Socialism is state control of most if not all sources of production. It is the form of economic system that the Soviet Union had.
The distinction between state industry and state controlled industry is a valid and important one.
Communism is defined (by the communists, no less) as the stage of development where the state withers away, money is no longer needed and all assets are held in common by the people. There is no example of a communist economic system ever having been implemented on a large scale. The closest thing that I can find is Nestor Makhno's anarchist collectives in the Ukraine during the Russian Civil War.
Meh, the notion of a stateless dictatorship of the proletariat has always been semantic self indulgent rhetoric. Communisms subordination of individual persons to "the people" is a state straight out of social contract government whether or not anyone can admit it. "Anarchist collective" is almost a contradiction in terms, and the proletariat can have no power, dictatorial or otherwise, without organizations and hierarchies that are governments substance. Calling it "the party" rather than "the state" is, again, only semantics.
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Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
This message last edited by Joel on 11/10/2011 at 04:40:48 AM
Is communism the true economy of democracies?
- 10/10/2011 01:35:24 AM
733 Views
Sorry, not following this.....
- 10/10/2011 03:33:11 AM
548 Views
Um, a LOT of places have mixed "free" market and state rule.
- 10/10/2011 05:43:49 AM
571 Views
WTF? Canada, Western Europe, and Japan are democracies, not state-rule like China - 
*NM*
- 10/10/2011 05:53:17 PM
203 Views
*NM*
- 10/10/2011 05:53:17 PM
203 Views
They are not similar.
- 10/10/2011 04:01:59 AM
424 Views
That's why Lenin came up with the soviets, though that was pretty naïve, too.
- 10/10/2011 05:54:37 AM
370 Views
Lenin died in 1924. The Civil War was over in 1920. He died after several strokes. *NM*
- 10/10/2011 05:30:58 PM
173 Views
Sorry, did not realize he survived it that long.
- 11/10/2011 04:21:05 AM
478 Views
There is no evidence that Lenin was poisoned.
- 11/10/2011 04:50:28 AM
404 Views
That is hardly the only way to kill; in Lenins condition, neglect would have sufficed.
- 11/10/2011 06:28:31 AM
435 Views
Let's see...you're asking if property theft by the state is compatible with freedom? No.
- 10/10/2011 04:58:14 AM
420 Views
I'm curious how you distinguish "full socialism" from "full communism."
- 10/10/2011 05:32:53 AM
394 Views
You obviously don't understand the definitions of socialism and communism.
- 10/10/2011 02:41:39 PM
473 Views
OK, I see what you mean now, thanks.
- 11/10/2011 04:29:35 AM
405 Views
In theory, but economics is not politics, making social contracts a bit more dubious.
- 10/10/2011 05:18:39 AM
558 Views
No. A thousand times no.
- 10/10/2011 07:46:22 AM
564 Views
Guess I count myself among those fools, though I pretty much agree with Danny.
- 10/10/2011 10:52:11 AM
465 Views
I don't usually answer your scattershot rants, Joel, but you have overextended yourself.
- 10/10/2011 05:28:07 PM
508 Views
That still looks like Stalin and Mao rationalizing away the impossibility of their stated goals.
- 11/10/2011 05:59:06 AM
514 Views
No time to today, but you're very wrong.
- 11/10/2011 02:32:38 PM
401 Views
OK.
- 11/10/2011 03:08:17 PM
388 Views
Nope, because free-market democracy totally permits communism already
- 12/10/2011 12:50:36 AM
458 Views