‘‘The Fictional State: An Autopsy of a Corrupt Utopia’’
Keywords:
communism, socialism, totalitarianism, Economics, calculation, central planning, radicalization, individual freedomsAbstract
This article examines the theoretical, economic, and historical viability of communism and Marxist socialism, the latter understood as the lower stage of communism according to Marxist doctrine. Drawing on The Communist Manifesto (Marx & Engels, 1848/1948) and the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Stéphane Courtois, it argues that implementing communism requires an extreme concentration of state power, restricts individual freedoms, and limits personal initiative. It also contends that socialism functions as a transitional stage toward communism and that, throughout its political development, it has adapted its discourse to broaden its social acceptance. Using five verifiable criteria, the article examines the cases of the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela, as well as the comparative experiences of East and West Germany and North and South Korea. The comparative evidence indicates that collectivization was consistently associated with economic shortages, political repression, and stagnation, while the communist regimes that achieved greater economic stability did so by incorporating market mechanisms that departed from strict central planning. The article concludes that communism faces structural limitations from both economic and political perspectives.
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