East European
Communism and
Its Collapse, Part I
2 PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNISM
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Communism understood as a global systemic phenomenon
– a product of, and a challenge to, global capitalism, vision
of a post-capitalist system of the future
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Communism understood as a regional and civilizational
phenomenon - a phase in the historical development of a
group of Eurasian countries, starting with Russia
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A global system perspective:
communism as a product of capitalism
Capitalism
A social system based on private ownership of the means of
production, in which:
the main goal of economic activity is the maximization of
profit, and
the main mechanism of social coordination is the market
Guided by the “unseen hand” of the market, individuals buy
and sell labour, land, goods, services, stocks, information
The capitalist system began to form about 500 years ago
when the following developments converged:
Formation of the capitalist class (the bourgeoisie literally, the word means “the city dwellers”): first, merchants and
bankers, later, industrialists – people whose main source
of power is money derived from the workings of the market
economy
Creation of nation-states
Expansion of international trade and conquest of
colonies
New technologies made human labour more
productive
The rise of new ideas – social change, progress,
democracy
Capitalism gives a new meaning to the word “revolution”
Capitalism thrives on change and constantly generates it technological, economic, social, cultural, political
Economic and social instability, booms and busts, political
upheavals
How can such an unstable system be maintained?
Changing relations between the state, society and the market
economy
Market forces, not subject to effective control by society, can
turn against man:
-- inadequacy of the profit motive to meet many human
needs
-- the destructive power of the market (creative or not)
Capitalism, through increasing inequality of social power,
creates its own enemies in society – the dispossessed,
the exploited, which become breeding grounds for
movements for radical change
Liberal democracy opens opportunities for radical forces in
society seeking to overthrow capitalism. Whether the
radical impulses can be tamed through reforms is a
matter of debate
The rise of socialism: 19th-20th centuries
Follow the link: The Socialist International
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Socialist movements accompany the development of capitalism
They follow on the steps of capitalist development
Most socialists start out as radical democrats, disappointed with the
failures and limitations of liberal democracy
The socialist movement emerges as a product of the age of liberal
revolutions, triggered off by the American War of Independence and
the Great French Revolution of 1789-93
1848: After an unsuccessful wave of democratic revolutions swept
through Europe, a group of German radical democrats led by journalist
Karl Marx and industrialist Friedrich Engels founded “The League of
Communists”
Their founding document was “The Communist Manifesto”
The Communist Manifesto:
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html
Marx and
Engels in
London,
1867
Marxism is born as a new philosophy and ideology
addressing the new set of problems posed by the
development of capitalism:
 Recognizes capitalism as the new stage of progress,
which speeds up development of society and integrates
humanity on a global basis
 Offers a critical analysis of how capitalism works
 Offers a diagnosis of the profound contradictions of the
capitalist system
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Predicts that, having developed fully, capitalism will at some
point need to be replaced with a “communist” system
That system will not based on private ownership, profit motive
and free market
The transition from capitalism to communism will require
revolutions led by the international working class
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Starting from 1860s - rise of the socialist movement in
Europe
Working-class parties based on Marxist ideology
Early 20th century: split in the socialist movement
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Social Democrats, struggling for reforms of capitalism,
believing in an evolutionary transformation of capitalism into
socialism
vs.
Communists, rejecting the evolutionary approach and
preparing revolutions for the overthrow of capitalism
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World War I shakes global capitalism to its foundations
1917: Russia explodes in a revolution.
Russian Communists led by Vladimir Lenin take power
through an armed uprising, build a one-party dictatorship
and proceed with creation of a non-capitalist (“socialist”)
system, vowing to promote “world revolution”
Under Stalin’s totalitarian rule, Russia, constituted as the
Soviet Union, undergoes rapid modernization at enormous
human cost, becoming an industrial state with a powerful
army
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In World War II, the Soviet Union is invaded by Nazi
Germany
The communist system is subjected to a deadly test by
war - and passes it
The USSR, USA, Britain and China form an alliance
against Hitler and his allies
By 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies are defeated
The Soviet Union establishes control of Eastern Europe,
helping Eastern European Communists set up Communist
regimes there
1949: Communists take control of China
In the West, Social Democrats pursue successful reforms
of capitalism, defending it from the Communist challenge
The impact of Marxism:
 In Eastern Europe:
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In Western Europe:
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the rise, reform and fall of socialist states in Russia and
Eastern Europe (1917-1991)
Social democracy became a key political pillar of 20th
century capitalism, helping stabilize the system through
social reforms and becoming an integral part of capitalist
political elites
In Asia:
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Communists ensured national independence of China,
North Korea and Vietnam
The rise of Communist China through successful
integration into the global capitalist economy
Capitalism has not collapsed
It has continued to develop
It has spread throughout the world
Marxists (communists and social democrats) have not
succeeded in overthrowing capitalism
In fact, they have helped prolong its life by:
Promoting social reforms
Helping overthrow empires and replace them by nationstates
Modernizing backward societies
Facilitating economic globalization and the spread of
liberal democracy
21st century:
A triumph of capitalism?
Or – a new crisis of capitalism?
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“Thoroughly Modern Marx”, by Leo
Panitch, “Foreign Policy”, May/June
2009
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.p
hp?story_id=4856
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A regional-civilizational perspective on
Communism:
Why Eastern Europe?
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What is the basis of Eastern European regional
identity?
Europe’s Eastern frontier
The belt between the Baltic and the Adriatic
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Human settlement patterns
Variables:
 Search and struggle for resources
 Potential for development
 Degree of security
Proto-Indo-Europeans, 4,500-3,500 BCE
Indo-Europeans, 3,500 – 2,500 BCE
Indo-Europeans, 2,500 - 1,800 BCE
Indo-Europeans, 1,800 – 1,200 BCE
East European state-forming nations:
 Greeks
 Germans
 Slavs
• Eastern: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians
• Western: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks
• Southern: Serbs, Croatians, Slovenians, Macedonians,
Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Bulgarians
 Hungarians (Magyars)
 Finns
 Balts (Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians)
 Romanians (19th-century name)
 Albanians
 Turks
 Tatars
All, with the exception of Finns, Greeks and Turks, lived under
Communist regimes in the 20th century
EUROPE 0001
EUROPE 1000
EUROPE 1600
Nation-states vs. empires
 A 3-way conflict of civilizations for control of Eastern
Europe. Objects of the struggle:
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Resources
Trade routes
Security
The East European empires
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Western Christian (German) – “successors” to the
Western Roman Empire,
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“The Holy Roman Empire of the German People”, later the
Habsburg Empire (Austria-Hungary)
The Hohenzollern Empire (Germany)
Orthodox Christian (Russian) – “successor” to Eastern
Roman Empire (The Romanov Empire)
Muslim (Turkish) – “successor” to the Arab Caliphate
(The Ottoman Empire)
EUROPE 1900
How Europe’s East fell behind the West
th
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 16 -17 centuries: modernization begins in
Western Europe
 Eastern Europe as the West’s defence barrier in
numerous wars
 Eastern Europe as the West’s agricultural base
 The West:
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Industrializing
Global trade
Capitalism
Nation-state
The East:
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Agricultural (with pockets of industry)
Regional trade
Feudalism
Empire
Modernization challenges in Eastern Europe
 Political independence: building modern nationstates
 Industrialization
 The agrarian question: turning peasants into
productive farmers, developing modern
agriculture
 Social development
 Building civil societies
Political options
 Western liberalism?
 Socialism of various types?
 Conservative nationalism or fascism?
The role of Russia in Eastern Europe
 In the Modern Age, Russia expands to
incorporate most of the Eurasian Heartland
 Expansion driven by:
 Struggle for independence and security
 Access to resources and trade routes
 Human settlement
 Political interests of imperial elites
Coat-ofarms of
the
Russian
Empire
Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Winter Palace of Russian Emperors, St.
Petersburg
THE HISTORICAL RUSSIAN SYSTEM
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The world’s biggest state - costly, militarized
Society (especially the peasantry) is exploited heavily by
the state
The state is a highly centralized autocratic hierarchy, with
bureaucracy controlling the economy
Society has very little autonomy from the state
Individual rights and liberties are limited
Market economy has very limited potential for
development
When reforms become necessary, the state acts as the
main agent of reforms
Society influences the state mostly by resistance to it
(passive or active)
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By the end of the 19th century, the flaws of the Russian
system become manifest
The gap between Europe and Russia widens fast, the
Russian system is too inefficient, too rigid, resistant to
reform
The 1904-05 war with Japan and then World War I exhaust
the Russian state
1905-07: the first Russian Revolution
World War I
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What made world wars possible:
 An integrated world – globalization
 Struggle for power within countries acquires international
dimensions
 Availability of economic resources
 Development of military technologies
 The new culture of war
 New rationalizations of war
 The idea of total war
World War I: 1914-1918
Resulted from:
-Rivalries between states (Germany-Britain, FranceGermany, Russia-Austria, Russia-Turkey, etc.)
-Social tensions within states
-Nationalist struggles against empires
The war for power and influence in the global capitalist
system
1914
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRtDWMke79c&feature=related
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It was expected to be brief
The reality: a bloody 4-year stalemate
Ended by revolutions in Russia (1917) and Germany (1918)
15 mln. deaths, incl. 9 mln. combat
The flu pandemic of 1918-1919: 20-40 mln. deaths: a direct
environmental effect of “the Great War”
Western losses in World War I (incl. civilians)
 France – 1.5 mln. dead, 2.8 mln. wounded
 Britain – 0.7 and 1.6 mln.
 Italy – 0.6 and 1 mln.
 USA – 0.12 and 0.2 mln.
 Canada – 0.056 and 0.15 mln.
 Australia – 0.06 and 0.015 mln.
 Total – 2.6 mln. dead and 6 mln. wounded
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HUMAN TOLL: 8.6
mln.
Eastern and Central European losses in World War I (incl.
civilians):
 Russia – 3.3 mln., 3.75 mln. wounded
 Germany – 2 and 4.2 mln.
 Austro-Hungary – 2 and 2.6 mln.
 Turkey – 3.6 and 0.76 mln.
 Bulgaria – 0.2 and 0.15 mln.
 Serbia – 0.5 and 0.2 mln.
 Romania – 0.5 and 0.2 mln.
 Total: 12 mln. killed and 11 mln. wounded
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HUMAN TOLL: 23
mln.
The fall of the four empires
 As a result of World War I, the four empires which had
dominated Eastern Europe –
 Russian,
 Turkish,
 Austro-Hungarian,
 German –
collapsed.