The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Many political beliefs exist. Everyone has the right to chose what to believe in, what ideas to have, what to seek and how to achieve his goals. Political science is not very defined and strict. Specific rules saying that if one believes in a certain idea he should join a certain party do not exist. Certain things match certain group of people and other things this group of people would not accept. The same principle can be applied for countries. Communism appears to be successful for China, but it failed for Eastern European countries. It is very important the proper way of government to be found and used by the government of a country. The failure of the government can lead to failure in economics, defense, and all other spheres that have importance for the existence of a nation. Russian political leaders governing at the time of communism did not think clearly and they underestimated the negative sides of their policy. They believed that communism was appropriate and successful because it worked effectively for several years but it failed after all. Three of the major reasons for the fall of communism were the suppression of religion, the poor quality of life provided by the government and the command economic system.
What is communism? The political term communism can be found in the online glossary, published by Paul M. Johnson who is a professor in the Political Department in the Auburn University. The definition states that communism is any ideology that is based on communal ownership of all property and a classless social structure. There is an authoritarian government that directs economic production and distribution, and it embodies the interests of the country as a whole. Johnson also adds that there have been many scholars talking about communism and having ideas on how it works and why it is a good way of government. Karl Marx is the most famous theoretician of communism. Johnson acknowledges Marx’s most famous quote: “From each according to his ability; to each according to his need” which is a thought that within itself includes the basic idea of communism. Professor Johnson explains that the deeper deliberation of the concept is that everyone is expected to co-operate in the process of production. The individual citizen’s equal rights of access to consumer goods though would be completely unaffected by his own individual contribution to production. (Johnson) It was expected of people to stop thinking about money and how much they get, how much they can spend and how to get more. Furthermore they had to stop thinking about profit, contracts, banking, loans, insurance etc. The communist leaders thought that would eliminate all the major social problems such as class conflict, political oppression, racial discrimination, inequality of sexes, religious prejudice, and cultural backwardness. They believed it would also put an end to more such “psychological” forms of suffering as isolation...
