This is my problem with Communism and a lot political theory in general. It's something that sounds great on paper but fails in practice. The main problem with Communism is that humans are not conditioned to live in such a society. In a Communist society, as soon as there is corruption, the whole system falls apart. The thing about that is humans by nature are imperfect and corruptible. While humans don't have to be that way, they simply can't be that way in a working Communist system. While Capitalism is not perfect by any means, it is a system that can survive because it allows people to make a choice of being greedy or giving. For example, I can exploit the talents of others and make millions of dollars. After I make that money, I choose to live a life of indulgence, or I can choose to invest that money for the greater good of society. Many will go down the greedy path while a few choose to contribute, but the system itself still prevails either way.
An example of this corruption I was talking can be seen throughout the 20th century. Russia proudly proclaimed itself to be the world's first Communist state only to turn into something that wasn't Marx or Lenin intended. It instead turned into a totalitarian regime where tens of millions of people were murdered in the name of the state. Pol Pot's Cambodia promised that everyone would be truly equal and went as far as to abolish money altogether as a means of getting rid of potential corruption. Instead, the new system there simply punished those who thrived under the old system and like the Soviet Union, murdered millions in the name of the state and the people. Other Communist countries like China and Vietnam moved away from what they originally valued and instead adopted an even more vicious version of Capitalism while still waving the Communist flag. These countries and governments started out with the best of intentions and it didn't work for any of them. Not a single Communist country got it right throughout the 20th century, which is partly why most of them just gave up. I don't think anybody can get it right, unless there's a race of artificial intelligence that rules part of the Earth in the future. They can get it right by simply being programmed to.
While people throw around terms like Capitalism and Communism, I think a lot of people think too much into it. Personally, I believe somebody should be able own their own land, have their own business and should be able to make money for their own gains. However, I also believe that as a homosapien, we are much more capable of simply living and surviving. I don't believe in making money simply to survive. I believe that money can be used to do great things that can contribute to a society on a humanitarian level and a cultural level. However, I also think someone should have the choice of doing this. That is why I think that if you want others to be less greedy and self indulgent, then the best thing to do is to serve as an example. People can be easily be inspired. You won't inspire everyone, but I'm sure that some people will be inspired to be something greater than what they currently are.
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