Communism, Socialism, Capitalism and the Russian Revolution

Communism, Socialism, Capitalism and the Russian Revolution

What is Communism? Political/Economic concept established by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto (written in 1848) Criticizes the Capitalist Economic System and argues that the system will naturally fail Capitalism- Private ownership of the means of production This means that individual citizens can own their own businesses and hire/pay their own workers

Capitalism

The Communist Manifesto Marx identifies the Proletariat and Bourgeoisie as the two social classes in a capitalist economy Bourgeoisie owns the means of production (think entrepreneurs, business owners) Proletariat work for the bourgeoisie to produce (they do the hands on work.. Think of all the immigrant workers in US during Gilded Age) Marx believes a natural conflict exists between the Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie because the Proletariat produces the profit for the Bourgeoisie yet sees very little of the profit

The Communist Revolution Marx believes that the proletariat will soon realize the inequality and rebel Marx sees this rebellion as natural and inevitable, predicts it to occur Marx believes the revolution will initially change the economic system from Capitalism to Socialism

What is Socialism? Socialism is an in-between.. Its not exactly communism but not exactly capitalism Marx believes in a shift from Capitalism to Communism, socialism occurs while the world transitions from Capitalism to Communism In a socialist system the government owns the means of production.. Basically the government owns all businesses, factories, and services and pays everyone an equal wage What are some examples of socialist concepts in our world today?

The Change to Communism Marx believed that Socialism would then naturally develop into communism In a Communist society there is no true government The concept behind this is that people will work together and share everything equally Everyone plays a role in society and shares what they produce with others Classless society (no one is rich or poor, everyone is equal) What do you think are some problems that could develop with this?

Fast Forward to World War I Russia had suffered heavy losses during World War I and the country was struggling heavily due to inflation and food shortages Tsar Nicholas II lost a lot of support due to the issues the country faced in addition to the lavish lifestyle his family lived A series of revolutionary acts took place during this time to take down the Tsar Tsar leaves throne due to massive loss of support in 1917 leading to a provisional government being set up

Vladmir Lenin Vladmir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Party (Communist Party) had previously been banished from Russia as a communist extremist He re entered Russia with the help of Germany (Germany wanted him to cause more chaos therefore helping the German war effort against Russia) Lenin and the Bolsheviks emerge victorious from a massive power struggle between different groups in the midst of the revolution Russia becomes the Soviet Union after World War I with Lenin as its first leader. It becomes a socialist government under the guise of communism, and leaves the war Lenin was a Marx follower, but believed the Revolution had to be jumpstarted instead of occurring on its own naturally, Lenin not afraid to use violence and terror to accomplish goal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmkplvctdaa

Think About It Why were the Bolsheviks able to gain so much support in Russia? What is the big impact or legacy of the Bolshevik Revolution? How does it affect the US? What are some problems inherent to Communism? Why would Germany support Lenin?