Chapter 21: Revolution, Socialism, and Global Conflict 1917-Present
Communism arose from the the political and philosophical roots of the nineteenth century socialist movement. It was inspired by the teachings of Karl Marx. The Marxist theory referred to communism as the "final stage of historical development when social equality and collective living would be most fully developed, largely without private property" (Strayer 930). By the 1970s about 1/3 of the world's population lived in communist societies. The two biggest being Russia (the world's largest country in size) and China (the world's largest population). Also under communist rule was Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Latin America, and Afghanistan. However, communist movements took place all over the world, especially in Greece, Italy, France, and sometimes in the United States (this lead to political repression known as McCarthyism). Also many African states were Marxist for some time. All these different expressions of communism were linked by a common ideology derived from European Marxism and focused on minimizing claims of national loyalty in order to move towards an international revolutionary movement. During the Cold War the Warsaw Pact allied the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist states to counter the threat of the NATO alliance between Western capitalist countries, the Council on Mutual Economic Assistance tied the economies fo Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and a Treaty of Friendship joined the Soviet Union and China.
Although the globalization of communism was largely in the second half of the 1900s, it was started in the first half by the revolutions in China and the Soviet Union. These revolutions were inspired, in part, by the French Revolution and the notion that a better world can be created by human actions. These revolutions were guided by Marxist ideology and were committed to an industrial future, economic and political equality, and the abolition of private property. In Russia the communists rose to power within the year of 1917 because of the pressures of World War I. By February of 1917 Tsar Nicholas II had lost almost all of his support and was forced to abdicate, which ended the Romanov dynasty and opened the door for social revolution. This happened quickly because of the inadequacy of he Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks were a small socialist party that was led by Valdimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). A three year civil war (1918-1921) followed the uprising of the Bolsheviks, during which the Bolsheviks regimented the economy, seized grain from angry peasants, suppressed nationalist rebellions, and perpetuated bloody atrocities. After the war ended Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or Soviet Union). The next major extension was in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II because of the USSR imposing communism on them. In China communist took hold in 1949. The Chinese imperial system had collapse in 1911 because of foreign imperialism, its own inadequacy, and internal opposition. In 1921 a small Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded and grew over the next 28 years, led by Mao Zedong. The CCP looked to peasant villages and women for support. Japan's invasion opened the door for the CCP, which addressed the problems of foreign imperialism and peasant exploitation. Once the communist parties came into power, they set about the construction of socialist societies, which started with the modernization and industrialization of their backward societies. Among the earliest actions taken towards this goal was efforts to liberate and mobilize women. In the Soviet Union a small women's movement had occurred before WWI so the communist government immediately issued laws and decrees for regarding women. In 1919 an organization called Zhenotdel (Women's Department) pushed a radical agenda for women, but in 1930 Stalin abolished it. In China the Marriage Law of 1950 was a response to the patriarchal and Confucian traditions. The CCP launched a Women's Federation as well. However, there was still limits to communist feminism, including the double burden of housework and child care along with paid employment. Both the Soviet Union and China expropriated landlords' estates and redistributed in a more equitable way to the peasantry. Next they both sought to end private property in land by collectivizing agriculture. Both also defined industrialization as a fundamental task, leading to major economic growth. Among the conflicts presented to the communist parties in both regions was the search for enemies that disfigured communist societies.
Initially the cold war took place in Eastern Europe, where Soviet control clashed with American and British desires for democratic societies. The division between Eastern and Western Europe became known as the Iron Curtain. As communism extended into Asia it globalized the cold war and sometimes caused hot wars. The most dangerous and new aspect of the cold war was the armed race in nuclear weapons, which became apparent with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The awareness of the power of these weapons was the probably the primary reason that no shooting war occurred. WWII and the cold war allowed for the United States to emerge as a global super power and the two communist giants (Soviet Union and China) sharply opposed each other because of territorial disputes, ideological differences, and rivalry for communist leadership. Communism became to rapidly decline int he last 20 years of the twentieth century. Beginning in the 1970s with the death of Mao Zedong in China in the 1976. Next was in 1989 in Eastern Europe when popular movements brought down communist governments. Then finally ending in 1991 in the Soviet Union. The end of communism occurred because of two major failures. The first was economic and the second was moral.
Although the globalization of communism was largely in the second half of the 1900s, it was started in the first half by the revolutions in China and the Soviet Union. These revolutions were inspired, in part, by the French Revolution and the notion that a better world can be created by human actions. These revolutions were guided by Marxist ideology and were committed to an industrial future, economic and political equality, and the abolition of private property. In Russia the communists rose to power within the year of 1917 because of the pressures of World War I. By February of 1917 Tsar Nicholas II had lost almost all of his support and was forced to abdicate, which ended the Romanov dynasty and opened the door for social revolution. This happened quickly because of the inadequacy of he Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks were a small socialist party that was led by Valdimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). A three year civil war (1918-1921) followed the uprising of the Bolsheviks, during which the Bolsheviks regimented the economy, seized grain from angry peasants, suppressed nationalist rebellions, and perpetuated bloody atrocities. After the war ended Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or Soviet Union). The next major extension was in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II because of the USSR imposing communism on them. In China communist took hold in 1949. The Chinese imperial system had collapse in 1911 because of foreign imperialism, its own inadequacy, and internal opposition. In 1921 a small Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded and grew over the next 28 years, led by Mao Zedong. The CCP looked to peasant villages and women for support. Japan's invasion opened the door for the CCP, which addressed the problems of foreign imperialism and peasant exploitation. Once the communist parties came into power, they set about the construction of socialist societies, which started with the modernization and industrialization of their backward societies. Among the earliest actions taken towards this goal was efforts to liberate and mobilize women. In the Soviet Union a small women's movement had occurred before WWI so the communist government immediately issued laws and decrees for regarding women. In 1919 an organization called Zhenotdel (Women's Department) pushed a radical agenda for women, but in 1930 Stalin abolished it. In China the Marriage Law of 1950 was a response to the patriarchal and Confucian traditions. The CCP launched a Women's Federation as well. However, there was still limits to communist feminism, including the double burden of housework and child care along with paid employment. Both the Soviet Union and China expropriated landlords' estates and redistributed in a more equitable way to the peasantry. Next they both sought to end private property in land by collectivizing agriculture. Both also defined industrialization as a fundamental task, leading to major economic growth. Among the conflicts presented to the communist parties in both regions was the search for enemies that disfigured communist societies.
Initially the cold war took place in Eastern Europe, where Soviet control clashed with American and British desires for democratic societies. The division between Eastern and Western Europe became known as the Iron Curtain. As communism extended into Asia it globalized the cold war and sometimes caused hot wars. The most dangerous and new aspect of the cold war was the armed race in nuclear weapons, which became apparent with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The awareness of the power of these weapons was the probably the primary reason that no shooting war occurred. WWII and the cold war allowed for the United States to emerge as a global super power and the two communist giants (Soviet Union and China) sharply opposed each other because of territorial disputes, ideological differences, and rivalry for communist leadership. Communism became to rapidly decline int he last 20 years of the twentieth century. Beginning in the 1970s with the death of Mao Zedong in China in the 1976. Next was in 1989 in Eastern Europe when popular movements brought down communist governments. Then finally ending in 1991 in the Soviet Union. The end of communism occurred because of two major failures. The first was economic and the second was moral.
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