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Communism Vs Democracy Democracy and communism are the two main governing systems ever to be set into motion. Effects of both of these systems can be observed in many countries worldwide. Democracy is the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives, whereas communism is a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership which means that all means of production such as land and natural resources are owned by the entire community. Of course, more modern forms of these two governances are adopted by the countries that prefer to do so.
Although democracy and communism are two opposite governing systems, a certain amount of similarities can still be found. In fact, even if the similarities between democracy and communism are not very obvious, they do exist. A first important similarity is that they both have no connections between the religion and government. Meaning that they are both secular and in other words called “laic”. There is no single country that is run by communist or democratic regime that is not laic. Another similarity would be that mostly in both these regimes, the public elects the leaders but there are some exceptions in real life.
They both hold elections. A third similarity between communist system and democratic system would be the that they both provide good public services for the community such as public schools, hospitals, parks and so on. The last similarity would be that they are both systems that are created to control populations. They both have the same goal. In a democracy the choices are made communally, inferring that the common good is fulfilled. In communism, all work together for the common good. On the other hand, there are many significant differences between communism and democracy.
The most commonly known difference is that communism does not allow individuals to own property in land, where democracy allows the public to own property. In a communist regime all the production and land is owned and shared by the whole population. Another difference is that in communist regime there is a very high level of income tax and compared to democratic countries this is a very high level of an amount. Basically, one of the main distinctions between a communist and a democratic government are their conflicting economical systems in general.
People living in countries where democracy is active they also pay taxes. Depending on the country the tax amounts change. They can get very high like it is in France, but never as high as a communist country. The next dissimilarity is the abolition of all rights of inheritance. Simply the people living in a communist society are not allowed to inherit anything from their family members that pass away. However, in democracy people are allowed to inherit money, real estate and so on, from their former family members or even from people that they have no blood connection with.
The means of communication and transportation are in the hand of state in the communist regime whereas in democracy they can be privately owned. Which actually means that the government has a monopolistic power over the transportation and communication markets. Plus centralization of credit in the banks of state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly exists. Furthermore, in communist regime there is confiscation of the property of all immigrants and rebels. When one goes out of the territories of a communist country, all that he/she owns would simply be owned by the state.
Which is very interesting. On the opposite, in a democratic system this or something similar to the latter does not exist. The government runs nearly all of the things in a communist regime, such as factories and instruments of production and their extension is owned by the state. There is an equal obligation for all to work, especially agriculture is an important area. Finally, communism allows all children to have free education and there is combination of education with industrial production. Which means that children at young age are directed to be educated within their future purposes.
Indeed this fact about education can be both a contrast and a similarity, because in a democratic system education is optional. Meaning that it is a choice of families to send their children either to free public schools or to private schools, whereas in a communist regime private schools or private education systems do not exist. In conclusion, it is clear to see that communist and democratic forms of government both have their good and bad qualities. Though, it is rare to see total communism and total democracy in real life. They shaped the way that some of the most dominant countries are run today.
In a communist government, everyone is said to be equal, in theory. However, when put into action and there is one person controlling the government, it works much like Totalitarianism. Most commonly known Totalitarian leaders were Stalin and Hitler. Then, only one person’s say is what really matters. However, in a total democracy, it is said that every citizen has a voice in government. One person’s vote counts just as much as another’s does. The public owns the major resources and the means of production and power is also held in common.