Poll: My friend is a Communist

[II2]

It's true. My friend self identifies her political affiliation with communism and hangs around with a cult-like, semi organized enclave of like minded peers.

I don't actually care / am not worried... This isn't about that - in a sense. This is more of a philosophical question that's kept me a-pondering...

Can you BE a Communist in the absence of communism? She lives in a capitalist democracy in a city. I suggest she and friends buy some land and start a commune out in the boons or move to a communist country, but mostly the reply is hopeless rhetoric about revolution.

I pointed out as politely as I could that the chance of sparking a revolution in a system where almost all citizens have vested interest, from property to social security (and more) would be implausibly low. But I digress...

The point that brought me to is a general consideration of the I'm a "_____ist" political/religious/lifestyle labels people give themselves and how real they are. Generally, the common denominator is that being a 'ist' requires time spend practicing your 'ism'. She decorates her attire and living space with propaganda items and icons, but beyond that she mostly gets together with her friends to hate the system and do part time, unpaid work as a Cuban travel and tourism advocate. Does that qualify you, or would she have to be actually affiliated with an existing red power, or living in a communist state?

 

[StBishop]

I dunno, she supports it, that's enough I guess.

I find the idea of being "A democrat" or "A republican" more ridiculous to be honest. (Obviously this doesn't apply to actual members of those political parties.)

Anyway, I don't think it matters really.

 

[Zaik]

This seems like petty semantics.


Why does it really matter?

 

[DrRockor]

If she truely believes in that political ideal then yes. She's just not an active communist.
Problem is that its extremely difficult to make true communism work on a large scale otherwise I would be a communist too. It doesn't though so I'm just a plain old socialist.

 

[Vegosiux]

Generally, the common denominator is that being a 'ist' requires time spend practicing your 'ism'.

In that case, 95.3326% people should have no political affiliation at all, considering all the political apathy that's going on most of the time. Because, not even those who just vote along party lines are actually "practicing" anything more than blind support/old habit of tossing their votes that way.

And the number of people who are actually informed and know why they support what they support is abysmally low.

Hating the system and hanging a red star, hammer&sickle and a Che Guevara poster in your room doesn't make you a communist in and of itself, true, but from what you've told us I can't really make anything out, cause I don't even know how and why she identifies herself with that ideology. What's her reasoning and all.

 

[Aerosteam]

Is that a big problem for you? Just let her be that way and don't look into it that much.

Let me know if she asks you to be a Communist with her, since this kind of thing usually happens on TV.

 

[Esotera]

I'm going to point out again that you don't have to believe whatever the current system of government is. If you lived in a dictatorship, that wouldn't necessarily make you a totalitarian.

How does she act in a way that isn't communist? I'm sure there's something more to the OP than this.

 

[A Satanic Panda]

Communism isn't that bad. West Europe and America just make Communism sound like the political party of Satan.

Though to be fair, North Korea and Cuba aren't exactly the best places to live these days. I hear Vietnam is only place where Communism is working well.

OP should ask his or her friend stuff like, "What is true Marxist Communism?" "How does it differ from a command economy?"

 

[Yopaz]

You know, you don't really include any information about her political beliefs here. Is she a communist? Well if her political ideology is communism then she is most likely a communist. I don't know what she knows or thinks she knows about communism, but you do not need to belong to a communist state to be one. I am an Atheist, but in official records it will say that I am a member of the church. Does that make me Christian? I do not believe in the existence of any gods nor do I believe any sentence of any religious scripts. Thus I am an Atheist.

 

[BeeGeenie]

Meh. Communism is a great idea... in theory. The problem is that no society has ever been truly communistic. Communism always leads to corruption because it is human nature to want to get ahead... it's a noble ideal, but there are always people (especially at the top) who won't play along. Communism is an impractical, but idealistic goal.

So yeah, I'd say she is a communist. Just because you can't live the ideals doesn't mean you can't believe in the philosophy behind it.

After all, christians can still call themselves christians, no matter how much they sin. Life is complicated, and beliefs and behaviors aren't always reconcilable.

 

[MammothBlade]

Can you be a nazi in the absence of nazism? I think the answer to that is yes.

Communism isn't that bad. West Europe and America just make Communism sound like the political party of Satan.

Unfortunately "communist" states are almost universally totalitarian dictatorships. Stalinist and Maoist states place power in the hands of a small group of individuals. They have used parts of communist political ideology and "collective" interest to justify terrible atrocities and deprivations of liberty. And the Western Far-Left all too often dismissed and denied such actions during the cold war, sympathising with the USSR and PRC. Could communist states have turned out differently? Possibly. There were no provisions for preserving liberty and justice - old guard, intellectuals, dissidents, and many more were mercilessly crushed by both the Soviet and Maoist governments, as they believed only in absolute domination according to their political lines. This might be because communist ideology itself tends towards authoritarian groupthink, which gives leaders a justification to eliminate potentially anyone as an enemy of the revolution. Perhaps the whole communism experiment would have turned out differently if the Bolsheviks had established a democratic constitutional framework preventing any one person or group from having too much power.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

She decorates her attire and living space with propaganda items and icons, but beyond that she mostly gets together with her friends to hate the system and do part time, unpaid work as a Cuban travel and tourism advocate. Does that qualify you, or would she have to be actually affiliated with an existing red power, or living in a communist state?

Son, are you telling me that your friend is a Godless commie?

Spoiler: There is only one proper response to such a situation...

....lol.

In all seriousness, unless your friend is intending to become some violent revolutionary, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I think she is being ideal, but I think she might change her tune if she grew up in the Soviet Union or North Korea.

 

[RipRoaringWaterfowl]

Eh, I say yes. Doesn't need to be in South Yemen to be a commie.

Heck, I was once one, but I gave it up when I realized that the current system was mostly alright and could be fixed in the bad areas, and that communism usually doesn't work beyond simple communes or hamlets.

 

[keideki]

Communism is a system that works really well on paper but has never really managed to take root in a society in the way it is described on paper. Asking a question like can you be a communist in a capitalist country is kind of like asking if you can be a christian and not go to church. You can, but I would imagine the people who actually practice what they preach will tell you your not.