Explain how Soviet communism could be viewed as a rejection of liberal values
5 years ago
Answered By Bilal A
To reject something could mean to feel that it doesn’t work. If the goal for a society is to flourish, then in the context of this question, Soviet communism rejects liberal values because they do no work to promote the sectors of society and thus, the society would not flourish.
Defining these two opposing ideologies is important before exploring how there is a rejection of values. Soviet communism (known as Marxism-Leninism) focused on what's called the "dictatorship of the proletariat." This basically means that the working class would hold the most political power, and the state's vanguard, or society's most capable (politically aware) leaders, would form together as a one-party state. Liberal values are those which coincide within ideas like liberty and egalitarianism. A society that displays liberal values would have a democratic government and a capitalist economy. Political parties are formed as individual entities, and represent ideas and promise to carry out actions that reflect a particular set of values. A popular contrast of political parties within a democracy is the Democratic and Republican parties of the United States.
To reject liberal values means to oppose ideas like a free market (or capitalist economy), individualism, and a democratic government. Soviet communism values the economy as controlled by the state, not by individuals. In a free market, Marx argues that those in power have optimal means and interest to exploit the working class. This capitalist system would result in widening the wealth gap between the upper class and the working class. By having the economy controlled by the state, the working class’s best interests would be fulfilled since the power is held by people within that working class. Soviet communist thought would argue that the parties within a democratic system are self-serving, and only seek to promote the quality of life of certain groups of people through facets like policy, media, and global economic endeavour. In liberal societies, Marx believed that it is the bourgeoisie class (upper class) that holds the power in government and does not make decisions to benefit the whole of society.The interests of the group are made the most apparent because those in power within a vanguardist state represent the majority of the people within that state (the working class).
5 years ago
Answered By Bilal A
To reject something could mean to feel that it doesn’t work. If the goal for a society is to flourish, then in the context of this question, Soviet communism rejects liberal values because they do no work to promote the sectors of society and thus, the society would not flourish.
Defining these two opposing ideologies is important before exploring how there is a rejection of values. Soviet communism (known as Marxism-Leninism) focused on what's called the "dictatorship of the proletariat." This basically means that the working class would hold the most political power, and the state's vanguard, or society's most capable (politically aware) leaders, would form together as a one-party state. Liberal values are those which coincide within ideas like liberty and egalitarianism. A society that displays liberal values would have a democratic government and a capitalist economy. Political parties are formed as individual entities, and represent ideas and promise to carry out actions that reflect a particular set of values. A popular contrast of political parties within a democracy is the Democratic and Republican parties of the United States.
To reject liberal values means to oppose ideas like a free market (or capitalist economy), individualism, and a democratic government. Soviet communism values the economy as controlled by the state, not by individuals. In a free market, Marx argues that those in power have optimal means and interest to exploit the working class. This capitalist system would result in widening the wealth gap between the upper class and the working class. By having the economy controlled by the state, the working class’s best interests would be fulfilled since the power is held by people within that working class. Soviet communist thought would argue that the parties within a democratic system are self-serving, and only seek to promote the quality of life of certain groups of people through facets like policy, media, and global economic endeavour. In liberal societies, Marx believed that it is the bourgeoisie class (upper class) that holds the power in government and does not make decisions to benefit the whole of society. The interests of the group are made the most apparent because those in power within a vanguardist state represent the majority of the people within that state (the working class).