Every single atom in the universe carries an unimaginably powerful battery within its heart, called the nucleus. This form of energy, often called Type-1 fuel, is hundreds of thousands, if not million, times more powerful than the conventional Type-0 fuels, which are basically dead plants and animals existing in the form of coal, petroleum, natural gas and other forms of fossil fuel.
* Terminology -
Nuclear fission splitting of atoms to produce energy in the form of heat. Uranium a naturally occurring radioactive metal - only element in which fission (splitting off nucleus) can take place easily, setting off a chain reaction or a self-sustained splitting of atoms. The atoms of Uranium are the largest and the heaviest known on earth so its nucleus is unstable. Besides uranium, plutonium can undergo fission.
Fertile material composed of atoms which do not undergo induced fission themselves but fissile material can be generated from them by irradiation in a nuclear reactor. E.g. U- 238 gives plutonium 239, TH- 232 gives U-233, and U-234 gives U-235.
Criticality When the chain reaction takes place for the first time in a nuclear electricity reactor, it means the reactor has reached its first criticality.
Moderator used to slowdown neutrons surrounding the fuel core of the reactor, e.g. Light water, heavy water (D2O)
Pressurised Heavy Water reactor (PWHR) fuel used is natural uranium. Heavy water is both coolant and reactor and is kept under high pressure. Natural Uranium has 2 kinds of isotopes - 99.3 % U-238 and 0.7 % U-235. Former is not fissile.
LWR Light water is used eg. Kundankulam
Enriched Uranium when non fissile material is removed from natural uranium. It is achieved by a series of chemical and physical processes in centrifuges. In India it is done at Rare Materials plant, Mysore.
* Nuclear Energy on the Globe -
Today - 29 countries operating 441 nuclear power plants, with a total capacity of about 375 GW (e). The industry now has more than 14,000 reactor-years of experience. Sixty more units, with a total target capacity of 58.6 GW under construction.
After Fukushima countries commit to reduce would reduce nuclear energy dependence
Country From To
France 7850(in quick time)
Japan40 0 (by 2040)
Germany 180 (by 2022)
Can Japan really turn off its nuclear power?
i. Japan got around 30% of its electricity from nuclear power before Fukushima, and was planning to raise that to 50%. Now Japan, a resource-poor nation will be importing 96% of its energy from overseas, mainly fossil fuels. This is expensive, not to speak of ruining all environmental standards.
ii. Almost all of Japan's oil and gas is sourced from West Asia, and all of those super tankers traverse the difficult waters of Straits of Hormuz, South and East China Seas having geo-strategic limitations given trust-deficit with China.
iii. Japan is not an overt nuclear weapons state, but it's famously known as being a screwdriver's turn away from being one. It could become a costly security mistake.
Germany's alternatives are a little better. Moving to fossil fuels will hit at the heart of the green movement which wants Germany to slash its carbon emissions by 2020 to 40% below 1990 levels. Germany already leads in solar panels and wind turbines. But wind turbines are deterrent to wildlife conservationists; they want turbines offshore thus expensive. One needs around 2,000 giant turbines, covering over 350 square miles to generate equivalent power as a 1,154 MW nuclear reactor.
While some other countries are progressing with nuclear power. The UAE plans to build four nuclear power plants of a total 5,600 MW at $20 billion, the first of which will roll out in 2017. South Korea won this contract from under the noses of the market leader, France.
* Nuclear Advantages
* A nuclear power plant can give you steady, uninterrupted, predictable power unlike many renewable sources. The sun isn't shining all the time and neither is the wind blowing at optimum generating speeds.
* Both solar and wind power are great for domestic use, but not industrial use.
* Cost of a nuclear power plant incorporates the cost of waste and decommissioning. Unlike fossil fuels - cost in terms of human and environmental damage is incalculable.
* The Kyshtym accident in fuel reprocessing in 1957, the relatively smaller Three Mile Island meltdown (United States), the much bigger Chernobyl accident (USSR, 1986) and the recent Japanese incident at Fukushima. The first accident was purely due to underdeveloped technology, and much of the blame for the next two disasters is attributed to human error. So fear of nuclear power plant being fundamentally prone to disasters is unfounded.
* Regulations also had to with the initial nuclear plant set-up. It was only in December 2010 that the old requirement that reactors should not be constructed above active faults was replaced with faults.
* Nuclear Power in India
India's nuclear power plants, mostly set up during the sanction years, provide only 3% of the energy mix. After the historic Indo-US nuclear deal 2008, the first two plants at Kundankulam - established with Russian assistance.
In India, where coal mining is dirty business, land acquisition is a problem and imported energy is hopelessly expensive and uncertain, we should not turn our back on nuclear power. Yes, there are costs and risks, but so is fracking for shale gas, tar sands, heck, even oil and natural gas.
* Nuclear fuel of the future: Thorium
* Thorium is far more abundant, by about 4 times, than the traditional nuclear fuel, Uranium, and occurs in a far purer form.
* IAEA Report (2005) - India might have the largest reserves of Thorium in the world, with over 6, 50,000 tonnes.
* Through U-233 that could be produced from it releases 8 times the amount of energy per unit mass compared to natural U.
* In waste generation also, it has a relative advantage over Uranium.
* Thorium di oxide is much more stable the Uranium di oxide
* Higher thermal conductivity so in case of explosion heat energy will quickly flow out and prevent meltdown.
* Melting point is 500 degrees higher so in case of accident heat energy will flow out quickly and prevent meltdown.
Two reasons it has not been developed
* First one needs to produce U-233 from Th, and for this, reactors based on the naturally available nuclear fuel material, Uranium-235, are required.
* Recovery of U-233 by large-scale reprocessing of irradiated thorium poses certain practical hurdles.
* Likely presence of hard gamma emitting Uranium-232 during this reprocessing. But according to experts, all these can be overcome technologically.
* Thorium cannot be weaponised and world powers built nuclear energy plants after they built the weapon.
* Nuclear Liability
2010 Nuclear Liability act - Section 17 -
* a contractual right of recourse
* Operator would have the ability to reclaim any compensation it may pay, from a supplier, if the product supplied has patent or latent defects or the service provided is substandard
* Recourse where the nuclear incident arose out of an act or omission by the supplier with an intent to cause damage
17b not consistent with international norms pertaining to nuclear liability?
Department of Atomic Energy has tried to inject realism by defining the duration of the risk to be the product liability period or five years, whichever is less, and a cap on the risk being the value of the contract. Long-standing suppliers of DAE and NPCIL are unhappy to go along even with these caps, as they feel that carrying large contingent liabilities on their books hurts their credit ratings. They, therefore, prefer to move to non-nuclear activities, even though they have acquired valuable nuclear expertise on work done earlier.
Attorney General - since under 17a right to recourse is contractual nuclear liability to supplier it may or may not apply depending upon the contract signed.
Arguments for 17b
* India had a history of Bhopal gas tragedy so it needs to design laws taking the possibility of such incidents into account.
* a, b and c need to be looked at separately. For eg. c will always remain valid irrespective of a. So b has to be separated from the contractual right to recourse.
* In case of accident the damages would be paid by tax payers hence public interest is involved. SC says - statutory right in favour of a party can be waived by such party as long as no public interest or public policy is adversely affected.
* Attorneys Generals might be a legal opinion but parliaments law is public policy and a contract - unlawful if against public policy.
Against 17(b)-
* When India built its first nuclear reactor in Tarapur, indemnity protection was handled by the government. Agreement signed first with GE (US), and then Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) led to nuclear power plants in Rajasthan. India did learn a great deal by this collaboration.
* Even where a plant has been supplied by a single entity under a turnkey contract, many vendors, often running into thousands, would have supplied many components.
* During operation, the operator incorporates many changes and modifications to improve the reliability, ease of operation and efficiency. They may or may not have been done in full consultation with the original suppliers of equipment.
* Moreover, nuclear power plants operate for 50 years or longer; our first two Tarapur reactors have in fact completed 43 years.
* Practice in nuclear reactors across the globe In the above mentioned 441 reactors operating in 29 countries the world over without exception - nuclear liability goes to the operator. The operator, depending on the political system prevailing in the country, covers the risk to the extent possible by insurance. The government of the country takes up the liability beyond the insurance limit; it may also define an upper limit to its own liability, through legislation. Under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation, a multilateral convention, participating states can also share the liability risk to a defined extent.
E.g. U.S government assumed liability beyond the insurable limit up to another limit set under the Price-Anderson Act, passed by the U.S Congress. The limit set under the Price-Anderson Act has been increased progressively from time to time.
VII. Present Scenario -
After 2008, when India signed nuclear cooperation agreements with the U.S, France and Russia and others not even one contract for the import of reactors has been signed to date. With France, discussions have covered technical and safety issues, and commercial discussions are in progress now. In the case of the U.S., the discussions are still on technical and safety issues.
Only with Russia agreement signed in 2008 for Units 3 and 4 at Kudankulam - extension of the agreement covering Units 1 and 2. Prices have been derived for Units 3 and 4 using the earlier price as a basis. The loan agreement also is based on the earlier pattern. Russia does not want the civil nuclear liability law to apply to the proposed units 3 and 4. India has not applied the law to units 1 and 2 (being challenged in the SC) because they were constructed under an agreement that predated the 2010 civil liability law. But India is against exempting units 3 and 4 because this will be seen as discriminating against companies from the U.S. and France.
The 2008 agreement provides that India would extend indemnity protection for Units 3 and 4, on the same lines as Units 1 and 2. If India wants the Units 3 and 4 agreements to comply with its 2010 liability legislation - danger that the entire 2008 agreement may be reopened. Legal experts opinion - Polluter Pays is not true for thermal and other energy as who pays for the CO2 they release?
by Suraj Gupta
1. Sources: Frontline
The Hindu (some op-ed and editorials)
The Economic times
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Monday, January 13, 2014
FALL OF BERLIN WALL
FALL OF BERLIN WALL
Prologue
Berlin Wall holds an important place in history. It was an offspring of cold war which separated Germany for many years. Even after unification it took many years for Germany to accept it.
What is BERLIN WALL?
Separation between East and West Germany will fell in 1989.
History of Berlin Wall:
* Formed after Second World War
* Allied Powers divided Germany into four zones each occupied by USA France Soviet Union and Japan as per the Potsdam Agreement.
* Berlin which was the capital city also divided in four zones.
* Relation between Soviet Union and other powers disintegrated during Cold War era.
* West Germany by allies (USA France Soviet Union and Japan) was federal republic whereas East Germany by Soviet Union was German Democratic Republic.
.
Overview of Capitalist and Socialist economy:
* Capitalist economy is the one that is owned and operated for the purpose of profit whereas in socialist economy emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition to receiving a wage.
* In Capitalist economy the accumulation of capital drives economic activity - the need to continuously produce profits and reinvest this profit into the economy whereas in Socialist economy economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands.
Formation of Berlin Wall:
* On 1 April 1952, East German leaders met the Soviet leaderJoseph Stalinin Moscow; during the discussions Stalin's foreign ministerVyacheslav Molotovproposed that the East Germans should introduce a system of passes for visits of West Berlin residents to the territory of East Berlin.
* Demarcation line was drawn between West Germany and East Germany termed as German border.
* On 11 December 1957, East Germany introduced a new passport law that reduced the overall number of refugees leaving Eastern Germany.
* On 1 August 1961 , it was Nikita Khrushchev from whom the initiative for the construction of the wall came.
* With the closing of theinner German borderofficially in 1952,the border in Berlin remained considerably more accessible then because it was administered by all four occupying powers.
* Repressive living conditions in East Germany due to communist society resulting in mass exodus of people in 1960s.
* As a result Soviet Union tried to bring West Germany under its control. It even tried to threaten USA on this issue but it was determined to defend West Germany.
* On 13 August 1961 wall was erected late night when everyone was sleeping known as Berlin Wall.
Berlin Wall: 13 August 1931
Aftereffects of Berlin Wall:
* No longer could East Berliners cross the border for operas, plays, soccer games, etc. No longer could the approximately 60,000 commuters head to West Berlin for well-paying jobs. No longer could families, friends, and lovers cross the border to meet theirloved ones.
* Wall was over 100 miles.
* The houses contained between the fences were razed and the inhabitants relocated, thus establishing what later became known as theDeath Strip.
* There were four versions of wall.:
* Wire fence (1961)
* Improved wire fence (19621965)
* Concrete wall (19651975)
* Grenzmauer 75(Border Wall 75) (19751989)
* Various checkpoints were made at the crossing of Berlin wall. Among them most famous was checkpoint Charlie which was now a tourist destination.
Stalemate at Charlie Point Checkpoint Charlie
Fall Of Berlin Wall:
As Communism began to falter in Poland Hungary Czechoslovakia in 1988 and 1989 new exodus points opened to East Germans who wanted to flee
On Nov 9 1989 an official statement announced borders were open
People gathered to witness one of the most celebrated moment in history.
German State reunified on October 3 1990.
Bibliography:
1. history1900s.com
2. history.com
3. Images: google.com
Name: Naina Agarwal
Prologue
Berlin Wall holds an important place in history. It was an offspring of cold war which separated Germany for many years. Even after unification it took many years for Germany to accept it.
What is BERLIN WALL?
Separation between East and West Germany will fell in 1989.
History of Berlin Wall:
* Formed after Second World War
* Allied Powers divided Germany into four zones each occupied by USA France Soviet Union and Japan as per the Potsdam Agreement.
* Berlin which was the capital city also divided in four zones.
* Relation between Soviet Union and other powers disintegrated during Cold War era.
* West Germany by allies (USA France Soviet Union and Japan) was federal republic whereas East Germany by Soviet Union was German Democratic Republic.
.
Overview of Capitalist and Socialist economy:
* Capitalist economy is the one that is owned and operated for the purpose of profit whereas in socialist economy emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition to receiving a wage.
* In Capitalist economy the accumulation of capital drives economic activity - the need to continuously produce profits and reinvest this profit into the economy whereas in Socialist economy economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands.
Formation of Berlin Wall:
* On 1 April 1952, East German leaders met the Soviet leaderJoseph Stalinin Moscow; during the discussions Stalin's foreign ministerVyacheslav Molotovproposed that the East Germans should introduce a system of passes for visits of West Berlin residents to the territory of East Berlin.
* Demarcation line was drawn between West Germany and East Germany termed as German border.
* On 11 December 1957, East Germany introduced a new passport law that reduced the overall number of refugees leaving Eastern Germany.
* On 1 August 1961 , it was Nikita Khrushchev from whom the initiative for the construction of the wall came.
* With the closing of theinner German borderofficially in 1952,the border in Berlin remained considerably more accessible then because it was administered by all four occupying powers.
* Repressive living conditions in East Germany due to communist society resulting in mass exodus of people in 1960s.
* As a result Soviet Union tried to bring West Germany under its control. It even tried to threaten USA on this issue but it was determined to defend West Germany.
* On 13 August 1961 wall was erected late night when everyone was sleeping known as Berlin Wall.
Berlin Wall: 13 August 1931
Aftereffects of Berlin Wall:
* No longer could East Berliners cross the border for operas, plays, soccer games, etc. No longer could the approximately 60,000 commuters head to West Berlin for well-paying jobs. No longer could families, friends, and lovers cross the border to meet theirloved ones.
* Wall was over 100 miles.
* The houses contained between the fences were razed and the inhabitants relocated, thus establishing what later became known as theDeath Strip.
* There were four versions of wall.:
* Wire fence (1961)
* Improved wire fence (19621965)
* Concrete wall (19651975)
* Grenzmauer 75(Border Wall 75) (19751989)
* Various checkpoints were made at the crossing of Berlin wall. Among them most famous was checkpoint Charlie which was now a tourist destination.
Stalemate at Charlie Point Checkpoint Charlie
Fall Of Berlin Wall:
As Communism began to falter in Poland Hungary Czechoslovakia in 1988 and 1989 new exodus points opened to East Germans who wanted to flee
On Nov 9 1989 an official statement announced borders were open
People gathered to witness one of the most celebrated moment in history.
German State reunified on October 3 1990.
Bibliography:
1. history1900s.com
2. history.com
3. Images: google.com
Name: Naina Agarwal
Comparison Constitutional Study
Comparison Constitutional Study
The term Constitution is derived through French from the Latin work constitutio used for regulations and orders. Constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established guidelines through which a country or organization is governed. With the changes in global scenario the comparative study of Constitutions gain importance so as to evolve better governance in a nation. The important features of various Constitutions have been given below.
UK Constitution
United Kingdom consists of four countries namely England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK form of Government is constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. UK Constitution is also called Mother of all Constitutions.
Salient features of UK Constitution:
1. The Unwritten Character: When British Constitution is referred, it is generally considered unwritten. But there are sufficient numbers of Acts, Statutes etc which have been referred as written portion, some important being Magna Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689, Parliamentary Acts of 1911 & 1949. In modern sense of usual practice of writing down the Constitution as have been followed in so many counties, is visibly absent in UK. Therefore, a lot of long-drawn precedents also form a bulk of the unwritten Constitution.
1. Difference between theory and practice: In UK all powers is vested in the Crown starting from appointment of day-to-day administration, to declaration of war, to conjuring peace etc even people are considered to be subjects (not citizens), the Government is called Queen/Kings Government even the opposition is called the Loyal opposition etc. But in practice the Crown is only mere figure head. It is the Prime Minister who wields all the powers. It is clear case of Limited Monarchy.
1. Parliamentary Sovereignty: Parliament is the supreme authority. Since there is no written Constitution, Parliaments authority is not defined. Also Parliament being the highest representative body of the people naturally claimed/developed legitimacy for expanding powers.
1. Unitary Constitution: It imagines entire British society as one unit of governance therefore only one level of Government exists. Unlike in federal Constitution the powers are not divided between the Centre and states.
1. Flexible Constitution: In the absence of any written Constitution as single document the British Parliament makes laws in normal process of law making or changing the entire law. Unlike in other Constitutions where the procedure is specifically provided and without which the change cannot happen. In British practice the established procedure of law can change the Constitution.
2. Bicameralism. British Legislative authority, the Parliament is divided as follows:
House of Lords:
It is hereditary chamber and consists of 26 Bishops and Archbishops of Church of England called as Spiritual Peers;. There are 92 Hereditary Peers, 1 Irish Peer, 16 Scottish Peers and several hundred Life Peers. These are nominated by the Crown on the advice of PM. It acts as the highest Court of land.
House of Commons:
It consists of 650 members elected by citizens of Britain. This house is more powerful than the House of Lords. Money bills can only originate from House of Commons. PM is also selected from House of Commons.
1. Judiciary: The role of judiciary as provided in UK is independent and unified.
1. Single Citizenship: The UK Constitution recognizes the entire State as single unit of governance thereby providing only single citizenship to the residents. The same has been followed in India.
USA Constitution :
The United State of America commonly known as United States consists of 50 states, 16 territories and a federal district. The British recognised the independence of US colonies by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In Philadelphia convention the American Constitution was worked upon in 1787. Originally 13 states established the Unites States and thereafter rest 37 states joined making it a federation. The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by theConstitutional Conventionin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, andratifiedby conventions in elevenStates. It went into effect on March 4, 1789.
Salient features of US Constitution:
1. Written Constitution: It is a written document unlike UK where there is no specific written document. It is brief document consisting of only 7 Articles and 26 amendments.
2. Rigidity in character: US Constitution is the most rigid because the majority that is required to amend it is very difficult to find as per the provisions apart from the majority that is required in the Parliament (Congress), it has to be ratified by not less than 3/4th of the states. Because of which it has been found to be very difficult to make changes in American Constitution. Even at times it has taken almost 70-80 years to complete a particular amendment process.
3. Federal character: The Constitution is clear in terms of how much power the federal government will have. And in fact the federal government is less powerful than state government unlike in India where federal government claims larger jurisdiction of power.
4. Supremacy of Constitution: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Other laws which are to be created by authorised agencies have to conform to the supreme law or else they may be declared ultra vires as they may be found to be inconsistent with Constitution either in letter or spirit.
5. Separation of Powers: The basic feature of the constitution of America is the distribution of national powers among three departments i.e. judiciary, legislature and executive, which are given constitutional and political independence from one another. And in order to bring a process of checks and balances it applied this doctrine of separation of powers. This theory led to establish these three organs as having co-equal powers.
6. Fundamental Rights (Bill of Rights): The U.S.A. Constitution guarantees fundamental rights of person, property and liberty. The rights of citizens are enforceable by recourse to judiciary. These rights are absolute and in no way could be modified or suspended except by a Constitutional amendment.
7. Judicial review: It is a process to examine or find out the constitutionality of any law passed by the Legislature, any administrative order issued by the executive or even any amendment that could be bought about into existing provisions of constitution or into any existing statutory law.
8. Dual citizenship: The Constitution provides for dual citizenship to the Americans as the citizen of USA as well as citizen of state to which he/she is domiciled. This is because the pre existing states were having their own citizenship laws before joining in US federation hence they retained it.
9. Presidential form of government: It provides for the President as the head of the State as well as head of government. The President is elected directly by the people and not through their representatives in Congress.
10. Bicameral Legislature: The Parliament (Congress) of US has two houses
11. Senate Upper House of Congress
12. House of Representatives- Lower House of Congress.
Typical layout of US political structure
French Constitution:
The Constitution of France has evolved through a series of phases starting from the French Revolution as stated below:
* 1st Republic (1792-1804): It was first Constitution of France established declaring it as Republic and expresses the idea of radical character.
* 2nd Republic (1848-1852): It replaced the 1st republic under Louis XVIII but lasted only for 3 years.
* 3rd Republic (1870-1940): It was republican government from 1870 to 1940 when it was replaced due to defeat by Nazi Germany.
* 4th Republic (1944-1958) : It was another short lived Constitution and it gave to French Constitution the characters such as sovereignty of people, secularism, democracy etc.
* 5th Republic (1958 -till date): It is also known as Tailor-made-Constitution under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. The current Constitution was adopted on 4th Oct 1958 and replaced the 4th Republic.
Analysts describe French Constitution as quasi-presidential, quasi-monarchical and a parliamentary empire. The reasons behind this is that the Constitution did incorporated some of the personal demands of Charles de Gaulle which was not necessarily in consonance with pure Constitutional government based on doctrines like separation of powers, checks and balances, legislative accountability etc.
Salient features of French Constitution:
1. Popular Sovereignty: The Preamble recalls the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen from 1789 and declares the Constitution as the sovereignty been invested with the people.
2. Rigid Constitution: In order to amend it the Parliament has to pass the bill with 3/4th majority or otherwise after the Parliament passing it with absolute majority and thereafter going for a referendum.
3. Recognition of Political Parties: It is the only Constitution which recognizes the existence of political parties directly.
4. Bicameral legislature: The French Parliament consists of two houses:
5. National Assembly (Lower house or popular Chamber): Members are elected directly from territorial constituency. The members are called Deputies and are elected for 5 years.
6. Senate (Upper House): The members are indirectly elected. The tenure of Senators is of 9 years with every 3rd year one third of them retiring.
7. President as an arbiter: Some of the executive features provided in French Constitution to make President more stronger are:
8. All executive powers are vested with President.
9. President is directly elected by people though universal adult suffrage for 7 years.
10. There is Constitutional Council which is entrusted with election of President. In case there is vacancy in office of President, the president of Senate temporarily takes over.
11. President appoints Prime Minister and council of ministers on his advice.
12. He has authority to declare national emergency.
13. He can be impeached only on the change of high treason.
14. The judges are appointed by council called High Council of Judges headed by the President.
Typical layout of French political structure
Japan Constitution
The main islands which constitute Japan are Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, Hokkaido largest of them being Honshu. The bombardment on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to surrender of Japan and new constitution got enacted on May 1947. Douglas McArthur the supreme commander of allied powers played important role in making of the Constitution. The constitution provides for aparliamentary systemof government and guarantees certain fundamental rights.
Salient features of Japanese Constitution:
1. Written Character: It is a written Constitution.
2. Renunciation of war: It is called Post war Constitution or Peace Constitution as it openly declares that Japan will not enter into any war and will not use any force, or threat of force for settling international disputes under article 9.
3. Rigid Constitution: It is a rigid document and no subsequent amendment has been made since its adoption.
4. Parliamentary Government: It provides for limited monarchy and Parliamentary form of Government.
5. Fundamental Rights: It mentions about fundamental rights in which people have been given their rights which are eternal and inviolative.
6. Judicial Review: Supreme Court of Japan enjoys judicial review.
7. Bicameral legislature: The Japanese Parliament (Diet) has two chambers:
1. House of Councillors (Upper House): The members are elected for 6 years.
2. House of Representatives (Lower House): The members are elected for 4 years.
3. The PM is elected by the Diet. He appoints the cabinet and has all the powers like Prime Minister of India or Vice Chancellor of UK.
8. It indirectly recognizes existence of political parties.
Canada Constitution:
Canada was earlier colony of France and UK starting from 1791 when Canada was divided into Upper and Lower Canada. However the outlining of Canadian Constitution can be traced from the British North America Acts 1867 which was accepted and the Constitution. At present Canada consists of 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Salient features of Canadian Constitution:
1. Constitutional Monarchy: It states that executive Government and authority is vested in the Canadian Monarchy (i.e. Crown of UK).
Crown Governor General Prime Minister Council of Ministers.
1. Rigid cum flexible: The amendment procedure is rigid in only few cases but in other cases most of the occasions require flexible majority.
2. Fundamental Rights: A charter of rights in the form of Bill of Rights in 1960 was adopted into the Constitution of Canada.
3. Supreme Court: It is highest judicial tribunal and it has some review capacity but not as powerful as USA. It has 10 judges including Chief justice.
4. Federalism with unitary bias: The Canadian Constitution can be called as Federal with unitary bias i.e. monarch in spirit and republic in practice.
5. Referendum: The Constitution provides for referendum on matters of vital public importance. It is decided by a Constitutional formula as adopted by the Canadian Parliament.
6. Bicameral Legislature: Canadian parliament consists of two houses
7. Senate (Upper House): It is nominated chamber. Members have membership till they reach age of 75 years. The Chairman of Senate is appointed be Governor General.
8. House of Commons (Lower house): The members are directly elected. The speaker of the House is elected by house itself.
9. The Governor General is appointed for 5 years. He can be removed by Crown in consultation with Cabinet.
10. Money bill can be introduced in any House.
11. Canada is basically a dominion i.e. practically it is Sovereign but technically it is still a dominion of Crown.
Typical layout of Canadian political structure
Germany Constitution
Germany is federal parliamentary republic in Western Europe and consists of 16 states. The Constitution of Germany is called Basic Law. It is a republic and has republican Government. Head of the State is President. Head of the Government is Chancellor. The federal structure of Germany is Federal Govt State Govt Lnder .
Salient features of German Constitution:
1. Constitution prohibits Germany entering into any kind of war and in fact limits the German federal Government authority to keep a huge defence force. The issue of war or any military engagement of Germany forces with any outside State/region is usually very strong emotional issue in German politics because of the hangover of the 2nd World War and role of Germany in it.
2. It has a Supreme Court which has judicial review power and quiet strangely in Germany the judges are elected by the Parliament. The President is titular head.
3. The fundamental rights in German Constitution are having very importance place and directly protected by the Supreme Court. Apart from usual fundamental rights that every Constitution has for its own citizens, German Constitution has unique feature that recognizes the right to get political asylum to non Germans.
4. Bicameral Legislature: The German Parliament (Bundestag) has two houses namely:
5. Bundesrat (Upper House)
6. Bundestag (Lower House)
7. Basic rights are fundamental to Basic law, in contrast to Weimar Constitution, which listed them as merely State Objectives.
Typical layout of German political structure
Australian Constitution:
Australia is officially Commonwealth of Australia is the country comprising of Australian continent, the islands of Tasmania and other small islands. The Constitution was established in 1901 when six British colonies federated together forming the Commonwealth of Australia. The federation now has six states and seven territories.
Salient features of Australian Constitution:
1. It is federal in structure like USA model
2. It provides for Constitutional Monarchy i.e. Head of the State is British Crown represented by the Governor General.
3. There is provision of judicial review
4. Residuary powers lie with the Centre/State.
5. The Governors of the State are directly appointed by the British Crown even without the reference to federal government.
6. It provides for direct election of both houses.
7. Highest court is High Court next court is Supreme Court.
8. Concurrent List.
Typical layout of Australian political structure
Chinese Constitution:
The Cultural Revolution in China established Peoples Republic of China and new Constitution was established in 1954 under the guidance of All China Peoples National Congress and the Constitution was having the objective of establishing a Socialist State. The Constitution openly appreciated pluralistic philosophies which are in consonance with democratic principles. But in reality never such practices took place. After Mao died, a new Constitution in 1975 came to be established which came in operation from 1975-78. In 1978 another leader Huo Kuo Feng became the leader of China and established another Constitution which did not last and in 1982 under new leader Hu Yao Bang a new Constitution was established and Deng Xiaping came out to be supreme leader under whose stewardship the economic reform leading to liberalization of Chinese economy took place.
It has 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct controlled municipalities (Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai, Chongqing), and two mostly self-governingspecial administrative regions(Hong KongandMacau). The PRC also claimsTaiwan which is controlled by the Republic of China(ROC), a separate political entity as its23rd province, a claim which is controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan .
Salient features of the Chinese Constitution:
1. It declares china as a Peoples democratic state led by the working class and based on the alliances of workers and peasants
2. The Chinese National Peoples congress came to be established in new form controlling all the authorities. The Congress capsizes democratic centralism as a method of political decision making.
3. Constitution has long list of fundamental rights and duties and both are protected. The duties are also enforceable in nature.
4. Unitary State- unlike the earlier Soviet Constitution which was drawn up by the lines of federalism, Chinese constitution subscribes to an unitary structure of government in which Central Government is having concentration of total powers and taking almost all decisions on behalf of citizens.
5. There is a consulting process recognized by the Constitution to bring about a consensus in Chinese politics with regard to decision making and the organization is called Chinese Peoples Political consultative conference.
Typical Layout of Chinese political structure
Typical drawing showing the political systems in world
Summary of Constitutional features of various countriesTypical borrowed features of Indian Constitution from various sources:
Shovit Chowdhury
References:
1. http://www.google.com
2. http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
3. Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth
4. Competition Wizard magazine.
The term Constitution is derived through French from the Latin work constitutio used for regulations and orders. Constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established guidelines through which a country or organization is governed. With the changes in global scenario the comparative study of Constitutions gain importance so as to evolve better governance in a nation. The important features of various Constitutions have been given below.
UK Constitution
United Kingdom consists of four countries namely England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK form of Government is constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. UK Constitution is also called Mother of all Constitutions.
Salient features of UK Constitution:
1. The Unwritten Character: When British Constitution is referred, it is generally considered unwritten. But there are sufficient numbers of Acts, Statutes etc which have been referred as written portion, some important being Magna Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689, Parliamentary Acts of 1911 & 1949. In modern sense of usual practice of writing down the Constitution as have been followed in so many counties, is visibly absent in UK. Therefore, a lot of long-drawn precedents also form a bulk of the unwritten Constitution.
1. Difference between theory and practice: In UK all powers is vested in the Crown starting from appointment of day-to-day administration, to declaration of war, to conjuring peace etc even people are considered to be subjects (not citizens), the Government is called Queen/Kings Government even the opposition is called the Loyal opposition etc. But in practice the Crown is only mere figure head. It is the Prime Minister who wields all the powers. It is clear case of Limited Monarchy.
1. Parliamentary Sovereignty: Parliament is the supreme authority. Since there is no written Constitution, Parliaments authority is not defined. Also Parliament being the highest representative body of the people naturally claimed/developed legitimacy for expanding powers.
1. Unitary Constitution: It imagines entire British society as one unit of governance therefore only one level of Government exists. Unlike in federal Constitution the powers are not divided between the Centre and states.
1. Flexible Constitution: In the absence of any written Constitution as single document the British Parliament makes laws in normal process of law making or changing the entire law. Unlike in other Constitutions where the procedure is specifically provided and without which the change cannot happen. In British practice the established procedure of law can change the Constitution.
2. Bicameralism. British Legislative authority, the Parliament is divided as follows:
House of Lords:
It is hereditary chamber and consists of 26 Bishops and Archbishops of Church of England called as Spiritual Peers;. There are 92 Hereditary Peers, 1 Irish Peer, 16 Scottish Peers and several hundred Life Peers. These are nominated by the Crown on the advice of PM. It acts as the highest Court of land.
House of Commons:
It consists of 650 members elected by citizens of Britain. This house is more powerful than the House of Lords. Money bills can only originate from House of Commons. PM is also selected from House of Commons.
1. Judiciary: The role of judiciary as provided in UK is independent and unified.
1. Single Citizenship: The UK Constitution recognizes the entire State as single unit of governance thereby providing only single citizenship to the residents. The same has been followed in India.
USA Constitution :
The United State of America commonly known as United States consists of 50 states, 16 territories and a federal district. The British recognised the independence of US colonies by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In Philadelphia convention the American Constitution was worked upon in 1787. Originally 13 states established the Unites States and thereafter rest 37 states joined making it a federation. The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by theConstitutional Conventionin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, andratifiedby conventions in elevenStates. It went into effect on March 4, 1789.
Salient features of US Constitution:
1. Written Constitution: It is a written document unlike UK where there is no specific written document. It is brief document consisting of only 7 Articles and 26 amendments.
2. Rigidity in character: US Constitution is the most rigid because the majority that is required to amend it is very difficult to find as per the provisions apart from the majority that is required in the Parliament (Congress), it has to be ratified by not less than 3/4th of the states. Because of which it has been found to be very difficult to make changes in American Constitution. Even at times it has taken almost 70-80 years to complete a particular amendment process.
3. Federal character: The Constitution is clear in terms of how much power the federal government will have. And in fact the federal government is less powerful than state government unlike in India where federal government claims larger jurisdiction of power.
4. Supremacy of Constitution: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Other laws which are to be created by authorised agencies have to conform to the supreme law or else they may be declared ultra vires as they may be found to be inconsistent with Constitution either in letter or spirit.
5. Separation of Powers: The basic feature of the constitution of America is the distribution of national powers among three departments i.e. judiciary, legislature and executive, which are given constitutional and political independence from one another. And in order to bring a process of checks and balances it applied this doctrine of separation of powers. This theory led to establish these three organs as having co-equal powers.
6. Fundamental Rights (Bill of Rights): The U.S.A. Constitution guarantees fundamental rights of person, property and liberty. The rights of citizens are enforceable by recourse to judiciary. These rights are absolute and in no way could be modified or suspended except by a Constitutional amendment.
7. Judicial review: It is a process to examine or find out the constitutionality of any law passed by the Legislature, any administrative order issued by the executive or even any amendment that could be bought about into existing provisions of constitution or into any existing statutory law.
8. Dual citizenship: The Constitution provides for dual citizenship to the Americans as the citizen of USA as well as citizen of state to which he/she is domiciled. This is because the pre existing states were having their own citizenship laws before joining in US federation hence they retained it.
9. Presidential form of government: It provides for the President as the head of the State as well as head of government. The President is elected directly by the people and not through their representatives in Congress.
10. Bicameral Legislature: The Parliament (Congress) of US has two houses
11. Senate Upper House of Congress
12. House of Representatives- Lower House of Congress.
Typical layout of US political structure
French Constitution:
The Constitution of France has evolved through a series of phases starting from the French Revolution as stated below:
* 1st Republic (1792-1804): It was first Constitution of France established declaring it as Republic and expresses the idea of radical character.
* 2nd Republic (1848-1852): It replaced the 1st republic under Louis XVIII but lasted only for 3 years.
* 3rd Republic (1870-1940): It was republican government from 1870 to 1940 when it was replaced due to defeat by Nazi Germany.
* 4th Republic (1944-1958) : It was another short lived Constitution and it gave to French Constitution the characters such as sovereignty of people, secularism, democracy etc.
* 5th Republic (1958 -till date): It is also known as Tailor-made-Constitution under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. The current Constitution was adopted on 4th Oct 1958 and replaced the 4th Republic.
Analysts describe French Constitution as quasi-presidential, quasi-monarchical and a parliamentary empire. The reasons behind this is that the Constitution did incorporated some of the personal demands of Charles de Gaulle which was not necessarily in consonance with pure Constitutional government based on doctrines like separation of powers, checks and balances, legislative accountability etc.
Salient features of French Constitution:
1. Popular Sovereignty: The Preamble recalls the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen from 1789 and declares the Constitution as the sovereignty been invested with the people.
2. Rigid Constitution: In order to amend it the Parliament has to pass the bill with 3/4th majority or otherwise after the Parliament passing it with absolute majority and thereafter going for a referendum.
3. Recognition of Political Parties: It is the only Constitution which recognizes the existence of political parties directly.
4. Bicameral legislature: The French Parliament consists of two houses:
5. National Assembly (Lower house or popular Chamber): Members are elected directly from territorial constituency. The members are called Deputies and are elected for 5 years.
6. Senate (Upper House): The members are indirectly elected. The tenure of Senators is of 9 years with every 3rd year one third of them retiring.
7. President as an arbiter: Some of the executive features provided in French Constitution to make President more stronger are:
8. All executive powers are vested with President.
9. President is directly elected by people though universal adult suffrage for 7 years.
10. There is Constitutional Council which is entrusted with election of President. In case there is vacancy in office of President, the president of Senate temporarily takes over.
11. President appoints Prime Minister and council of ministers on his advice.
12. He has authority to declare national emergency.
13. He can be impeached only on the change of high treason.
14. The judges are appointed by council called High Council of Judges headed by the President.
Typical layout of French political structure
Japan Constitution
The main islands which constitute Japan are Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, Hokkaido largest of them being Honshu. The bombardment on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to surrender of Japan and new constitution got enacted on May 1947. Douglas McArthur the supreme commander of allied powers played important role in making of the Constitution. The constitution provides for aparliamentary systemof government and guarantees certain fundamental rights.
Salient features of Japanese Constitution:
1. Written Character: It is a written Constitution.
2. Renunciation of war: It is called Post war Constitution or Peace Constitution as it openly declares that Japan will not enter into any war and will not use any force, or threat of force for settling international disputes under article 9.
3. Rigid Constitution: It is a rigid document and no subsequent amendment has been made since its adoption.
4. Parliamentary Government: It provides for limited monarchy and Parliamentary form of Government.
5. Fundamental Rights: It mentions about fundamental rights in which people have been given their rights which are eternal and inviolative.
6. Judicial Review: Supreme Court of Japan enjoys judicial review.
7. Bicameral legislature: The Japanese Parliament (Diet) has two chambers:
1. House of Councillors (Upper House): The members are elected for 6 years.
2. House of Representatives (Lower House): The members are elected for 4 years.
3. The PM is elected by the Diet. He appoints the cabinet and has all the powers like Prime Minister of India or Vice Chancellor of UK.
8. It indirectly recognizes existence of political parties.
Canada Constitution:
Canada was earlier colony of France and UK starting from 1791 when Canada was divided into Upper and Lower Canada. However the outlining of Canadian Constitution can be traced from the British North America Acts 1867 which was accepted and the Constitution. At present Canada consists of 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Salient features of Canadian Constitution:
1. Constitutional Monarchy: It states that executive Government and authority is vested in the Canadian Monarchy (i.e. Crown of UK).
Crown Governor General Prime Minister Council of Ministers.
1. Rigid cum flexible: The amendment procedure is rigid in only few cases but in other cases most of the occasions require flexible majority.
2. Fundamental Rights: A charter of rights in the form of Bill of Rights in 1960 was adopted into the Constitution of Canada.
3. Supreme Court: It is highest judicial tribunal and it has some review capacity but not as powerful as USA. It has 10 judges including Chief justice.
4. Federalism with unitary bias: The Canadian Constitution can be called as Federal with unitary bias i.e. monarch in spirit and republic in practice.
5. Referendum: The Constitution provides for referendum on matters of vital public importance. It is decided by a Constitutional formula as adopted by the Canadian Parliament.
6. Bicameral Legislature: Canadian parliament consists of two houses
7. Senate (Upper House): It is nominated chamber. Members have membership till they reach age of 75 years. The Chairman of Senate is appointed be Governor General.
8. House of Commons (Lower house): The members are directly elected. The speaker of the House is elected by house itself.
9. The Governor General is appointed for 5 years. He can be removed by Crown in consultation with Cabinet.
10. Money bill can be introduced in any House.
11. Canada is basically a dominion i.e. practically it is Sovereign but technically it is still a dominion of Crown.
Typical layout of Canadian political structure
Germany Constitution
Germany is federal parliamentary republic in Western Europe and consists of 16 states. The Constitution of Germany is called Basic Law. It is a republic and has republican Government. Head of the State is President. Head of the Government is Chancellor. The federal structure of Germany is Federal Govt State Govt Lnder .
Salient features of German Constitution:
1. Constitution prohibits Germany entering into any kind of war and in fact limits the German federal Government authority to keep a huge defence force. The issue of war or any military engagement of Germany forces with any outside State/region is usually very strong emotional issue in German politics because of the hangover of the 2nd World War and role of Germany in it.
2. It has a Supreme Court which has judicial review power and quiet strangely in Germany the judges are elected by the Parliament. The President is titular head.
3. The fundamental rights in German Constitution are having very importance place and directly protected by the Supreme Court. Apart from usual fundamental rights that every Constitution has for its own citizens, German Constitution has unique feature that recognizes the right to get political asylum to non Germans.
4. Bicameral Legislature: The German Parliament (Bundestag) has two houses namely:
5. Bundesrat (Upper House)
6. Bundestag (Lower House)
7. Basic rights are fundamental to Basic law, in contrast to Weimar Constitution, which listed them as merely State Objectives.
Typical layout of German political structure
Australian Constitution:
Australia is officially Commonwealth of Australia is the country comprising of Australian continent, the islands of Tasmania and other small islands. The Constitution was established in 1901 when six British colonies federated together forming the Commonwealth of Australia. The federation now has six states and seven territories.
Salient features of Australian Constitution:
1. It is federal in structure like USA model
2. It provides for Constitutional Monarchy i.e. Head of the State is British Crown represented by the Governor General.
3. There is provision of judicial review
4. Residuary powers lie with the Centre/State.
5. The Governors of the State are directly appointed by the British Crown even without the reference to federal government.
6. It provides for direct election of both houses.
7. Highest court is High Court next court is Supreme Court.
8. Concurrent List.
Typical layout of Australian political structure
Chinese Constitution:
The Cultural Revolution in China established Peoples Republic of China and new Constitution was established in 1954 under the guidance of All China Peoples National Congress and the Constitution was having the objective of establishing a Socialist State. The Constitution openly appreciated pluralistic philosophies which are in consonance with democratic principles. But in reality never such practices took place. After Mao died, a new Constitution in 1975 came to be established which came in operation from 1975-78. In 1978 another leader Huo Kuo Feng became the leader of China and established another Constitution which did not last and in 1982 under new leader Hu Yao Bang a new Constitution was established and Deng Xiaping came out to be supreme leader under whose stewardship the economic reform leading to liberalization of Chinese economy took place.
It has 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct controlled municipalities (Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai, Chongqing), and two mostly self-governingspecial administrative regions(Hong KongandMacau). The PRC also claimsTaiwan which is controlled by the Republic of China(ROC), a separate political entity as its23rd province, a claim which is controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan .
Salient features of the Chinese Constitution:
1. It declares china as a Peoples democratic state led by the working class and based on the alliances of workers and peasants
2. The Chinese National Peoples congress came to be established in new form controlling all the authorities. The Congress capsizes democratic centralism as a method of political decision making.
3. Constitution has long list of fundamental rights and duties and both are protected. The duties are also enforceable in nature.
4. Unitary State- unlike the earlier Soviet Constitution which was drawn up by the lines of federalism, Chinese constitution subscribes to an unitary structure of government in which Central Government is having concentration of total powers and taking almost all decisions on behalf of citizens.
5. There is a consulting process recognized by the Constitution to bring about a consensus in Chinese politics with regard to decision making and the organization is called Chinese Peoples Political consultative conference.
Typical Layout of Chinese political structure
Typical drawing showing the political systems in world
Summary of Constitutional features of various countriesTypical borrowed features of Indian Constitution from various sources:
Shovit Chowdhury
References:
1. http://www.google.com
2. http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
3. Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth
4. Competition Wizard magazine.
Capitalism vs Socialism
Capitalism vs Socialism
Capitalismandsocialismare somewhat opposing schools of thought ineconomics. The central arguments in the socialism/capitalism debate are about economic equality and the role of government: socialists believe economic inequality is bad for society and the government is responsible for reducing it via programs that benefit the poor. e.g. free public education, free orsubsidized health care, social security for the elderly, highertaxeson the rich. On the other hand, capitalists believe that government does not use economic resources as efficiently as private enterprise and therefore society is better off with the free market determining economic winners and losers.
The U.S. is widely considered the bastion of capitalism and large parts of Scandinavia and Western Europe are socialist democracies. However, the truth is every developed country has some programs that are socialist.
An extreme form ofsocialiam iscommunism..
Comparison chart
CapitalismSocialism
Philosophy:Capital (or the "means of production") is owned, operated, and traded for the purpose of generating profits for private owners or shareholders. Emphasis on individual profit rather than on workers or society as a whole.From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition to receiving a wage.
Ideas:Laissez-faire means to "let it be"; opposed to government intervention in economics because capitalists believe it introducesinefficiencies. Free market produces the best economic outcomefor society. Govt. should not pick winners and losers.All people should be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Workers should have most say in their factory's management.The free marketsuffers from problems like tragedy of the commons.Government regulationis necessary.
Economic System:Free-Market economy.Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given somewhat equal shares of the benefits derived from labor, but people can earn more if they work harder. Means of production are controlled by the workers themselves.
Key elements:The accumulation of capital drives economic activity - the need to continuously produce profits and reinvest this profit into the economy. "Production for profit": useful goods and services are a byproduct of pursuing profit.Economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands. "Production for use": useful goods and services are produced specifically for their usefulness.
Economic coordination:Relies principally on markets to determine investment, production and distribution decisions. Markets may be free-markets, regulated-markets, or may be combined with a degree of state-directed economic planning or planning within private companies.Planned-Socialism relies principally on planning to determine investment and production decisions. Planning may be centralized or decentralized. Market-socialism relies on markets for allocating capital to different socially-owned enterprises.
Political movements:Classical liberalism, Social liberalism, Libertarianism, Neo-liberalism, Modern Social-DemocracyDemocratic Socialism, Communism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism
Ownership structure:The means of production are privately-owned and operated for a private profit. This drives incentives for producers to engage in economic activity.The means of production are socially-owned with the surplus value produced accruing to either all of society (in Public-ownership models) or to all the employee-members of the enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership models).
Religion:Permitted/Freedom of Religionfreedom of religion
Key Proponents:Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Milton Friedman, Fredrich Hayek, Ayn RandRobert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl Marx,FredrickEngels, John Stuart Mill, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma Goldman
Way of Change:Fast change within the system. In theory, the relationship between buyer and seller (the market) is what fuels what is produced. Government can change rules of conduct/business practices through regulation or ease of regulations.Workers in a Socialist-state are the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by the workers can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.
Tenets
One of the central arguments in economics, especially in the socialism vs. capitalism debate, is the role of the government. Acapitalist systemis based onprivate ownershipof the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit. Asocialist systemis characterised bysocial ownershipof the means of production, e.g. cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises.
Proponents of capitalism espouse competitive and free markets, voluntary exchange (over forced exchange of labor or goods). Socialists advocate greater government involvement but the differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets versus planning, how management is to be organised within economic enterprises, and the role of the state in constructing socialism.
Criticisms of Socialism and Capitalism
Criticisms of Capitalism
Critics argue that capitalism is associated with: unfair and inefficient distribution of wealth and power; a tendency toward marketmonopol or oligopoly(and government by oligarchy); imperialism, counter-revolutionary wars and various forms of economic and cultural exploitation; repressions of workers and trade unionists, and phenomena such as social alienation, inequality, unemployment, and economic instability. Critics have argued that there is an inherent tendency towards oligolopolistic structures when laissez-faire is combined with capitalist private property. Capitalism is regarded by many socialists to be irrational in that production and the direction the economy is unplanned, creating many inconsistencies andinternalcontradictions.
In the early 20th century, Vladimir Lenin argued that state use of military power to defend capitalist interests abroad was an inevitable corollary of monopoly capitalism. Economist Branko Horvat states, "it is now well known that capitalist development leads to the concentration of capital, employment and power. It is somewhat less known that it leads to the almost complete destruction of economic freedom." Southern Methodist university Economics Professor Ravi Batra argues that excessive income and wealth inequalities are a fundamental cause of financial crisis and economic depression, which wil leadto the collapse of capitalism and the emergence of a newsocial order.
Environmentalists have argued that capitalism requirescontinualeconomic growth, and will inevitably deplete thefinitenatural resources of the earth, and other broadly utilized resources. Murray Bookchin has argued that capitalist production externalizes environmental costs to all of society, and is unable to adequately mitigate its impact upon ecosystems and the biosphere at large. Labor historians and scholars, such as Immanuel Wallerstein, Tom Brass and latterly Marcel van der Linden, have argued that unfree labor by slaves, indentured servants, prisoners, and other coerced persons is compatible with capitalist relations.
Many religions have criticized or opposed specific elements of capitalism; traditional Judaism and christianity, and islamforbid lendingmoneysat interst, although methods ofIslamic bankinghave been developed. Christianity has been a source of both praise and criticism for capitalism, particularly its materialist aspects.
Criticisms of Socialism
Criticisms of socialism range from claims that socialist economic and political models are inefficient or incompatible with civil liberties to condemnation of specific socialist states. There is much focus on the economic performance and human rights records of communist states, although there is debate over the categorization of such states as socialist.
In the economic calculation debate, classical liberal Friedrich Hayek argued that a socialist command economy could not adequately transmit information about prices and productive quotas due to the lack of a price mechanism, and as a result it could not make rational economic decisions. Ludwig von Mises argued that a socialist economy was not possible at all, because of the impossibility of rational pricing of capital goods in a socialist economy since the state is the only owner of the capital goods. Hayek further argued that thesocial controlover distribution of wealth and private property advocated by socialists cannot be achieved without reduced prosperity for the general populace, and a loss of political and economic freedoms.
Hayek's views were echoed by Winston Churchill in an electoral broadcast prior to the British general election of 1945:
a socialist policy is abhorrent to the British ideas of freedom. Socialism is inseparably interwoven with totalitarianism and the object worship of the state. It will prescribe for every one where they are to work, what they are to work at, where they may go and what they may say. Socialism is an attack on the right to breathe freely. No socialist system can be established without a political police. They would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo, no doubt very humanely directed in the first instance.
Communism vs Socialism
In a way,communismis an extreme form ofsocialism. Manycountrieshave dominant socialist political parties but very few are truly communist. In fact, most countries - including staunch capitalist bastions like the U.S. and U.K. - have government programs that borrow from socialist principles. "Socialism" is sometimes used interchangeably with "communism" but the two philosophies have some stark differences. Most notably, while communism is a political system, socialism is primarily an economic system that can exist in various forms under a wide range of political systems.
Comparison chart:-
CommunismSocialism
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceFrom each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition toreceivinga wage.
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateA theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of most property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the workers
Ideas:Human societies have always been divided into warring classes.The Industrial Revolutionhas enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The workers must overthrow the bourgeois.All people should be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Workers should have most say in their factory's management.The free marketsuffers from problems like tragedy of the commons.Government regulationis necessary.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given somewhat equal shares of the benefits derived from labor, but people can earn more if they work harder. Means of production are controlled by the workers themselves.
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-partysystem.Multiple parties, but the rulingpartyusually goes by the name "Socialist".
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Class distinctions are diminished
Economic Coordination:Government controls all business, as well asBusiness decisions.Planned-Socialism relies principally on planning to determine investment and production decisions. Planning may be centralized or decentralized. Market-socialism relies on markets for allocating capital to different socially-owned enterprises.
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.All choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are up to the individual. Allhealthcare and education is provided free to everybody
Political Movements:Leninism, Trotskyism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Left-CommunismDemocratic Socialism, Communism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism
Key elements:An enhanced form of the principle of "Production for use".Economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands. "Production for use": useful goods and services are produced specifically for their usefulness.
Religion:Abolished.freedom of religion
Private Property:Abolishedtwo kinds of property, private property, such as land, houses, clothing, etc. owned by the individual.Public property, factories, and means of production owned by the state but with worker control
Key Proponents:Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Leon TrotskyRobert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl Marx,FredrickEngels, John Stuart Mill, Albert Einstein,George Bernard Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma Goldman
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalThe people are considered equal, laws are made when necessary to protect people from discrimination
Ownership structure:The means of production are commonly-owned, meaning no entity or individual owns productive property. Importance is ascribed to "usership" over "ownership".The means of production are socially-owned with the surplus value produced accruing to either all of society (in Public-ownership models) or to all the employee-members of the enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership models).
Way of Change:Government in a Communist-state is the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by government can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.Workers in a Socialist-state are the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by the workers can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.
Means of control:Proletariat engages in violent rebellion.Proletariat engages in taking charge of the factories and means of production.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and Maoismlibertarian-socialism, and anarcho-socialism, anarcho-syndicalism
Economic differences between socialists and communists
In a Socialist economy, the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. On the other hand, in a communist society, there is no centralized government - there is a collective ownership of property and the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
For a Capitalist society to transition, the first step is Socialism. From a capitalist system, it is easier to achieve the Socialist ideal where production is distributed according to people's deeds (quantity and quality of work done). For Communism (to distribute production according toneeds), it is necessary to first have production so high that there is enough for everyone's needs. In an ideal Communist society , people work not because they have to but because they want to and out of a sense ofresponsibility.
Political differences
Socialism rejects a class-based society. But socialists believe that it is possible to make the transition from capitalism to socialism without a basic change in the character of the state. They hold this view because they do not think of the capitalist state as essentially an institution for the dictatorship of the capitalist class, but rather as a perfectly good piece of machinery which can be used in the interest of whichever class gets command of it. No need, then, for the working class in power to smash the old capitalist state apparatus and set up its ownthe march to socialism can be made step by step within the framework of the democraticforms of the capitalist state. Socialism is primarily an economic system so it exists in varying degrees and forms in a wide variety of political systems.
On the other hand, communists believe that as soon as the working class and its allies are in a position to do so they must make a basic change in the character of the state; they must replace capitalist dictatorship over the working class with workers dictatorship over the capitalist class as the first step in the process by which the existence of capitalists as a class (but not as individuals) is ended and a classless society is eventually ushered in.
Communism vs Fascism
In many ways,communistandfascistmovements had opposing ideologies but both ended up being repressive political systems based on the control of a single leader. While communism is based around a theory of economic equality, fascism is based around the glory of the state and strength displayed through violence and conquest. Both communism and fascism originated in Europe and gained popularity in the early to mid 20th century.
Comparison chart:-
CommunismFascism
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceNo single philosophy. The state must gain glory through constant conquest, aka war. Belief that the past was glorious, and that the State can be renewed.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Focused on glorifying and strengthening the State. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany attempted to pursue self-sufficiency.
Ideas:Human societieshave always been divided into warring classes. The Industrial Revolution has enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The workers must overthrow thebourgeois.Union between businesses and the State, with the state telling the business what to do, with private ownership. Also Known as National-Socialism.
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateAgovernment systemled by a dictator having complete power, forcibly oppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism.
Economic Coordination:Government controls all business, as well asBusiness decisions.People control businesses properly, but Government makesbusiness decisions.
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-party system.One charismatic leader has absolute authority. Often the symbol of the state.
Political Movements:Leninism, Trotskyism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Left-CommunismNazism, Falangism
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Strict class structure believed necessary to prevent chaos. Everyone has a specific, defined role. While a certain race is considered superior, individuality among members of that race is discouraged.
Religion:Abolished.Fascism is a civic religion - citizens worship the state through nationalism. The state only supportsreligious organizationsthat are nationally/historically tied to that state; e.g. the Iron Guard in Romania supported the Romanian Orthodox church.
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.The individual is considered meaningless; they must be dedicated to the power of the State. Traditional gender roles are upheld.
Key Proponents:Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Leon TrotskyBenito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler
Private Property:AbolishedPermitted
History:First conceived by Thomas More in his book Utopia in 1516. Most famously associated with Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto in 1848. First used by the Bolshevik party when they took control of Russia in the 1917 October Revolution.Term coined by Mussolini in the 1920 s when he gained control of Italy. Other major fascist regimes include the Nazi Party in Germany (1933-45), the National Union in Portugal (1934-68), and Francoist Spain (1936-1975).
Key elements:An enhanced form of the principle of "Production for use".Used to want to control the government, usually used by a harsh or demanding leader.
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalBelief in one superior race (Nazism). Blames societys problems on members of other races orsocial groups.
Way of Change:Government in a Communist-state is the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by government can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.Change can only occur within the party and the system itself.
Famous Examples:Stalin (USSR), Mao (Peoples Republic of China)Mussolini (Italy), Hitler (Germany), Franco (Spain), Ion Antonescu (Romania)
Modern Examples:CubaRecent far-right dictatorships include Pinochet's regime in Chile and Peron's regime in Argentina. Many Neo-Fascist organizations exist and engaged in terrorist attacks in the US, Germany and the UK in the 1990s.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and MaoismNazism, National Socialism, Falangism, Strasserism
Means of control:Proletariat engages in violent rebellion.Force and national fanaticism through rallies etc.
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two of the most brutal and evil fascist leaders in history.
Contents
* 1What is Communism and Fascism?
* 2Philosophy
* 3Social Structure and Class Hierarchies
* 4Political System
* 5Economic System
* 6Individual Rights
* 7Videos explaining the difference
* 8History of Fascism and Communism
* 9Modern Examples
What is Communism and Fascism?
Communism is a system or a theoryof social organizations where the holding of all property is common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or state.
Fascism is a system where the government is led by a dictator. The dictator has complete authority and forcibly oppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism.
Philosophy
Communists believe that a utopian (perfect) society can be achieved if, and only if, the proletariat (or working classes) overthrow the capitalist system in a social-revolution, usually using armed rebellion.Communism is an extreme form of socialism.
Fascism is based around the glory of the nation state. Fascists believe that constant conquest of other nations is necessary to uphold this glory. Fascist parties and movements in various countries differed significantly from each other. But they also had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, opposition to parliamentarydemocracy conservative economic policy that favored the wealthy, contempt for political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create aVolksgemeinschaft (German: peoples community), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation.
Social Structure and Class Hierarchies
Communists inspired by Karl Marx believe class hierarchies must be abolished by the state seizing control of private property and industry, thereby abolishing the capitalist class. Oh the other hand, fascists believed in a rigid class hierarchy, especially rule by an elite, and were opposed to socialist movements. Fascism upholds a strict class structure, ensuring that every member of society has a specific, unchangeable role. Often in fascist societies a certain racial group is considered superior and national and ethnic unity is encouraged at the expense of individuality. For example, Hitler's fascist regime glorifiedthe Aryanraceand called for the extermination ofJews duringWorld War II.
Political System
Both fascism and communism are against thedemocraticprocess but with some differences. Fascism looks down upon parliamentary democracy. Fascist leaders likeHitlerandMussoliniparticipated in electoralpoliticsbefore coming to power. But after seizing power, fascist leaders tended to abolish political parties, oppose universalsuffrageand became dictators andrulersfor life.
In a communist system, there is rule -- in theory -- by a single party. Democracy was to be practiced only within the party, constrained by the policy ofdemocratic centralismi.e. full and vigorous debate would lead to a decision that would determine the partys line on an issue,whereuponthe partys centralleadershipwould close off debate and require adherence to theparty line. In short, the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat had to be a dictatorship of the communist party in the name of the proletariat.
Economic System
Communism is based on the equal distribution of wealth. The tenet of Marxian communism was "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Everyone in society receives an equal share of the benefits derived from labor, e.g.foodandmoney. In order toensurethat everyone receives an equal amount, all means of production are controlled by the state.
Fascism allows for private enterprise, butitseconomic system is focused entirely on strengthening and glorifying the state. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany aimed for self-sufficiency, so that each country could survive entirely without trade with other nations.SeeFascist corporatism
Individual Rights
In both communism and fascism, individual choice or preference matter less than society as a whole. In communism,religionand private property are both abolished, thegovernmentcontrols all labor and wealth, and individual choices such asjoboreducationare dictated by the government. While private property is permitted in fascism, most other choices are also controlled to increase the strength of the State.
History of Fascism and Communism
Communism can be traced back to Thomas More, who wrote about a society based around common ownership of property in Utopia in 1516. Communism is most commonly associated with Karl Marx and his 1848 book The Communist Manifesto. Marx was a critic of the Industrial Revolution who disagreed with how capitalism took advantage of the working classes. He imagined that a utopia would be formed when allpeoplewere economically equal.
The first real-world example of Marxist Communism was in Russia in 1917, when the Bolshevik Party seized control in the October Revolution. This was the beginning of many communist revolutions in the 20th century, including in China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola and Mozambique.
Modern Fascism originated in Italy in the 1920s, when Mussolini gained control and coined the term fascism to describe his form of government. Fascismthenspread throughout Europe, including to Germany beginning in 1933 with the Nazis, and Portugal in 1934.
Modern Examples
Communism is still practiced in Cuba and North Korea. Communism is also nominally the system of government in China, but Chinas current economic system is far more capitalist innaturethan traditional communism.
No countries are currently ruled by fascism, but neo-fascists (or neo-Nazis) exist in many countries, including the US. The bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995 was caused by neo-fascists.
Communism vs Democracy
Diffen
Economics
Democraticandcommunistpolitical systems are based on different ideological principles. Although superficially they seem to share the "power to the people" philosophy, in practice the two systems of government structure the economic and political fabric of society in markedly different ways.
In the economic sphere,communismcalls for the government to take control of all the capital and industry in the country in an effort to get rid of economic inequality. On the other hand, ademocracyrespects individuals' right to own property and means of production.
The political landscape is also very different in a democracy vs. under communism. In a democratic society people are free to create their own political parties and contest in elections, which are free of coercion and fair to all contestants. In a communist society, however, the government is controlled by one political party and political dissent is not tolerated.
Comparison chart
CommunismDemocracy
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceAll eligible citizens get equal say in decisions
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateis ruled by the omnipotent majority. In a Democracy, an individual, and any group of individuals composing any minority, have no protection against the unlimited power of the majority. It is a case of Majority-over-Man.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Usually capitalist
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-party system.Elected officials
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Class distinctions can become pronounced due to capitalist society. Varies from state to state
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.Permitted within legal limits
Religion:Abolished.Permitted
History:First conceived by Thomas More in his book Utopia in 1516. Most famously associated with Karl Marx and hisCommunist Manifestoin 1848. First used by the Bolshevik party when they took control of Russia in the 1917 October Revolution.Originated in ancient Athens
Private Property:AbolishedPermitted
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalIn theory, all citizens have an equal say and so are treated equally. However often allows for the tyranny of the majority over the minority
Famous Examples:Stalin (USSR), Mao (Peoples Republic of China)Ancient Greece, the United States, France, the UK
Modern Examples:CubaMore than half of the world, including the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and MaoismInclude direct democracy, parliamentary democracy and presidential democracy
Democracy
Contents
* 1Ideology
* 2Origins
* 3Modern Development
* 4Government system
* 5Variations
* 6Current Examples
* 7Criticism
Ideology
Communismis a socialist movement that aims to create a society without class ormoney. As an ideology, it imagines a free society without any division, free from oppression and scarcity. The proletariat (working class) overthrow the capitalist system in a social revolution, usually via an armed rebellion.
Democracy is a form of government that gives all eligible citizens an equal say in decisions that affect their lives. All people can participate equally, either directly or through elected representatives, in the creation of laws.
Origins
Communism is traced back to 16th century English writer Thomas More, who described a society based on commonownership of propertyin his book Utopia. It first emerged as a political doctrine after the French Revolution, when Francois Noel Babeuf talked of the desirability of common ownership of land and total equality among citizens. Modern communism emerged from the industrial revolution, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published theCommunist Manifesto.
Democracy originated inAthensin Ancient Greece. The first democracy was established in 508-7 BC. Athenians were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and the legislative assembly was made up of all Athenian citizens, who had a right tospeakand vote. However, this excluded women, slaves, foreigners and anyone under the age of 20.
Modern Development
Hammer, sickle and thered starare universal symbols of communism. Also seen are some famous communists, from bottom clockwise, Chen Duxiu, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels.
In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia. They changed their name to the Communist Party and created asingle partyregime devoted to implementing a specific type of communism known as Leninism. They nationalized all property and put all factories and railways under government control. AfterWorld War II, Communism spread throughout central and eastern Europe, and in 1949, the Communist Party of China established thePeoples Republic of China. Communism also emerged in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique and other countries. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the worlds population lived in Communist states.
The first nation to become democratic in modernhistorywas the Corsican Republic in 1755. However, it was short-lived, and the first modern nation to establish an official democratic system was France, which established universal malesuffragein 1848. The founding fathers of theUnited Statesdid not describe their new nation as a democracy, but they also espoused principles of national freedom and equality. All men in the US were nominally given the right to vote in the late 1860s, and full enfranchisement of citizens was secured when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Democracy was a populargovernment systemafter World War I, but theGreat Depressionled to dictatorships throughout much of Europe and Asia. After World War II, the American, British and French sectors of Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan became democracies. By 1960, the majority of countries were nominally democracies, although many had sham elections or were, in reality, communiststates. Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile all became democracies in the 1970s to 1990s.
Government system
In its ideological form, communism has no governments. However, it considers a dictatorship to be a necessary intermediate stage betweencapitalismand communism. In practice, communist governments take many different forms, but usually involve an absolute dictator.
Democraticgovernments take many forms, but in modern democracy, they usually involve elections, where citizens votefor individualsand parties to represent their concerns in government.
Variations
There are a wide range of interpretations of communism, usually named after the dictator who created them. They include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Titoism and Eurocommunism.
There are many forms of democracy. They include representative, parliamentary, presidential, constitutional, and direct democracy, as well as constitutionalmonarchies.
Current Examples
Current communist states are the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Somepeoplealso consider North Korea to be a communist state.
According to Freedom House, there are currently 123 electoral democracies in the world. The World Forum on Democracy claims 58.2% of the worlds population live in democracies.
Criticism
Communism has been criticized as an ideology because it leads to slow technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity. It has also been criticized as unfeasible. Communist states have been criticized for poor human rights records, with the belief that Communist governments have been responsible for famines, purges and war. Stephane Courtois argues that communism was responsible for the deaths of almost 100millionpeople in the 20th century.
Democracy has been criticized as inefficient and a creator of wealth disparity. It is criticized as a system that allows the uninformed to make decisions with equal weight as the informed, and one which allows for oppression of minorities by the majority.
Note:- it is just a mere copy paste from google because of lack of time. I have done this because i felt guilty without my contribution i am using all others.but soon i will come with my own document
Dr. Pavan Kumar Turlapati
Capitalismandsocialismare somewhat opposing schools of thought ineconomics. The central arguments in the socialism/capitalism debate are about economic equality and the role of government: socialists believe economic inequality is bad for society and the government is responsible for reducing it via programs that benefit the poor. e.g. free public education, free orsubsidized health care, social security for the elderly, highertaxeson the rich. On the other hand, capitalists believe that government does not use economic resources as efficiently as private enterprise and therefore society is better off with the free market determining economic winners and losers.
The U.S. is widely considered the bastion of capitalism and large parts of Scandinavia and Western Europe are socialist democracies. However, the truth is every developed country has some programs that are socialist.
An extreme form ofsocialiam iscommunism..
Comparison chart
CapitalismSocialism
Philosophy:Capital (or the "means of production") is owned, operated, and traded for the purpose of generating profits for private owners or shareholders. Emphasis on individual profit rather than on workers or society as a whole.From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition to receiving a wage.
Ideas:Laissez-faire means to "let it be"; opposed to government intervention in economics because capitalists believe it introducesinefficiencies. Free market produces the best economic outcomefor society. Govt. should not pick winners and losers.All people should be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Workers should have most say in their factory's management.The free marketsuffers from problems like tragedy of the commons.Government regulationis necessary.
Economic System:Free-Market economy.Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given somewhat equal shares of the benefits derived from labor, but people can earn more if they work harder. Means of production are controlled by the workers themselves.
Key elements:The accumulation of capital drives economic activity - the need to continuously produce profits and reinvest this profit into the economy. "Production for profit": useful goods and services are a byproduct of pursuing profit.Economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands. "Production for use": useful goods and services are produced specifically for their usefulness.
Economic coordination:Relies principally on markets to determine investment, production and distribution decisions. Markets may be free-markets, regulated-markets, or may be combined with a degree of state-directed economic planning or planning within private companies.Planned-Socialism relies principally on planning to determine investment and production decisions. Planning may be centralized or decentralized. Market-socialism relies on markets for allocating capital to different socially-owned enterprises.
Political movements:Classical liberalism, Social liberalism, Libertarianism, Neo-liberalism, Modern Social-DemocracyDemocratic Socialism, Communism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism
Ownership structure:The means of production are privately-owned and operated for a private profit. This drives incentives for producers to engage in economic activity.The means of production are socially-owned with the surplus value produced accruing to either all of society (in Public-ownership models) or to all the employee-members of the enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership models).
Religion:Permitted/Freedom of Religionfreedom of religion
Key Proponents:Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Milton Friedman, Fredrich Hayek, Ayn RandRobert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl Marx,FredrickEngels, John Stuart Mill, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma Goldman
Way of Change:Fast change within the system. In theory, the relationship between buyer and seller (the market) is what fuels what is produced. Government can change rules of conduct/business practices through regulation or ease of regulations.Workers in a Socialist-state are the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by the workers can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.
Tenets
One of the central arguments in economics, especially in the socialism vs. capitalism debate, is the role of the government. Acapitalist systemis based onprivate ownershipof the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit. Asocialist systemis characterised bysocial ownershipof the means of production, e.g. cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises.
Proponents of capitalism espouse competitive and free markets, voluntary exchange (over forced exchange of labor or goods). Socialists advocate greater government involvement but the differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets versus planning, how management is to be organised within economic enterprises, and the role of the state in constructing socialism.
Criticisms of Socialism and Capitalism
Criticisms of Capitalism
Critics argue that capitalism is associated with: unfair and inefficient distribution of wealth and power; a tendency toward marketmonopol or oligopoly(and government by oligarchy); imperialism, counter-revolutionary wars and various forms of economic and cultural exploitation; repressions of workers and trade unionists, and phenomena such as social alienation, inequality, unemployment, and economic instability. Critics have argued that there is an inherent tendency towards oligolopolistic structures when laissez-faire is combined with capitalist private property. Capitalism is regarded by many socialists to be irrational in that production and the direction the economy is unplanned, creating many inconsistencies andinternalcontradictions.
In the early 20th century, Vladimir Lenin argued that state use of military power to defend capitalist interests abroad was an inevitable corollary of monopoly capitalism. Economist Branko Horvat states, "it is now well known that capitalist development leads to the concentration of capital, employment and power. It is somewhat less known that it leads to the almost complete destruction of economic freedom." Southern Methodist university Economics Professor Ravi Batra argues that excessive income and wealth inequalities are a fundamental cause of financial crisis and economic depression, which wil leadto the collapse of capitalism and the emergence of a newsocial order.
Environmentalists have argued that capitalism requirescontinualeconomic growth, and will inevitably deplete thefinitenatural resources of the earth, and other broadly utilized resources. Murray Bookchin has argued that capitalist production externalizes environmental costs to all of society, and is unable to adequately mitigate its impact upon ecosystems and the biosphere at large. Labor historians and scholars, such as Immanuel Wallerstein, Tom Brass and latterly Marcel van der Linden, have argued that unfree labor by slaves, indentured servants, prisoners, and other coerced persons is compatible with capitalist relations.
Many religions have criticized or opposed specific elements of capitalism; traditional Judaism and christianity, and islamforbid lendingmoneysat interst, although methods ofIslamic bankinghave been developed. Christianity has been a source of both praise and criticism for capitalism, particularly its materialist aspects.
Criticisms of Socialism
Criticisms of socialism range from claims that socialist economic and political models are inefficient or incompatible with civil liberties to condemnation of specific socialist states. There is much focus on the economic performance and human rights records of communist states, although there is debate over the categorization of such states as socialist.
In the economic calculation debate, classical liberal Friedrich Hayek argued that a socialist command economy could not adequately transmit information about prices and productive quotas due to the lack of a price mechanism, and as a result it could not make rational economic decisions. Ludwig von Mises argued that a socialist economy was not possible at all, because of the impossibility of rational pricing of capital goods in a socialist economy since the state is the only owner of the capital goods. Hayek further argued that thesocial controlover distribution of wealth and private property advocated by socialists cannot be achieved without reduced prosperity for the general populace, and a loss of political and economic freedoms.
Hayek's views were echoed by Winston Churchill in an electoral broadcast prior to the British general election of 1945:
a socialist policy is abhorrent to the British ideas of freedom. Socialism is inseparably interwoven with totalitarianism and the object worship of the state. It will prescribe for every one where they are to work, what they are to work at, where they may go and what they may say. Socialism is an attack on the right to breathe freely. No socialist system can be established without a political police. They would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo, no doubt very humanely directed in the first instance.
Communism vs Socialism
In a way,communismis an extreme form ofsocialism. Manycountrieshave dominant socialist political parties but very few are truly communist. In fact, most countries - including staunch capitalist bastions like the U.S. and U.K. - have government programs that borrow from socialist principles. "Socialism" is sometimes used interchangeably with "communism" but the two philosophies have some stark differences. Most notably, while communism is a political system, socialism is primarily an economic system that can exist in various forms under a wide range of political systems.
Comparison chart:-
CommunismSocialism
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceFrom each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Emphasis on profit being distributed among the society or workforce in addition toreceivinga wage.
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateA theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of most property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the workers
Ideas:Human societies have always been divided into warring classes.The Industrial Revolutionhas enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The workers must overthrow the bourgeois.All people should be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Workers should have most say in their factory's management.The free marketsuffers from problems like tragedy of the commons.Government regulationis necessary.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given somewhat equal shares of the benefits derived from labor, but people can earn more if they work harder. Means of production are controlled by the workers themselves.
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-partysystem.Multiple parties, but the rulingpartyusually goes by the name "Socialist".
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Class distinctions are diminished
Economic Coordination:Government controls all business, as well asBusiness decisions.Planned-Socialism relies principally on planning to determine investment and production decisions. Planning may be centralized or decentralized. Market-socialism relies on markets for allocating capital to different socially-owned enterprises.
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.All choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are up to the individual. Allhealthcare and education is provided free to everybody
Political Movements:Leninism, Trotskyism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Left-CommunismDemocratic Socialism, Communism, Libertarian Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism
Key elements:An enhanced form of the principle of "Production for use".Economic activity and production especially are adjusted to meet human needs and economic demands. "Production for use": useful goods and services are produced specifically for their usefulness.
Religion:Abolished.freedom of religion
Private Property:Abolishedtwo kinds of property, private property, such as land, houses, clothing, etc. owned by the individual.Public property, factories, and means of production owned by the state but with worker control
Key Proponents:Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Leon TrotskyRobert Owen, Pierre Leroux, Karl Marx,FredrickEngels, John Stuart Mill, Albert Einstein,George Bernard Shaw, Leo Tolstoy, Emma Goldman
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalThe people are considered equal, laws are made when necessary to protect people from discrimination
Ownership structure:The means of production are commonly-owned, meaning no entity or individual owns productive property. Importance is ascribed to "usership" over "ownership".The means of production are socially-owned with the surplus value produced accruing to either all of society (in Public-ownership models) or to all the employee-members of the enterprise (in Cooperative-ownership models).
Way of Change:Government in a Communist-state is the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by government can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.Workers in a Socialist-state are the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by the workers can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.
Means of control:Proletariat engages in violent rebellion.Proletariat engages in taking charge of the factories and means of production.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and Maoismlibertarian-socialism, and anarcho-socialism, anarcho-syndicalism
Economic differences between socialists and communists
In a Socialist economy, the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. On the other hand, in a communist society, there is no centralized government - there is a collective ownership of property and the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
For a Capitalist society to transition, the first step is Socialism. From a capitalist system, it is easier to achieve the Socialist ideal where production is distributed according to people's deeds (quantity and quality of work done). For Communism (to distribute production according toneeds), it is necessary to first have production so high that there is enough for everyone's needs. In an ideal Communist society , people work not because they have to but because they want to and out of a sense ofresponsibility.
Political differences
Socialism rejects a class-based society. But socialists believe that it is possible to make the transition from capitalism to socialism without a basic change in the character of the state. They hold this view because they do not think of the capitalist state as essentially an institution for the dictatorship of the capitalist class, but rather as a perfectly good piece of machinery which can be used in the interest of whichever class gets command of it. No need, then, for the working class in power to smash the old capitalist state apparatus and set up its ownthe march to socialism can be made step by step within the framework of the democraticforms of the capitalist state. Socialism is primarily an economic system so it exists in varying degrees and forms in a wide variety of political systems.
On the other hand, communists believe that as soon as the working class and its allies are in a position to do so they must make a basic change in the character of the state; they must replace capitalist dictatorship over the working class with workers dictatorship over the capitalist class as the first step in the process by which the existence of capitalists as a class (but not as individuals) is ended and a classless society is eventually ushered in.
Communism vs Fascism
In many ways,communistandfascistmovements had opposing ideologies but both ended up being repressive political systems based on the control of a single leader. While communism is based around a theory of economic equality, fascism is based around the glory of the state and strength displayed through violence and conquest. Both communism and fascism originated in Europe and gained popularity in the early to mid 20th century.
Comparison chart:-
CommunismFascism
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceNo single philosophy. The state must gain glory through constant conquest, aka war. Belief that the past was glorious, and that the State can be renewed.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Focused on glorifying and strengthening the State. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany attempted to pursue self-sufficiency.
Ideas:Human societieshave always been divided into warring classes. The Industrial Revolution has enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The workers must overthrow thebourgeois.Union between businesses and the State, with the state telling the business what to do, with private ownership. Also Known as National-Socialism.
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateAgovernment systemled by a dictator having complete power, forcibly oppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism.
Economic Coordination:Government controls all business, as well asBusiness decisions.People control businesses properly, but Government makesbusiness decisions.
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-party system.One charismatic leader has absolute authority. Often the symbol of the state.
Political Movements:Leninism, Trotskyism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Left-CommunismNazism, Falangism
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Strict class structure believed necessary to prevent chaos. Everyone has a specific, defined role. While a certain race is considered superior, individuality among members of that race is discouraged.
Religion:Abolished.Fascism is a civic religion - citizens worship the state through nationalism. The state only supportsreligious organizationsthat are nationally/historically tied to that state; e.g. the Iron Guard in Romania supported the Romanian Orthodox church.
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.The individual is considered meaningless; they must be dedicated to the power of the State. Traditional gender roles are upheld.
Key Proponents:Karl Marx, Fredrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Leon TrotskyBenito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler
Private Property:AbolishedPermitted
History:First conceived by Thomas More in his book Utopia in 1516. Most famously associated with Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto in 1848. First used by the Bolshevik party when they took control of Russia in the 1917 October Revolution.Term coined by Mussolini in the 1920 s when he gained control of Italy. Other major fascist regimes include the Nazi Party in Germany (1933-45), the National Union in Portugal (1934-68), and Francoist Spain (1936-1975).
Key elements:An enhanced form of the principle of "Production for use".Used to want to control the government, usually used by a harsh or demanding leader.
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalBelief in one superior race (Nazism). Blames societys problems on members of other races orsocial groups.
Way of Change:Government in a Communist-state is the agent of change rather than any market or desire on the part of consumers. Change by government can be swift or slow, depending on change in ideology or even whim.Change can only occur within the party and the system itself.
Famous Examples:Stalin (USSR), Mao (Peoples Republic of China)Mussolini (Italy), Hitler (Germany), Franco (Spain), Ion Antonescu (Romania)
Modern Examples:CubaRecent far-right dictatorships include Pinochet's regime in Chile and Peron's regime in Argentina. Many Neo-Fascist organizations exist and engaged in terrorist attacks in the US, Germany and the UK in the 1990s.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and MaoismNazism, National Socialism, Falangism, Strasserism
Means of control:Proletariat engages in violent rebellion.Force and national fanaticism through rallies etc.
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two of the most brutal and evil fascist leaders in history.
Contents
* 1What is Communism and Fascism?
* 2Philosophy
* 3Social Structure and Class Hierarchies
* 4Political System
* 5Economic System
* 6Individual Rights
* 7Videos explaining the difference
* 8History of Fascism and Communism
* 9Modern Examples
What is Communism and Fascism?
Communism is a system or a theoryof social organizations where the holding of all property is common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or state.
Fascism is a system where the government is led by a dictator. The dictator has complete authority and forcibly oppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism.
Philosophy
Communists believe that a utopian (perfect) society can be achieved if, and only if, the proletariat (or working classes) overthrow the capitalist system in a social-revolution, usually using armed rebellion.Communism is an extreme form of socialism.
Fascism is based around the glory of the nation state. Fascists believe that constant conquest of other nations is necessary to uphold this glory. Fascist parties and movements in various countries differed significantly from each other. But they also had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, opposition to parliamentarydemocracy conservative economic policy that favored the wealthy, contempt for political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create aVolksgemeinschaft (German: peoples community), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation.
Social Structure and Class Hierarchies
Communists inspired by Karl Marx believe class hierarchies must be abolished by the state seizing control of private property and industry, thereby abolishing the capitalist class. Oh the other hand, fascists believed in a rigid class hierarchy, especially rule by an elite, and were opposed to socialist movements. Fascism upholds a strict class structure, ensuring that every member of society has a specific, unchangeable role. Often in fascist societies a certain racial group is considered superior and national and ethnic unity is encouraged at the expense of individuality. For example, Hitler's fascist regime glorifiedthe Aryanraceand called for the extermination ofJews duringWorld War II.
Political System
Both fascism and communism are against thedemocraticprocess but with some differences. Fascism looks down upon parliamentary democracy. Fascist leaders likeHitlerandMussoliniparticipated in electoralpoliticsbefore coming to power. But after seizing power, fascist leaders tended to abolish political parties, oppose universalsuffrageand became dictators andrulersfor life.
In a communist system, there is rule -- in theory -- by a single party. Democracy was to be practiced only within the party, constrained by the policy ofdemocratic centralismi.e. full and vigorous debate would lead to a decision that would determine the partys line on an issue,whereuponthe partys centralleadershipwould close off debate and require adherence to theparty line. In short, the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat had to be a dictatorship of the communist party in the name of the proletariat.
Economic System
Communism is based on the equal distribution of wealth. The tenet of Marxian communism was "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Everyone in society receives an equal share of the benefits derived from labor, e.g.foodandmoney. In order toensurethat everyone receives an equal amount, all means of production are controlled by the state.
Fascism allows for private enterprise, butitseconomic system is focused entirely on strengthening and glorifying the state. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany aimed for self-sufficiency, so that each country could survive entirely without trade with other nations.SeeFascist corporatism
Individual Rights
In both communism and fascism, individual choice or preference matter less than society as a whole. In communism,religionand private property are both abolished, thegovernmentcontrols all labor and wealth, and individual choices such asjoboreducationare dictated by the government. While private property is permitted in fascism, most other choices are also controlled to increase the strength of the State.
History of Fascism and Communism
Communism can be traced back to Thomas More, who wrote about a society based around common ownership of property in Utopia in 1516. Communism is most commonly associated with Karl Marx and his 1848 book The Communist Manifesto. Marx was a critic of the Industrial Revolution who disagreed with how capitalism took advantage of the working classes. He imagined that a utopia would be formed when allpeoplewere economically equal.
The first real-world example of Marxist Communism was in Russia in 1917, when the Bolshevik Party seized control in the October Revolution. This was the beginning of many communist revolutions in the 20th century, including in China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola and Mozambique.
Modern Fascism originated in Italy in the 1920s, when Mussolini gained control and coined the term fascism to describe his form of government. Fascismthenspread throughout Europe, including to Germany beginning in 1933 with the Nazis, and Portugal in 1934.
Modern Examples
Communism is still practiced in Cuba and North Korea. Communism is also nominally the system of government in China, but Chinas current economic system is far more capitalist innaturethan traditional communism.
No countries are currently ruled by fascism, but neo-fascists (or neo-Nazis) exist in many countries, including the US. The bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995 was caused by neo-fascists.
Communism vs Democracy
Diffen
Economics
Democraticandcommunistpolitical systems are based on different ideological principles. Although superficially they seem to share the "power to the people" philosophy, in practice the two systems of government structure the economic and political fabric of society in markedly different ways.
In the economic sphere,communismcalls for the government to take control of all the capital and industry in the country in an effort to get rid of economic inequality. On the other hand, ademocracyrespects individuals' right to own property and means of production.
The political landscape is also very different in a democracy vs. under communism. In a democratic society people are free to create their own political parties and contest in elections, which are free of coercion and fair to all contestants. In a communist society, however, the government is controlled by one political party and political dissent is not tolerated.
Comparison chart
CommunismDemocracy
Philosophy:From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Free-access to the articles of consumption is made possible by advances in technology that allow for super-abundanceAll eligible citizens get equal say in decisions
Definition:A theory or system ofsocial organizationbased on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or stateis ruled by the omnipotent majority. In a Democracy, an individual, and any group of individuals composing any minority, have no protection against the unlimited power of the majority. It is a case of Majority-over-Man.
Economic System:Wealth redistributed so that everyone in society is given equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. All means of production are controlled by the state.Usually capitalist
Political System:No leader, directed directly by the people. This has never been actually practiced, and has just used a one-party system.Elected officials
Social Structure:All class distinctions are eliminated.Class distinctions can become pronounced due to capitalist society. Varies from state to state
Free Choice:In real communism, where a leader does not exist, everything is chosen freely.In those that have been practiced though, all choices, including education, religion, employment and marriage, are controlled by the state.Permitted within legal limits
Religion:Abolished.Permitted
History:First conceived by Thomas More in his book Utopia in 1516. Most famously associated with Karl Marx and hisCommunist Manifestoin 1848. First used by the Bolshevik party when they took control of Russia in the 1917 October Revolution.Originated in ancient Athens
Private Property:AbolishedPermitted
Discrimination:In theory, all members of the state are considered equalIn theory, all citizens have an equal say and so are treated equally. However often allows for the tyranny of the majority over the minority
Famous Examples:Stalin (USSR), Mao (Peoples Republic of China)Ancient Greece, the United States, France, the UK
Modern Examples:CubaMore than half of the world, including the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc.
Variations:Include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and MaoismInclude direct democracy, parliamentary democracy and presidential democracy
Democracy
Contents
* 1Ideology
* 2Origins
* 3Modern Development
* 4Government system
* 5Variations
* 6Current Examples
* 7Criticism
Ideology
Communismis a socialist movement that aims to create a society without class ormoney. As an ideology, it imagines a free society without any division, free from oppression and scarcity. The proletariat (working class) overthrow the capitalist system in a social revolution, usually via an armed rebellion.
Democracy is a form of government that gives all eligible citizens an equal say in decisions that affect their lives. All people can participate equally, either directly or through elected representatives, in the creation of laws.
Origins
Communism is traced back to 16th century English writer Thomas More, who described a society based on commonownership of propertyin his book Utopia. It first emerged as a political doctrine after the French Revolution, when Francois Noel Babeuf talked of the desirability of common ownership of land and total equality among citizens. Modern communism emerged from the industrial revolution, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published theCommunist Manifesto.
Democracy originated inAthensin Ancient Greece. The first democracy was established in 508-7 BC. Athenians were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and the legislative assembly was made up of all Athenian citizens, who had a right tospeakand vote. However, this excluded women, slaves, foreigners and anyone under the age of 20.
Modern Development
Hammer, sickle and thered starare universal symbols of communism. Also seen are some famous communists, from bottom clockwise, Chen Duxiu, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels.
In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia. They changed their name to the Communist Party and created asingle partyregime devoted to implementing a specific type of communism known as Leninism. They nationalized all property and put all factories and railways under government control. AfterWorld War II, Communism spread throughout central and eastern Europe, and in 1949, the Communist Party of China established thePeoples Republic of China. Communism also emerged in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique and other countries. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the worlds population lived in Communist states.
The first nation to become democratic in modernhistorywas the Corsican Republic in 1755. However, it was short-lived, and the first modern nation to establish an official democratic system was France, which established universal malesuffragein 1848. The founding fathers of theUnited Statesdid not describe their new nation as a democracy, but they also espoused principles of national freedom and equality. All men in the US were nominally given the right to vote in the late 1860s, and full enfranchisement of citizens was secured when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Democracy was a populargovernment systemafter World War I, but theGreat Depressionled to dictatorships throughout much of Europe and Asia. After World War II, the American, British and French sectors of Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan became democracies. By 1960, the majority of countries were nominally democracies, although many had sham elections or were, in reality, communiststates. Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile all became democracies in the 1970s to 1990s.
Government system
In its ideological form, communism has no governments. However, it considers a dictatorship to be a necessary intermediate stage betweencapitalismand communism. In practice, communist governments take many different forms, but usually involve an absolute dictator.
Democraticgovernments take many forms, but in modern democracy, they usually involve elections, where citizens votefor individualsand parties to represent their concerns in government.
Variations
There are a wide range of interpretations of communism, usually named after the dictator who created them. They include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Titoism and Eurocommunism.
There are many forms of democracy. They include representative, parliamentary, presidential, constitutional, and direct democracy, as well as constitutionalmonarchies.
Current Examples
Current communist states are the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Somepeoplealso consider North Korea to be a communist state.
According to Freedom House, there are currently 123 electoral democracies in the world. The World Forum on Democracy claims 58.2% of the worlds population live in democracies.
Criticism
Communism has been criticized as an ideology because it leads to slow technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity. It has also been criticized as unfeasible. Communist states have been criticized for poor human rights records, with the belief that Communist governments have been responsible for famines, purges and war. Stephane Courtois argues that communism was responsible for the deaths of almost 100millionpeople in the 20th century.
Democracy has been criticized as inefficient and a creator of wealth disparity. It is criticized as a system that allows the uninformed to make decisions with equal weight as the informed, and one which allows for oppression of minorities by the majority.
Note:- it is just a mere copy paste from google because of lack of time. I have done this because i felt guilty without my contribution i am using all others.but soon i will come with my own document
Dr. Pavan Kumar Turlapati
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