CGAP - Authoritarnism + Communism

Authoritarnism Characteristics

• System in which small group of individuals exercises power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

• Public doesn’t play significant role in selecting or removing leaders from office

• Greater leeway to develop policies that they “dictate” to the people

• Popular participation is typically discouraged

• Restriction of individual freedom - civil liberties curbed or denies

Rule BY law as opposed to Rule OF law

manipulate law to control people

Four Types of Authoritarian Rule

• Personal Rule/dictatorship

• Military regime/junta

• Dynastic regime/Absolute Monarchy

• Totalitarian

Personal Rule/dictatorship - single ruler (type of autocracy)

Sow mutual mistrust, make people incapable of action, gain power through force (coup d’etat) or fraud (rigged election), rely on security forces to remain in power

Military regime/junta

• There is a general who is ‘first among equals’ because someone must personify the regime; perform ceremonial & symbolic functions of chief executive

• But rule is by committee or council (collegial)

• Powers of chief executive are apportioned among several high-ranking military officers

Dynastic regime/Absolute Monarchy

• Rule as birthright - inherit power

• Often use divine right to rule - god-ordained

Totalitarian

• Pivotal feature is presence of all-encompassing & monolithic party organization that functions like a state within a state

• Party controlled by omnipotent dictator or by committee comprising leading members of oligarchic elite

• Member of elite make decisions in secret and rely heavily on secret police to intimidate and mobilize society

• Practiced by authoritarian regimes that possess some form of strong ideology that seeks to transform fundamental aspects of state, society and economy

• Violence a necessary tool - through wide array of organizations

• Centralized state control of mass media

• Centralized state control of economy through bureaucratic coordination of all productive enterprises

• Educational system geared to regime’s political objectives

• Passive obedience not enough on the part of the masses; active participation is required

• Total control of minds & bodies

Post Communism

• Transitioning from command economies to free markets was difficult → economic hardships, unemployment, and inequality

• Reformed communist parties gained support from the "losers" of the transition

• Some Eastern European nations transitioned to democracy and joined the EU and NATO

• The collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc regimes between 1989–1991 was unexpected

• Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms (perestroika, glasnost) exposed systemic weaknesses

• Communist regimes fell due to growing protests, economic stagnation, and discontent

Challenges Facing Communist States

• Remaining communist states maintain political control but have adopted market reforms

• Social, political, and economic transitions in post-communist countries include building democratic institutions, market economies, and promoting individualism

• Ethnic tensions, impatience with reforms, and limited Western aid - issues

Communism

• Shared Wealth

• Individual people don’t own land, factories, or machinery

• Government or whole community owns these things

Socialism

• Opposes capitalism, seeking equality of outcome and advocating for public ownership and democracy in economic decision-making

• Argue that capitalism hinders individuals from reaching their full potential

Marxism

• 1) Violent Revolution - Proletariat (working class) overthrows the Bourgeoisie 

  • Revolution would happen in industrialized countries

• 2) Socialism 

• 3) Communism - no government, no classes, communal ownership

• Non-economic institutions, like the state and religion, reinforce the power of the ruling class

Leninism

• Had to change Marxism because there wasn’t a large enough proletariat - more peasants

• Party Vanguard

Party Vanguard

• Ends up becoming Politburo

• Educated, knowledgeable on Marxist readings, ability to lead revolution

Maoism

Peasants lead revolution - uneducated

Marxist Theory and the Foundations of Communism

• Critique capitalism for exploiting workers, paying them less than the value of their labor, inequality and alienation

• Capitalism concentrated wealth among capitalists

Stalinism

• Intensified authoritarianism, with totalitarian control over the Soviet Union and international communist movements

• Terror campaigns and propaganda to solidify power

Expansion of Communism

Marx anticipated revolutions in industrialized nations, but communism spread to countries with weaker industrial bases, like Russia, China, and Cuba (pre Industrial revolution)

Communist Failures

• The concentration of authority undermined Marxist principles of democracy and egalitarianism

• Implementations often prioritized state survival over revolutionary goals, sacrificing ideals for expediency

• Way to many people - at a country level

Decline of Communism

• By 1991, internal pressures, and failed coup attempt against Gorbachev led to the collapse of the USSR

• Five communist states (China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba) remain, sustained by force and lack of cultural evolution toward democracy