Examples of Communist Economies

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Examples of Communist Economies
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• For centuries, humanity has been trying to come
  up with the ideal structure or methodology to
  successfully run a community, in which every
  individual agrees with the governing body and
  vice versa. While all the ideologies and planning
  appear flawless on paper, these begin to crumble
  as soon as they are implemented in the real
  world. Although a majority of the world practice
  capitalism, some countries chose to become
  communist economies.

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What is a Communist Economy?

• Simply, an economy that is based on the communist
  ideology is referred to as a communist economy.
  Communism is an ideology in which the political
  and economic agenda of a ruling body is to
  establish a community in which classes of
  individuals are disregarded, in theory, promoting
  equality. Moreover, each individual is paid
  according to their ability and need. In a
  communist economy, factors of production, i.e.,
  labor, land, and entrepreneurship, are owned by a
  single entity, which is usually the government.
  This ideology was developed by Karl Marx, a
  German philosopher. According to Marx and his
  co-author, Friedrich Engels, communism would have
  provided a solution for the exploitation of labor
  and would have freed individuals from working in
  sectors that they dont wish to work in.
  Theoretically, by implementing advanced
  manufacturing technology, working hours would
  reduce, and once people begin to work on what
  they love, they would work restlessly, resulting
  in a better economy. Karl Marx laid out 10 planks
  or rules of communism that are

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• Property cannot be owned privately, and
  government can issue it to anyone at any time.
• Taxes must be dependent on an individuals
  income, i.e., the rich must be taxed, likewise,
  the poor should be taxed less.
• If a person passes away, their possessions become
  the property of the government, which is then
  distributed in the community.
• If a person leaves the country or stands against
  it, the previous rule applies.
• There must be only one bank that is regulated by
  the government.
• Mailing and transportation services are also
  controlled by the government.
• All land is valuable. Farming must be conducted
  on good soil while factories are to be built on
  badlands.
• Each individual must work, especially in
  agriculture.
• Allocation of people, factories, and farms in
  different parts of the country can happen at any
  time to maintain an equal concentration of people
  and employment.
• Education must be free-for-all children, and
  children are prohibited from labor, especially in
  factories.

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Examples of Communist Economies
1.China

• Presently, China is the biggest example of a
  communist economy. Interestingly, China became a
  communist country in the mid-1900s. This occurred
  because previously, the Chinese, particularly the
  lower class, were suffering because of constant
  invasions from foreign nations. In 1911, a
  rebellion against the authority took place in
  Wuchang. Rebellions similar to this had taken
  place before as well however, this time, the
  army joined the uprising. While they overthrew
  the authorities at the time, it only lasted for a
  short duration, and by 1925, China was divided
  into different states governed by warlords.

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• To change the shape of the nation both
  politically and economically, the Chinese
  Communist Party was formed in the 1930s. At the
  same time, Guomindang, another political party,
  was formed. Initially, both parties worked
  together however, as China was free from foreign
  invasions, both parties turned against each
  other, leading to the Chinese Communist
  Revolution. While the Guodimang party promoted
  democracy, the Chinese Communist Party, led by
  Mao Zedong favored communism. Ultimately,
  communism was chosen by the public. Mao Zedong
  introduced two policies, namely the Great Leap
  Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and both of
  these flopped. The former policy was set in
  motion to accelerate the economic growth of
  China. It forced people to work on farms for
  extended periods, to boost food production, and
  in factories, to develop products rapidly
  however, there was a huge drawback. The
  redistribution of workers was random, meaning
  people working in factories had no idea about the
  operations or what they were supposed to do.
  Unsurprisingly, it failed and claimed the lives
  of approximately 50 million people.

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• Following this, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural
  Revolution. It was aimed at eradicating
  non-revolutionaries, resulting in the death of
  1.25 million people and the extinction of Chinese
  heritage. Finally, Mao passed away in 1976, and
  the power came into the hands of Deng Xiaoping.
  Deng introduced modernization that worked
  remarkably for China, as he designed each aspect
  of the policy himself. Still, some citizens
  wanted democracy, and protests across the country
  started to happen, which lead to the massacre at
  Tiananmen Square in 1989, as the military was
  ordered to establish order. Despite all the ups
  and down in the communist economy of China, it is
  a superpower with a high gross domestic product
  value. The present communism in China restricts
  freedom of speech and even monitors the internet
  usage of each citizen.

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2. Cuba

• The only ruling party in the Republic of Cuba is
  the Communist Party of Cuba. This island country
  has been subject to many invasions in the past.
  In the 19th century, it was ruled by the Spanish
  however, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes led a
  rebellion for independence in the mid-1800s.
  Originally, this conflict was not planned to
  stretch for prolonged periods, but it lasted for
  a decade and was called the Ten Years War. At
  the same time, America and Spain were waging war
  against each other. Fortunately, this war finally
  came to a stop with a peace treaty between the
  mentioned countries in 1898, resulting in America
  taking control of Cuba. Finally, in 1902, Cuba
  gained independence from the United States
  however, the US was still legally allowed to
  intervene in Cuban affairs and finances. Gerardo
  Machado was elected the president of Cuba in
  1924. He invested heavily in tourism to uplift
  the economy.

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• While it worked in the beginning, the crash of
  Wall Street led to the downfall of Machado.
  Citizens, especially students, opposed him, and
  he was ultimately exiled from the country. In
  1940, Fulgencio Batista became the president of
  Cuba. During his rule, the economy of Cuba saw a
  drastic downfall with unemployment and inflation.
  Fidel Castro along with his brother, Raúl Castro,
  launched The Movement against Batista by military
  means. Their attacks failed, and they were
  captured however, Fidel Castro gave a speech
  that led citizens to see the unconstitutional
  ways of Batista. Fortunately, both of them were
  saved and moved to Mexico, where they met Ernest
  Che Guevara. Interestingly, during Guevaras
  university years, he stayed away from politics
  and instead preferred riding his motorcycle for
  long adventures. During his travels, he witnessed
  the degrading life quality and poverty in South
  America, and to him, it was because of the
  failing capitalist system. Although he became a
  doctor in 1953, he threw away his career just two
  months later to fight for people. In 1957, Che
  Guevara, Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, along with 82
  men, reached the South of Cuba.

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• At the time, other rebellions were already taking
  place in Cuba which led to extensive bloodshed.
  Seeing such events, Americans, who have been
  supporting Batista, decided to side with
  rebellion groups. Finally, Batista was exiled in
  1958. At this time, the United States had banned
  trade with Cuba, and even seize the assets of
  Cubans in the US. By the 1960s, the USSR had
  established a stronghold in Cuba and even
  deployed numerous nuclear missiles.
  Unsurprisingly, the US government was not happy
  about this movement, and both countries were
  seriously considering nuclear war for 13 days.
  This later came to be known as the Cuban Missile
  Crisis. This led to the country following the
  economic model of the USSR, i.e., communism.
  Although there have been many tough times since
  the implementation of communism in Cuba, it led
  the country to become what it is today.

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3. Laos

• The only landlocked country in Southeast Asia is
  a communist economy. Similar to Cuba, Laos has
  been a subject of wars and invasions from foreign
  powers, but unlike Cuba because of the
  geographical location, it was an ideal ground for
  business, and Laos became a prosperous nation
  because of the gold and ivory trade.
  Interestingly, the French were a huge ruling
  power in Laos during the 19th century. When the
  kingdom of Lax Xang split into three kingdoms,
  out of which three territories were under the
  French in 1893, that became Laos. While the
  Japanese also gained control of the nation during
  the Second World War, it became independent in
  1953 under the rule of Sisavang Vong however, a
  civil war broke out shortly afterward. This civil
  war was between the royalists who supported the
  king and those who were in the favor of the
  communist party, Pathet Lao, that opposed the
  king.

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• The war lasted for nearly two decades. This was
  also during the period of the Vietnamese war,
  therefore, constant bombardment from the US
  airforce wreaked havoc on the southern hemisphere
  of the country, as Vietnamese soldiers were
  hiding there. Finally, the civil war was resolved
  in 1975, with Pathet Lao gaining control.
  Unsurprisingly, the Soviet Union supported the
  country. Royalists fled to Thailand during that
  time and the country came under the command of
  Kaysone Phomvihane. He renames the country to Lao
  Peoples Democratic Republic. In 1977, Laos
  signed a peace treaty with Vietnam. Two years
  after that, Vietnam asked Laos to end relations
  with China, making it isolated from the largest
  trade market. Despite this, it has become one of
  the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia.
  Laos has also built four railway networks that
  connect it to the neighboring nations.
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