History

Were Communists ever for WWI?

No

Communist messages

Were against WWI from the start , “peace, land and bread”, “All power to the soviets”

Society according to Marx

Modern society is characterized by social class conflict, those who control the means of production, known as the bourgeoisie, those who labor to produce goods, known as the proletariat

Communism vs. Socialism

Both economic systems want to create greater equality between social classes. Communism can be thought of as an extreme form of socialism. Many socialists want to bring about greater equality through gradual and democratic means. Promoting unions in factories, using taxes to help fund general welfare for lower classes, allowing workers to have greater say in the businesses they work for. Many communists wanted to bring about change radically and immediately.

According to Karl Marx, a communist society,

Has no social classes and therefore has social equality, No private property. All property is owned collectively, by “the people” through the state. People work and contribute what they can to society and get what they need. (‘From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs.’)

Phases of a communist revolution according to Marxism-Leninism (note that different communist leaders interpreted these ideas differently)

Phase 1 Revolution, Phase 2 Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Phase 3 Achievement of utopia,

Phase 1 Revolution

A revolution must take place in order to overthrow the existing government and capitalist economic system.

Phase 2 Dictatorship of the Proletariat

A vanguard party would lead the proletarian to assume power over the state, economy, media, and construct a single party state (no other political parties are allowed to compete)During this phase, the new government exerts absolute control. Collectivization of property and wealth must also take place.

Phase 3 Achievement of utopia

In a Marxist utopia, everyone would happily share property and wealth, free from the restrictions that class-based systems require. The government would control all means of production so that the one-class system would remain constant, with no possibility of any middle-class citizens rising back to the top.

What’s the difference between Marxism, Socialism, and Communism?

All share belief that: That society can best be understood as a history of class struggle, bourgeois vs proletariat, Owners vs slaves, Patricians vs plebeians, Profit is made by exploiting labor. Socialist: Wants to slowly bring about a ‘democratization’ of the workplace, Government reforms→ public schools, public transportation, public health care. Communist: Wants revolution, Russian, Cuban etc. “workers of the world unite” “Seize the means of production”

October Revolution 1917

With help from the Petrograd soviet led by Trotsky the Bolsheviks took over Petrograd. They then seized the Winter Palace and replaced the provisional government. This began a Civil War, Reds-communists, Whites-alliance between different groups opposed to communism: Monarchists, capitalists, foreign powers

Issues facing Soviet Russia

Not industrialized, 80% or more of the population are peasants, Economy was harmed by years of war. Hostile Powers, Major countries of the world are capitalist, They supported the Whites during the Russian Civil War, Russia denied entry into the League of Nations, Will they invade Russia?

What year does Lenin die?

1924

Who takes over after Lenin dies?

Stalin

Stalin believed

Industrial power would protect USSR from potential invasion by capitalist countries, Would get USSR closer to communism. Two major projects, Five Year Plans, Collective Farming

Five year plans

State sets production goals to be achieved in 5 years, Number of factories, railroads etc, Thirteen 5-year plans in total, USSR rapidly industrializes

Results of the five year plans

1917 (80-90% of the population is peasants), 1949 Becomes the world's second nuclear power, 1957 First satellite, 1961 First man in space, 1963 First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova), However, by the 1970s it is clearly not as strong as the capitalist model

Collective farms

Begins late 1920s under Stalin, Goal is to boost agricultural production by creating large farms, Allowing more people to work in the factories, Peasants view→ return to serfdom, Huge failure

Famine

1932-33 Ukraine, 11 million die, Stalin blamed wealthier peasants called Kulaks, Claimed their greed was sabotaging the collective farms

Stalinism

Original position: “All power to the soviets!”, Bolsheviks were a “vanguard” party: They will represent the people until the people are ‘ready’ to take control, “Stalin believed only the determination to use power consistently and ruthlessly would eliminate all possible obstacles and guarantee eventual success.” Hobsbawm. Whatever pre-revolutionary attitude the bolsheviks had about democracy, civil liberties and free speech, by the 1920s it was authoritarian

The purge/terror (1936-38)

The terrors of the 1930s made even his strongest supporters question him, Between 1934-1939 4-5 million party members were arrested, The party congress had 1827 members, Only 37 from the 1934 congress remained by 1939. The rest had been purged, Gulags- forced labor prisons, 1 million killed during the terror, Estimates of death range from 10-20 million for all of Stalin’s policies

Tsarist Russia

Economically Backwards: 80% or more are peasants, Authoritarian: 1905- Revolution leads to the creation of a parliament (Duma) But Duma is mostly powerless and the Czar has virtually all of the power, Losing prestige: 1905 lost the Russo-Japanese war, Is Russia a great power?

Russia in WWI

Russia badly losing the war, 9 million casualties, Inflation soars, Soldiers begin to desert and go home, Communists start promoting “peace, land and bread”

When did the Women’s March take place?

1917

Provisional government

temporary government established until a new constitution can be written, Kept Russia in WWI- angers even more people, The people have begun to organize themselves into local councils called soviets: In some places the soviets have more power than the provisional government, It is not clear what type of government the provisional government will create

The history of the world economy since the industrial revolution was one of

Accelerating technological progress, continuous (if uneven) growth, increasing globalization

Causes of the Great Depression

WWI Debt, Already weak European economies, overproduction, lack of demand and the 1929 Stock Market Crash

WWI debt

By 1917, American loans to the Allies had soared to $2.25 billion, Germany Debt from WWI equal to 1.5 the entire national income of the country in 1929, British debt to US amounted to half of GDP

Already weak economies

British unemployment remained around 10% throughout the 1920s, 17-18 % in Denmark and Norway, Only US with unemployment around 4% seemed to have a strong economy, German hyperinflation, Germany in 1923- the currency unit was reduced to one million millionth of its 1913 value, Basically reduced to zero

Overproduction & low demand in the U.S.

Unequal wealth: demand could not keep up with productivity, Result overproduction and speculation, Consumers bought consumer goods on credit, Eventually they cut back on wants and only bought necessities, Automobile production in USA halved from 1929-1931

Stock market crash

U.S. economy was propping up the world economy, 1929 its stock market crash would reverberate around the world

Responses to the Great Depression

Laissez-Faire, Communism, Social Democracy, Fascism

Laissez- Faire/Liberal

Winston Churchill

Communism

Trotsky

Social-Democracy/Keynesian

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fascism

Mussolini

The War & Treaty

Enormous amount of suffering and death → seemed pointless. Lost generation, War veterans who had become accustomed to violence, Unable to adjust to civilian life some joining paramilitary groups like the SA, These men were fiercely nationalistic. “Stab in the back” theory, The army had not really been defeated but stabbed in the back by civilian traitors, After all no Allied soldier entered German territory during the war, It was the Weimar (and Jews and Communists in Hitler’s version) who are to blame for the terrible treaty

Dada 1920s

Rejected Logic, Reason. Expressed Nonsense, Irrationality, Anti-bourgeoisie. Location: Began in Zurich Switzerland where many artists fled during World War I, Spread to other cities including Paris and Berlin

The inflation years were

1919-1924

Occupation of the Ruhr 1923-1925

Germany kept defaulting on their debts, France & Belgium occupied the Ruhr to ensure payment, Legal under the treaty of Versailles

When was the Beer Hall Putsch

1923

Beer Hall Putsch 1923

At a beer hall in Munich, Hitler tried to organize a coup against the government. He was arrested and was found guilty of treason. According to German law, Hitler, at the time an Austrian citizen, should have been deported. Instead he was sentenced to five years in prison, was released after nine months. While in prison he raised his national profile and wrote Mein Kampf

What year was the Dawes plan made?

1923

Recovery

Dawes Plan—American banks offered the German government and businesses loans to rebuild their country. Germany had also been invited to join the League of Nations in 1926. By 1928 Hitler’s ideas are increasingly unpopular and Germany was slowly improving

Tsar/Czar

Russian emperor before 1917

Czar Nicholas II

The last czar of Russia, after the Bolsheviks took over Petrograd he lost power, eventually him and the rest of his family were executed

The Women’s March 1917

start of the communist revolution, start of the Communist non-communist war, tsar loses power

Provisional Government

temporary government: established until a new constitution was written

What did the provisional government do?

kept Russia in WWI (angered more people), began to organize themselves into local councils called soviets which began to have more power than the provisional government

Soviets

little government councils, began to have more power than the provisional government

Bolsheviks

vanguard party, member of the Russian Communist party, group who won the civil war

Vladimir Lenin

person who came to power after the tsar is overthrown, first communist leader of Russia

Joseph Stalin

took over after Lenin died in 1924, believed that industrial power would protect the USSR from capitalist countries, wanted to get the USSR closer to communism

Proletariat

laborers or working class, according to Marx the proletariat class would end up being in charge

Bourgeoisie 

class of capitalist, middle-class, wealthier people

October Revolution 1917 

with help from Petrograd Soviet’s led by Trotsky, the Bolsheviks took over Petrograd, they seized the winter palace and replaced the provisional government

Russian Civil War, Reds vs. Whites

reds: communists, whites: capitalists, monarchists, foreign powers, opposers to communism

5 year plan, effectiveness of those plans

set production goals to be achieved in five years (# of factories, railroads, etc.), thirteen different five year plans, allowed the USSR to industrialize rapidly

Collective farms, consequences of collectivization

begins in 1920 under Stalin, goal is to boost agricultural production (large farms), more production allows more people to move to factories, end result: peasants feel like they returned to serfdom, massive failure

Kulaks

wealthier peasants who Stalin deemed responsible for the famine

The Purge/Terror 1936-1938

made even Stalin’s strongest supporters question him, between 1934-35 4-5 million party members were arrested, party congress went from 1827 to 37

Gulags

forced labor prisons (1 million were killed in these during the terror)

all of Stalin’s policies killed

10-20 million

Weimar Republic

german government during the time period in which Hitler came to power, constitutional federal republic

Inflation, hyperinflation

german currency was basically worthless, 1 millionth of its original value

Lost generation

so many soldiers died during WWI, term coined by poets, lost generation was unable to readjust to civilian life after WWI, joined paramilitary groups like the SA (these men were fiercely nationalistic)

“Stab in the back theory”

the army had not been defeated, but stabbed in the back by civilian traitors (no allied soldier entered Germany during the war), blamed the Weimar (Hitler’s version included Jews + Communists) who were to blame for the Treaty of Versailles

Outcomes from the Treaty of Versailles for Germany

Germany ended up in tremendous debt which they were unable to pay → Ruhr was occupied by France and Belgium to ensure Germany paid off their debt, German economy was completely destroyed

Dada/Dadaism

trying to expand the definition of art, rejected logic, reason, and expressed nonsense, began in Zurich Switzerland, and spread to other cities including Paris and Berlin

Beer Hall Putsch 1923

at a beer hall in Munich, Hitler tried to organize a coup against the government, he was arrested + found guilty of treason, should have been deported (Austrian citizen), but instead was sentenced to five years and released after nine months, while in prison he wrote Mein Kampf

Dawes Plan

American banks offered German government + businesses loans to rebuild their country, in 1928 this plan proved to be working and Germany was slowly improving, Germany was invited to join the League of Nations in 1928 and Hitler’s ideas were becoming more unpopular

Keynesian Economics

keynesians believe that, because prices are somewhat rigid, fluctuations in any component of spending—consumption, investment, or government expenditures—cause output to change

Fascism

the race and whole of a nation is more important than the individual, the role of the individual is to serve the needs of the nation, autocratic/dictatorship, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition