The most surprising thing about Communism is that it just doesn’t seem to matter any more. There are still Communist states, but as an international movement – and on its own terms, Communism is nothing if it is NOT an international movement – Communism is dead. The days are past when Cuba would send troops to Africa to fight on the leftist side of a civil war. The Zapatista rebels in Mexico never called themselves Communists – they almost certainly would have, if their rebellion had started 20 or even 10 years earlier; but the name of Marx had lost its power to conjure. The leftists in Venezuela call their revolution “Bolivarian,” which does not tie them to meaning anything in particular ideologically, since Simon Bolivar was not any kind of socialist. There are still successful, or at least relevant, political parties with "Socialist" in their name in some countries, but they're only social democrats -- they want a vigorous welfare state, but nationalizing the means of production is not on their agenda any more.
And then there’s North Korea. They don’t even call their system and ideology “Communist” any more. It’s all about Korean nationalism, and Kim as the living avatar of the Volksgeist, like Hitler once was.
While the Soviet Union existed, it was the acknowledged center and leader of the INTERNATIONAL Communist movement. That is a mantle the People’s Republic of China has shown no interest in taking up. Since the Vietnam War ended, the Chinese have given no support at all to Communist movements in other countries – not even to those calling themselves “Maoist,” such as the Shining Path in Peru. It is doubtful that something like the Cultural Revolution – a mass movement to make Chinese society more perfectly Communist – could happen now, because nobody in China is that zealous for Communism any more. Not even the Communist Party. When the Chinese make their demands for Taiwan, they always say, “Taiwan is historically a province of China,” or words to that effect. They never say, “We must liberate the workers of Taiwan from their capitalist exploiters.” Nobody even thinks in those terms any more. Even though Taiwan, as a highly industrialized country, is in terms of Marxist theory far more ripe for a proletarian revolution than the backward, agrarian mainland was in the early 20th Century. At least Taiwan HAS a proletariat, as distinct from a peasantry.
This is an outcome no anti-Communist of the 20th Century could have expected. In those days, Communism seemed always to be something with a whole lot of life in it, something that might well win in the end, not by force of arms but by appeal to the working masses – that was why counter-propaganda was necessary. There was always a small still voice telling every anti-Communist that Marx just might have been right – not about the desirability of Communism, but about its inevitability.
Nobody hears that voice ay more.
What happened?
And then there’s North Korea. They don’t even call their system and ideology “Communist” any more. It’s all about Korean nationalism, and Kim as the living avatar of the Volksgeist, like Hitler once was.
While the Soviet Union existed, it was the acknowledged center and leader of the INTERNATIONAL Communist movement. That is a mantle the People’s Republic of China has shown no interest in taking up. Since the Vietnam War ended, the Chinese have given no support at all to Communist movements in other countries – not even to those calling themselves “Maoist,” such as the Shining Path in Peru. It is doubtful that something like the Cultural Revolution – a mass movement to make Chinese society more perfectly Communist – could happen now, because nobody in China is that zealous for Communism any more. Not even the Communist Party. When the Chinese make their demands for Taiwan, they always say, “Taiwan is historically a province of China,” or words to that effect. They never say, “We must liberate the workers of Taiwan from their capitalist exploiters.” Nobody even thinks in those terms any more. Even though Taiwan, as a highly industrialized country, is in terms of Marxist theory far more ripe for a proletarian revolution than the backward, agrarian mainland was in the early 20th Century. At least Taiwan HAS a proletariat, as distinct from a peasantry.
This is an outcome no anti-Communist of the 20th Century could have expected. In those days, Communism seemed always to be something with a whole lot of life in it, something that might well win in the end, not by force of arms but by appeal to the working masses – that was why counter-propaganda was necessary. There was always a small still voice telling every anti-Communist that Marx just might have been right – not about the desirability of Communism, but about its inevitability.
Nobody hears that voice ay more.
What happened?
