Chapter #9: Communism and Post Communism

Communism

A political economic system in which all wealth and property are shared to eliminate exploitation, oppression, and the need for political institutions such as the state.

Base

The economic system of society, made up of the mass production of technology and the production of class relations between people.

Superstructure

All noneconomic institutions in a society whose ideas and values derive from the base and serve to legitimize the current system of exploitation.

Dialectical Materialism

The process of historical change that’s not evolutionary, but revolutionary.

(Would overthrow the old base).

Vanguard of the Proletariat

Lenin’s argument that because of false consciousness, an elite communist party would have to carry out revolution.

(Otherwise, historical conditions wouldn’t automatically lead to capitalism’s demise).

False Consciousness

The failure to understand their exploitation because the superstructure deludes them.

Nomenklatura

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staffed by people chosen or approved by the communist party.

Political Bureau

The top policy-making executive body of a communist party.

Central Committee

The legislative-like body of a communist party.

Party-State

A political system where power flows directly from the ruling political party, usually the communist party, to the state, bypassing government structures.

(Noncommunist governmental structures were weakly institutionalized).

Central Planning

A communist economic system where the state explicitly distributes resources by planning what should be produced and in what amounts, the final price of goods, and where they should be sold.

Glasnost

Free media and reduced censorship, making management and administration open to public debate.

Perestroika

The introduction of some market reforms in agriculture and industry which preserves central planning.

Privatization

The transfer of state-held property into private hands.

Marketization

The re-creation of the market forces of supply and demand.

Shock Therapy

A process of rapid marketization where supporters accepted the risks of higher inflation, but argued the pain of transition would end sooner than gradualism.

Global Gender Gap Index

Measures inequality between women and men in four key areas.

1. Economic participation and opportunity

2. Educational attainment

3. Health and survival

4. Political empowerment