Anti-communism

Anti-communism is the opposition to communist ideology, organization, or government, on either an ideological or pragmatic basis. Anti-communism is a catch-all phrase which defines any opposition to communism as a philosophical basis for a political and social alliance.

Economic Performance of Communist Governments

The economies of all Communist countries without exception have not surpassed those of Western nations. Communist supporters may point to the fact that those countries were far behind the West to begin with, and they may argue that Communist governments have in fact reduced this pre-existing gap. Also, they often point to Cuba, whose economic performance was arguably better than that of the neighboring countries. During the 1990's, however, Cuba suffered a debilitating economic crisis following the loss of her major trading partners (most notably the Soviet Union), and was forced to allow foreign investments in the tourism market as a means of recovery. Critics of the Cuban government under the Fidel Castro regime argue that the Cuban Cold War trading arrangements with the USSR amounted to little more than a direct Soviet subsidy to the regime, and that prior to the ascension of Castro, Cuba was actually among the richest Latin American countries.

Related Topics:
Cuba - Fidel Castro

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In other cases, such as the separated nations, West Germany and East Germany and North Korea and South Korea, the capitalist portion has advanced far ahead of its Communist counterpart. In the case of East Germany, communists claim that they received the "raw end of the deal," since all the traditional industrial and commercial centers lay in the capitalist part of the country. In addition, in this case, the Soviet Union removed plant and other resources, claiming them as "reparations". Similar conditions distinguished North and South Korea, with the former suffering under an American-led bombing campaign between 1950 and 1952 that reduced every industrial center above the 38th parallel to uniform rubble, while the latter was spared devestation to the same extent. Also, the anti-communists cite the example of Czechoslovakia, which was among world's most developed industrial countries prior to World War II, but fell far behind the Western nations under the Communist rule.

Related Topics:
West Germany - East Germany - North Korea - South Korea - Soviet Union - Czechoslovakia - World War II

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The hallmark of some Communist economic policies, collective farming, has sometimes been called economically inefficient and often disastrous, especially in the cases of the former Soviet Union, China, and North Korea. They were also the means by which these regimes were able to pursue famine as a deliberate government policy, for example in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s and in China thirty years later.

Related Topics:
Collective farming - Famine - 1930s

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In general, anti-communist economic criticism centers on the belief that Communists ignore the realities of economic life and production in favor of their ideas about how things ought to be done. Anti-communists believe that this leads to economic disruption and poverty and generally see the examples of former Communist nations as supporting the veracity of their views.

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Anarchist Anti-Communism

The anarchist critique of communism comes from a different angle. Anarchists agree with communists that capitalism is a tool for oppression, that it is unjust and that it should be destroyed, one way or another. Anarchists, however, go on to say that all centralized or coercive power (as opposed to just wealth) is ultimately injurious to the individual. Therefore, the concepts of dictatorship of the proletariat, state ownership of the means of production, and other similar tendencies within Marxist thought are anathema to an anarchist, regardless of whether the state in question is democratic. There are, also, strong anti-anarchist tendencies among Marxists, who have been denounced variously as unscientific, romantic, or bourgeois.

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The debates between Mikhail Bakunin and Karl Marx are well-known. While Bakunin's own philosophy owed much to Marx's critique of capitalism, their views diverged sharply over questions of how a post-capitalistic society should be organized. Bakunin saw the Marxist State as simply another form of oppression: "The question arises, if the proletariat is ruling, over whom will it rule? This means there will remain another proletariat which will be subordinated to this new domination, this new state." He loathed the idea of a vanguard party ruling the masses from above, quipping that "when the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick.'"

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Anarchists initially rejoiced over the 1917 revolution as an example of workers taking power for themselves, and indeed played a part in the revolution. It quickly became evident, however, that the communists and the anarchists had very different ideas regarding the kind of society they wanted to build there. Anarchist Emma Goldman went to Russia enthusiastic about the revolution, but left sorely disappointed, and began to write her book My Disillusionment in Russia. Anarchist Victor Serge, in response to the pro-Leninist sentiment in the global Left, said, "All right, I can see the broken eggs. Now where's this omelette of yours?"

Related Topics:
Emma Goldman - My Disillusionment in Russia - Victor Serge

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Anarchists often cite the crushing of the Kronstadt Rebellion, in which the Red Army defeated an embryonic anarchist commune, as a specific example of the tyranny they perceived in the Bolshevik government. The typhus epidemic, and subsequent crushing of Nestor Makhno's weakened black army in the Ukraine was also a specifically controversial action of the early Bolsheviks.

Related Topics:
Kronstadt Rebellion - Typhus - Nestor Makhno - Ukraine

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During the Spanish Civil War, a pro-Soviet Communist Party gained considerable influence due to the necessity of aid from the Soviet Union. Communists and liberals on the Republican side fought mainly against the Falange fascists, but also put some effort against the anarchist Spanish Revolution, ostensibly to bolster the anti-Fascist front (the anarchist response was, "The revolution and the war are inseperable"). The most dramatic action against the anarchists was in May of 1937, when Communist-led police forces attempted to take over a CNT-run telephone building in Barcelona. The telephone workers fought back, setting up barricades and surrounding the Communist "Lenin Barracks." Five days of street fighting in the Barcelona May Days ensued. The enmity between anarchists at communists reached a new high, and remained there.

Related Topics:
Spanish Civil War - Falange - Anarchist - Spanish Revolution - CNT - Barcelona - Lenin Barracks - Barcelona May Days

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Bitter feelings between anarchists and communists are apparent even today in revolutionary circles. Much conflict and arguing occurs as it did in the 19th century between Marx and Bakunin. However, in recent times, anarchists and communists often join in protest (at least for pragmatic purposes) on certain issues, such as the recent 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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