Why Communism Doesn't Work: A Novel

I see lots of proponents of communism these days - whether they know it or not. There are of course people who directly advocate it, but there are many more who support its lesser forms - socialism for one, and also collectivist programs, welfare (and other redistributions of wealth), labor unions, employment quotas. Many of these ideas are enacted with good intentions. But they fail.

These ideas can be dismissed on an individual basis:

Welfare: Created by the FDR as a temporary relief for families and individuals who did not possess the means to provide for themselves, until such time as they could do so - through employment opportunities or perhaps assistance from family members etc. For a while welfare functioned effectively. Its beneficiaries would never consider living their entire lives under the arm of the U.S. government - they were hard working individuals who wanted to provide for themselves and didn't stop working until they could do so. I'm not saying that spirit doesn't remain in the modern welfare population but it isn't the dominant ideal. Today there are people in the welfare state who don't feel particularly compelled to leave it. Why should they? The government will pay there expenses and they don't have to lift a finger. Needless to say this is a massive drain on the tax dollars of hard working Americans.

Labor Unions: Formed during the industrial revolution, again with good intentions. Corrupt companies housed underpaid workers in disturbingly hazardous conditions. Labor Unions were formed to end the oppression. And they succeeded. What do they do now? Demand higher wages and longer breaks. Again, a drain on hard workers and a road block to the business success required to create and maintain well paying jobs.

Employment Quotas: Probably the best example. To this date you can't criticize this idea without being labeled discriminatory or simply racist. Even into the 90s some racist employers would not hire qualified minority workers. Quotas were put in place to ensure minorities had an equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace. While racism is still a problem in modern society Employment Quotas contribute to the problem far more than they help to solve it. Separating people into two groups - minorities and majorities, based on uncontrollable factors like race, creates negative sentiments - US and THEM. Furthermore, in a manner very similar to the welfare state, people are ensured jobs simply because they are required to meet quotas, removing any motivation to work hard to retain their position.

This may seem like a massive digression from communism, but there is a collective theme here. In all three instances, government, with the best of intentions, tries to solve real problems. And fails. Communism is an increase in government. In a communist society, people cede the fruits of their labor to the government, which ideally distributes them fairly throughout the population. Of course this isn't necessarily the case either - but right now lets assume it is. If every citizen is guaranteed an equal share, where is the motivation to produce? While people are inherently good, there is a fraction of the population who will take the lazy road - taking resources from the rest of the community without giving back their 'fair share'.

And as previously mentioned, the government in charge of distributing goods fairly among communist people, often fails to do so. Just like there are lazy individuals among the work force, there are greedy individuals within the government. Time and time again throughout history communist societies fall victim to government corruption - effectively becoming dictatorships. The proletariat (work force) is poor, and devoid of the resources they create - the government retains rations for itself, hording food, money, anything of value, allowing citizens only what is required to produce. This often leads to violence as citizens do not want to starve - and what happens? Something very much reminiscent of George Orwell's works, 1984 and Animal Farm. By means of physical force and subliminal supression the corrupted communist government molds its citizens into malnourished, uneducated, unskilled zombies - capable of doing only what they are told.

But even in its less extreme forms - even when communism is working at its full potential, it still presents disturbing problems. Communism ignores the very core of human nature. The individual.

Consider an ant colony. Ant's are amazing creatures. Through their combined efforts the dig complex tunnel systems - sometimes MILES deep. To do this they effectively maintain a massive workforce of diggers by assigning a portion of their population to gather food. They function as a single unit, surviving and expanding together, for a common purpose. What is that purpose? Survival. Ants flourish in every continent except for anatarctica.

However, WE ARE NOT ANTS. We've got survival down pat by now. For quite along time infact. Thats why, in ancient human history, we began to specialize. People explored the interests, creating inovative inventions - starting with the wheel and fire, working up to the miracles of modern medicine, and space exploration, and surely countless more wonders in the future. As humans we need space, time and freedom to advance and explore. Things that are often absent in a communist society. Collectivism leaves no room or leftover resources for individual sucess.

So then, what is the best alternative to communism? I'm not exactly sure to be honest. Taking into account the flaws inherent in human nature, no government system will be perfect - nor can we function in an anarchist society, where humans are reduced to animalistic competition for resources and life.

Obviously some order is neccesary. An agreed monetary system, or at the least standards for trade. Law enforcement, to protect the basic rights of individuals, to live, to be free, and to pursue happiness through the ownership and use of land and property. This would require some full time government employees, and they would obviously have to be chosen from and by citizens, not placed in a monarchal or dictorial position. This requires an element of democracy. It also requires some kindof social contract, limiting the power of government to the afformentioned capacity.

Individuals of both genders, and all races must be regarded equally. People must agree to coexist with others they do not neccesarily agree with, so long as the disagreement does not lead to violence or vandalism. If this occurs it should be dealt with accordingly by some preexisting judiciary.

These sorts of changes may be difficult to achieve as many people are reluctant to break the outdated barriers of sexism, racism, and general discrimination that have held back human progress from their formation.

And yes, there is some collective human progress, as we all belong to the same, sentient race. The human race. But the progress is achieved by individuals, and individual alliances, where people get credit for there achievements and reap benefits accordingly. Of course some ideas are bound to fail, and inevitably there will be cases where hard work does not pay off - temporarily. But the only people who lose for the long term in such a society are those who stop trying. Competition breeds good products - with proper motivation and rewarding, people try there best and work their hardest, without use of force or propaganda.

In a communist society people will never be allowed to work towards and achieve their goals where they differ from the whole, and thus will be denied the opportunity to exist to their full potential as human beings.

We are capable of something better. We just need to wake up.