Realistic Communism

Communism vs. Socialism

How communism and socialism compare and contrast largely depends on your definition of the latter. By some meanings, they are the exact same thing, while some definitions say socialism is part of communism and others say communism is a type of socialism.

However, by the more modern, growing definition of socialism, it is the transitional phase between capitalism and communism. Communism has no state and has the public generally owning the means of production and voluntarily contributing their products to others as needed, but socialism has an all-powerful state controlling the means of production as an expression of the people and forcing everyone to work as needed and redistributing goods and services to those who need them.

This temporary government is then the primary difference. Socialism exists to have a structured way of forcing people to put others first until society evolves to appoint where people do not need to be forced, and the government gives up its power and dissolves itself for want of purpose.

Socialism may look very authoritarian to someone used to current Western society. Under socialism, the government owns all industry and dictates all jobs and all provision. However, it does this as an extension of the people to train them how society should be.

Communism by contrast is literal anarchism. The socialist government has taught people to fairly share the means of production and the outputs thereof. Thus, the government is no longer needed and is thus dissolved, and the means of production are just held as a common good with no specific owners. People do the jobs society needs both for no personal benefit and share the fruits of their labor with those who need them most.

Ideally, the results of Communism and socialism should be exactly the same even though their methods of getting those results are polar opposites. Socialism is an all-powerful government compelling people to work how it sees best and redistributing all products equitably, and communism is where the people have no government but still work where needed for equitable distribution.