Was never fascinated about any political theories and Communism was no different. Having come across this political thought in school, various newspapers and news channels, had a vague idea about the same. One day while through roaming about Landmark I came across " The Rise and Fall of Communism by Archie Brown" and in my quest for reading up on new subjects, I gladly picked it up. It was after nearly a year that I started reading it and have been captivated by the way in which a political theory which was going to emancipate the proletariat was contorted by a few individuals for their own benefit.
Firstly when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels purported the theory, their intention was to create a system in which power was in the hands of the proletariat and this power was to be exercised democratically. Economic means were to be owned and controlled by the society. The concepts were Utopian but some of them could be implemented for sectors which are of national importance.
The term Communist was coined in USSR by Vladimir Lenin and his idea of socialism was somewhat different than its proponents, it was more draconian and autocratic. Post Lenin who used to defeat his detractors by using his oratory skills and his hold over his ideas, Josif Stalin who followed him used fear to put his point across. Instead of getting into the the pros and cons of their actions, we need to better understand the original thought process and its efficacy in the 21st century.
Post reading this book I will have to get into Karl Marx's theory in much detail. Hopefully I will be able to make a better case for socialism a few months down the line.
Firstly when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels purported the theory, their intention was to create a system in which power was in the hands of the proletariat and this power was to be exercised democratically. Economic means were to be owned and controlled by the society. The concepts were Utopian but some of them could be implemented for sectors which are of national importance.
The term Communist was coined in USSR by Vladimir Lenin and his idea of socialism was somewhat different than its proponents, it was more draconian and autocratic. Post Lenin who used to defeat his detractors by using his oratory skills and his hold over his ideas, Josif Stalin who followed him used fear to put his point across. Instead of getting into the the pros and cons of their actions, we need to better understand the original thought process and its efficacy in the 21st century.
Post reading this book I will have to get into Karl Marx's theory in much detail. Hopefully I will be able to make a better case for socialism a few months down the line.
No comments:
Post a Comment