In Cuba, "the greatest support [for Castro] . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.