Communism Lives

One of the fascinating things about living in Rostock is that we are surrounded by monuments to a failed communist past. The photo here shows the workers united, facing the future in the East. It is right next to the extremely modern Max Planck offices, and not too far away from rusting, communist-era shipyards that have now been mostly dismantled. A few huge cranes looming over the Warnow are the most obvious reminder of the past and the many thousands of people who used to work here, building ships for the GDR.

But perhaps the most fascinating thing for me is that there are some people who still seem to think that communism was a sound idea, albeit implemented badly. I actually had a discussion in a pub a few weeks ago where we debated this specific idea. My fellow debater, S, was a very nice American PhD student studying aspects of Russian society, so I guess she counts as an educated opinion.

To a certain extent, I am not really that surprised that this opinion lingers. After all, for most Australians or Americans, the events that took place in Russia and Germany and so many other countries were far away and a long time ago. I also think that many people have a visceral dislike of capitalism, and a yearning for there to be some sort of alternative system. Given the disastrous current economic disaster, let alone the many other shortfalls of capitalism, it is hard not to be somewhat sympathetic to this train of thought.

However, to actually think that communism is still a fine idea in the early 21st Century boggles my mind. To me, the evil is built into the original core idea of communism itself. The notion that there will be a revolution, where a subset of society, the bourgeoisie, will be essentially declared non-persons and swept away is profoundly wrong. Are all of the bourgeoisie monsters? Do they all deserve to die or to be sent into exile? Really? And how is this to be judged?

Further, what exactly does communism mean? The sheer nonsense that one reads about this makes one's head swim. Theoretically, the state is supposed to simply wither away. Yet how will schools and roads and hospitals all get built without a state? Did people really understand how silly this was when they were fighting and dying for it? I am honestly not quite sure whether to laugh or cry when I think about it.