FAQ

The following is an FAQ by the Leftypedia editor team on topics relevant to Marxist communism.

About communism

What is communism?

"Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence."

For Marx, communism is the movement to overthrow capital. Its politics are firmly rooted in the current conditions of capitalism. It is not a society schematic, nor is it an 'ideal to be achieved'.

What is Marxism?

Marxism is a framework, a science to be studied, rather than something you believe in. In other words, you do Marxism by analyzing things in the framework of dialectical and historical materialism. There is Marxist communism, which encompasses a set of political ideologies which base themselves off readings of Marxist theory.

Isn't communism a failed system?

Many will point to the dissolution of the Soviet Union as proof communism "failed." This view, however, does not reflect the fact that these countries never attained communism, or the higher stage of socialism. Instead, these countries were in what Marxist–Leninists would describe as a transitional stage between capitalism and communism known as socialism.

What does "failed" mean in this context? Ultimately, the socialist states of the 20th century did not attain communism, but they did make significant socioeconomic advancements such as large-scale industrialization and the dissolution of all traces of backwardness and feudalism. In this sense, socialism succeeded in delivering benefit to the masses under it.

The reasons for the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s and '90s are not as simple as "they were communist." Different leftist tendencies have differing reasoning for why this event happened, but many will agree it was not the fault of the socialist system itself, but a deviation from it.

Weren't all communist countries totalitarian/authoritarian?

"Totalitarianism" and "authoritarianism" are politically loaded terms, and have been favored by anti-communist media and academic figures to compare communism with fascism, when in truth fascism is much more an extension of a liberal capitalist society. Many of the "freedoms" liberal countries offer are hallow and really only enjoyed by the wealthy. Things such as "freedom of the press" and "freedom of speech" are most able to be utilized by those who can afford a stake in corporate media — media which will prioritize the narrative of billionaires over the common individual.

Socialism, on the contrary, has been able to make these freedoms truly "free."

Isn't communism relegated to history?

Not at all. As long as the struggle against fascism, exploitation, and injustice continues, communism is as relevant as ever for the international working class.

About Leftypedia

What is the Purpose of Leftypedia?

The purpose of Leftypedia is to provide a balanced, reliable, and informed educational resource for leftists, in particular Marxists and fellow travellers, free from mainstream liberal bias. Leftypedia however, differs from existing resources for such information in that articles are constrained only to what is relevant to an understanding of the leftist tradition.

Is yet another online encyclopedia necessary?

Wikipedia has an Arbitration committee which solidified in 2007 as a neoliberal and conservative stronghold that constantly controls the edits to undo any edit one makes to an article when it does not fit their ideology, even if it is well-sourced. Wikipedia also has around 200 edit filters currently enabled, 92 of which are secret and cannot be viewed by the community. Talking from experience, talk page comments referring to US propaganda activity on Wikipedia are deemed "unconstructive" and automatically blocked.

We decided our energy would be better spent on building our own platform than it would to fight turf wars, bots and sock puppets on Wikipedia, many of which are well funded.

Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales is also a self-avowed Randian Objectivist.

Are biographical articles permitted?

Yes, but only so much as the contained information is relevant to the development of Marxism. While Karl Marx's Hegelian influences and early liberal agitation are useful to know when examining the historical development of Marxism, it is difficult to see how his favorite blanket as a toddler (i.e. his early life), would be.

What politics is Leftypedia associated with?

Leftypedia is a wiki documenting various strands of leftism (such as Marxist communism, anarchism, and democratic socialism) and related theory. Our editors come from a diverse selection of tendencies, and we do not focus on having this project be an outlet for any one tendency in particular.