World communism facts for kids
World communism, also called global communism, is an idea that communism should be a worldwide system, not just in one country. The main goal is to create a global communist society. In this society, there would be no social classes, no money, and no need for a government or state. It would also be peaceful.
To reach this goal, some believe countries could form a global alliance. Others think there should be one worldwide government. Many groups, like the Communist International (Comintern), have worked towards this idea. Each group had its own ways and theories for achieving a global communist society.
During the time of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, a new idea called "Socialism in One Country" became popular. This meant focusing on building communism in one nation first. This was different from the usual idea that a worldwide revolution was needed right away. Stalin and his supporters thought it was not realistic to expect a world revolution in the 1920s and 1930s. This was especially true after attempts at revolution in places like Germany failed. This made many socialists sad, as they believed, like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, that communism needed to be international to succeed. After World War II, some countries started focusing on their own "national communism" instead of a global one.
The end of the Cold War in 1989-1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is often called the "fall of communism" in the way Stalin had shaped it. However, the idea of international communism still exists. Groups like Maoists and Trotskyists continue to work on and update the theories of global communism.
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Early Ideas (1917–1944)
Around the early 1900s, thinkers who followed Marxist ideas noticed something. They saw that capitalism was expanding beyond single countries. It became imperialist, meaning it sought to control global markets. This was done through colonization to take resources and by exploiting workers worldwide.
The main goal of capitalists was to make a profit. This goal united capitalists across the world. They worked together against any attempts by workers to unite. Capitalists wanted to keep their power and control.
People began to see how much they were being exploited. This pain united workers from different countries. They realized they needed to work together to stop their suffering. This idea is called proletarian internationalism. It aims to end the way capitalists divide and control people. Capitalists try to stop workers from forming trade unions. This is why socialists often say, "Workers of the world, unite!"
In this view, after a time of international socialism, the final stage would be world communism. This stage would bring world peace.
How World Communism Could Happen
Theorists have different ideas about how world communism might be achieved. Some believe it could happen peacefully. Others think it would involve conflict. They believe capitalists would not easily give up their property and power.
Many believe that world communism can only be reached through a world revolution. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This means that world communism cannot exist if there are still separate nation states.
Socialists believe that people are the same everywhere. They should unite to end exploitation by capitalists. People might unite in large international groups of countries. Or they might form a single world government. The goal is always to end capitalist exploitation.
The State and Communism
This time of Socialism is seen as a period to improve how things are made and reduce hard work. Eventually, the state or government might become unnecessary. People might agree to get rid of the state entirely. Or, as Marx and Engels said, the state might just "wither away" or "die out."
When a government is no longer needed to organize people, no one would want to control it. In a perfect communist society, people would govern themselves directly. There would be no need for a state at all.
The idea of getting rid of the state is not only a Marxist one. Many socialist and anarchist thinkers in the 1800s also believed this. The famous quote from Friedrich Engels is: "The state is not 'abolished,' it withers away." This means the state doesn't just disappear. It slowly fades away after workers take control of the means of production.
This process involves a revolution, then a period of change, and finally the ultimate communist society. Marx and Engels called their ideas "scientific socialism" rather than "utopian socialism" because they believed it was based on how society actually works. They thought some violence might be needed to fight against wage slavery.
Engels thought the period of change would be short. But Vladimir Lenin, later on, believed it would be "obviously lengthy." He also argued that Marx's idea of a communist society was not just a dream. It built on what came before.
So, when the Comintern was formed in 1919, the idea was clear: a world revolution was needed for world communism. But it wouldn't happen instantly or easily.
Stalin and the Cold War (1947–1991)
During the time of Joseph Stalin, the idea of "socialism in one country" became very important in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Many international communists thought this idea wouldn't work. But Stalin and his supporters believed that the period of change would be very long and difficult. They still wanted world communism eventually. However, they thought it was not realistic to expect a world revolution soon.
Because of this, the Soviet Union ended the Third International during World War II. But Stalin did not want the Soviet Union to be completely isolated. In 1936, Stalin told a journalist that the Soviet Union "never had such plans and intentions" to spread revolution by force. He said, "The export of revolution is nonsense."
Even though the Soviet Union said it was against imperialism (which it linked to capitalism), it actually created its own kind of empire. It had many satellite states, which were countries under its influence. This was similar to the old Russian Empire. The Soviet Union also supported revolutionary socialism around the world. This was to keep working towards world communism, even if it seemed far away.
For example, the Soviet Union supported the Cuban Revolution, North Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and groups in the Angolan Civil War. During the Cold War, some people feared the "domino theory." This meant they worried that if one country became communist, others nearby would follow. This fear was part of the reason why anti-communists believed they needed to act.
Collapse and Survival
After 1989-1991, the control of communist parties ended in many countries. These countries then entered a period called Post-communism. For example, Yugoslavia had a series of wars between different ethnic groups. Communist movements that were linked to the Soviet Union also collapsed in countries where they were not in power.
However, socialism continued in some countries. These include China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba. They faced their own challenges but kept their socialist systems.
See also
- Communist nostalgia
- Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- Fall of communism in Albania
- History of communism § Contemporary communism (1993–present)
- List of communist parties with national parliamentary representation
- National communism
- Post-communism
- Predictions of the collapse of the Soviet Union
- Proletarian internationalism
- Revolutions of 1989
