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Anti-communism refers to opposition to communism. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based See also Marxian economics, Marxism Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are terms which cover work in Philosophy Class struggle is the active expression of Class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective International Socialism redirects here For the journal of the same name see International Socialism (journal Proletarian internationalism is a A Political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of Communism through a communist form of Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Leninism refers to various related political and economic theories elaborated by Bolshevik revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin. Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader The Juche Idea (주체사상 Juche Sasang) is the official state Ideology of North Korea and the Political system based on it Left communism is the range of communist viewpoints held by the Communist Left, which opposes the political ideas of the Bolsheviks Council communism is a Far-left movement originating in Germany and the Netherlands in the 1920s Religious communism is a form of Communism centered on religious principles Eurocommunism was a new trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that National Communism, is an Islamic form of Communism which had a strong Nationalist element The Communist League was the first Marxist international organisation The Second International (1889-1916 was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. The Comintern ( Com munist Intern ational also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organisation founded in Moscow The Fourth International ( FI) is a communist international organisation working in opposition to both Capitalism and Stalinism. Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895 was a German social scientist and philosopher, who Rosa Luxemburg (Róża Luksemburg 5 March 1870 or 1871 15 January 1919 was a Polish-born Jewish German Marxist theorist, socialist Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements ideas and attitudes which oppose Capitalism. Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system Communist symbolism consists of a series of Symbols that represent (either literally or figuratively a variety of themes associated with communism Criticisms of Communism can be divided in two broad categories Those concerning themselves with the practical aspects of 20th century Communist state and those concerning Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist The " dictatorship of the proletariat " or workers' state is a term employed by Marxists that refers to what they see as a temporary state between the This article intentionally focuses only on the history of communism as a self-contained self-aware political movement Luxemburgism (also written Luxembourgism) is a specific revolutionary theory within Communism, based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg. The New Class is a term to describe the privileged Ruling class of Bureaucrats and Communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist The New Left were the Left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that unlike the earlier leftist focus on union activism instead adopted a Post-Communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic Transition in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Primitive communism is A term usually associated with Karl Marx, but most fully elaborated by Friedrich Engels (in The Origin of the Family 1884 and referring Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 Socialist economics is a broad and sometimes controversial term Titoism is an adaptation of communist ideology named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Historically, the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and their supporters, but, since the mid-19th century, the dominant school of communism in the world has been Marxism. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist communism drew far more supporters and opponents than any other form of communism. As such, the term anti-communism is most often employed to refer to opposition to Marxist communism. The countries best known for always being an opponent of communism is the United States and Canada, and maybe some of their long-time allies like France and Australia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Some wars and clashes betweens supporters and opposers of communism include the Chinese Civil War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the The Bay of Pigs Invasion (aka Playa Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U The 1980s Fall of Communism and the 1991 Collapse of the Soviet Union were seen as big victories for the opposers of Communism. The Soviet Union 's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985

Marxism, and the form of communism associated with it, rose to prominence in the 20th century. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the growing popularity of the communist movement, and took on many forms as the 20th century unfolded. Conservative monarchists in Europe fought against the first wave of communist revolutions from 1917 to 1922. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment preservation or restoration of a Monarchy as a Form of government in a nation A communist revolution is a Proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace Capitalism with Communism, typically Fascism and Nazism were based on a violent brand of anti-communism, they incited fear of a communist revolution in order to gain political power, and they aimed to destroy communism in World War II. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nationalists fought against communists in numerous civil wars across the globe. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Liberalism shaped much of the anti-communist foreign policy of the Western powers, and dominated anti-communist intellectual thought in the second half of the 20th century. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal

Following the October Revolution in Russia, Marxist communism became largely associated with the Soviet Union in the public imagination (though there were many Marxists and communists who did not support the Soviet Union and its policies). The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 As a result, anti-communism and opposition to the Soviet Union became almost indistinguishable, especially in terms of foreign policy. Anti-communism was an important element in the foreign policy of the Axis powers during the 1930s and the United States and Canada during the Cold War. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

Contents 1 Conservative and traditionalist anti-communism 2 Fascist anti-communism 3 Roman Catholic Church anti-communism 4 Nationalist anti-communism 5 Objectivist anti-communism 6 Anarchist anti-communism 7 New Left and Eurocommunism 8 Anti-communism in the United States and Cold War 9 Repression and anti-communism 9.1 In Russia 9.2 In Finland 9.3 In the United States 9.4 In the rest of the world 10 Criticisms of anti-communism 11 Contemporary anti-communism 11.1 Objections to communist theory 11.2 Anticommunist historians 12 References 13 See also 14 External links

Conservative and traditionalist anti-communism

There has been great deal of conflict between communists on the hand, and conservatives and traditionalists on the foot. The majority of communist revolutions have occurred in relatively conservative countries, and most of the governments overthrown by communists had been conservative governments.

Since communists advocate social equality, they are theoretically opposed to monarchy, aristocracy, and other forms of hereditary privilege. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations In the late 19th and early 20th century, the young communist movement was at odds with the traditional monarchies that ruled over much of the European continent. At the time, monarchists were the most prominent anti-communists, and many European monarchies outlawed the public expression of communist views. Advocacy of communism was illegal in the Russian Empire, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, the three most powerful monarchies in continental Europe prior to World War I. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Monarchists viewed inequality in wealth and political power as resulting from the divine natural order, and they believed that kings and emperors had the right to take any steps necessary to prevent the spread of ideas that threatened this natural order.

However, World War I shattered the balance of power in Europe, and delivered a fatal blow to traditional monarchy. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Kings and emperors drew their legitimacy from their image as wise protectors of the people and stewards of the country. It was assumed that the king always knew best, and that the king's judgment was, if not infallible, at least better than the judgment of the common people. But the world war, which had been started by the kings of Europe, brought death and misery on a scale never seen before. The image of the king as a wise ruler was replaced by the image of the king as a detached fool who knew nothing of the suffering of his people. The old European monarchies were overthrown in a series of revolutions and military engagements. The most conservative European monarchy, the Russian Empire, was replaced by the communist-run Soviet Union. The Russian Revolution inspired a series of other communist revolutions across Europe in the years 1917-1922. Many of these, such as the German Revolution, were defeated by conservative monarchist military units.

The 1920s and 30s saw the fading of traditional conservatism. The mantle of conservative anti-communism was taken up by the rising fascist movements on the one hand, and by American-inspired liberal conservatives on the other. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Liberal conservatism is a variant of Conservatism which combines conservative and liberal values and positions Communism remained largely a European phenomenon, so anti-communism was also concentrated in Europe. American anti-communist sentiments, accordingly, followed their European counterparts. At that time, an American anti-communist such as Henry Ford, would also be an admirer of the works of Adolf Hitler. Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of When communist groups and political parties began appearing elsewhere in the world, such as in the Republic of China in the late 1920s, their opponents were usually colonial authorities and/or local nationalist movements. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism

Some of the reactionary anti-communist dictatorships that were established in Europe in the late 1930s, such as the government of Francisco Franco in Spain, are considered to fall somewhere on the border between traditional conservatism and fascism. Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return A dictatorship is usually defined as an autocratic Form of government in which the Government is ruled by a Dictator. Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

After World War II, communism became a global phenomenon, and anti-communism became an integral part of the domestic and foreign policies of the United States and its NATO allies. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The North Atlantic Treaty Conservatism in the post-war era abandoned its monarchist and aristocratic roots, focusing instead on the preservation of the free market (sometimes capitalism itself), private property, the interests of large corporations, organic inter-cooperation by different classes, and the defense of traditional customs, values, social norms and ways of life. A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business These conservatives saw communism as dangerous due to its intention to abolish private property and its desire to do away with cultural norms, such as traditional gender roles and - sometimes - sexual norms. A gender role is defined as a set of perceived behavioural norms associated particularly with Males or Females in a given social group or system

The United States never experienced traditional conservatism in the 20th century. Paleoconservatism (sometimes shortened to paleo or paleocon when the context is clear is a term for an anti-communist and Anti-authoritarian As a result, the ideology known as American conservatism does not share the monarchist history of its European counterpart. Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism Instead, it is based on individualism and a capitalist view of economic competition as beneficial for society, which is, quite unusually, coupled with strong religious sentiment and defense of the traditional family. American conservatism was always opposed to communism, but this opposition only became a cornerstone of American conservative thought in the 1940s and 50s. The United States made anti-communism the top priority of its foreign policy, and many American conservatives sought to combat what they saw as communist influence at home. This led to the adoption of a number of domestic policies that are collectively known under the term "McCarthyism". McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s

Throughout the Cold War, conservative governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America turned to the United States for political and economic support. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Some of these were authoritarian regimes, which - according to their critics - used the fear of communism as a means of legitimizing repression, the suspension of civil rights, and the abolition of democracy. Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Examples include South Korea under Syngman Rhee (see Jeju massacre), the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek (see 228 Incident), South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem, Indonesia under General Suharto, Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko, Paraguay under Alfredo Stroessner and Chile under Augusto Pinochet. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman ( March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. The Jeju Uprising ( Korean: 제주 4·3 민중항쟁 Hanja: 濟州 4·3 民衆抗爭 refers to the rebellion on Jeju island, South Korea, beginning REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Chiang Kai-shek ( POJ: Chiúⁿ Kài-se̍k Jyutping: zoeng2gaai3sek6 GCB ( October 31, 1887 &ndash The 228 Incident ( Pe{{unicode|̍}}h-ōe-jī: Jī-jī-pat sū-kiāⁿ also known as the 228 Massacre ( was an anti-government Anti-Chinese uprising "RVN" redirects here RVN is also the former callsign of a TV station in Wagga Wagga New South Wales Australia The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga ( October 14, 1930 September 7, 1997) known commonly as Mobutu, or Mobutu Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay ( Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái) is one of the only Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda, whose name is also spelled Strössner or Strößner (November 3 1912 Encarnación - August 16 2006 Brasília Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (November

During the 1980s, the conservative governments of Ronald Reagan in the United States,Margaret Thatcher in Britain, and Brian Mulroney in Canada followed a clearly anti-Soviet foreign policy that is credited by their supporters as a major factor in the fall of the Soviet Union and the democratization of Eastern Europe and other countries. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ (predominantly known as Brian Mulroney) (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, communism is no longer seen as a major force in world politics, and therefore most conservatives are far less concerned with anti-communism. Nevertheless, conservative anti-communism resurfaces anywhere that communist political groups make significant advances, such as in Nepal in recent years. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia.

Fascist anti-communism

See also: Anti-Comintern Pact

Fascism and "Soviet" Communism are political systems that arose to prominence after World War I. The Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan (later to be joined by other countries on November 25, 1936 Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Historians of the period between World War I and World War II such as E.H. Carr and Eric Hobsbawm point out that liberal democracy was under serious stress in this period and seemed to be a doomed philosophy. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The term "liberal" in "liberal democracy" does not imply that the government of such a democracy must follow the political ideology of The socialist movement worldwide split as the leaders of the social democratic parties supported the war, while supporters of the Russian Revolution of 1917 formed Communist Parties in most industrialized (and many non-industrialized) nations. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them A Political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of Communism through a communist form of

At the end of World War I and the Russian revolution, there were attempted socialist uprisings or threats of socialist uprisings throughout Europe. Most notably in Germany where the Spartacist uprising in January 1919 failed. The Spartacist uprising, also known as the January uprising, was a General strike (and the armed battles accompanying it in Germany from January 5 In Bavaria, Communists successfully overthrew the government and established the Bavarian Soviet Republic, that lasted for a few weeks in 1919. The Bavarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Munich Soviet Republic ( German: Bayerische Räterepublik or Münchner Räterepublik) was Similar short lived Soviet Republics emerged in other German states and a short lived Soviet government was also established in Hungary under Béla Kun in 1919. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Béla Kun ( February 20 1886 – August 29 1938) born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist Politician

The Russian Revolution also inspired attempted revolutionary movements in Italy with a wave of factory occupations, a strike wave in Britain, the Winnipeg General Strike, the Seattle General Strike and other radical events. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history The Seattle General Strike of February 6 to February 11, 1919, was a general work stoppage by over 65000 individuals in the U

Many historians view fascism as a reaction against to these developments -- a movement that both tried to appeal to the working class and divert them from Marxism and also appealed to capitalists as a bulwark against Bolshevism. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction Italian fascism founded and led by Benito Mussolini took power with the blessing of Italy's king after years of leftist unrest led many conservatives to fear that a communist revolution was inevitable. Throughout Europe, numerous aristocrats and conservative intellectuals as well as capitalists and industrialists lent their support to fascist movements in their countries that arose in emulation of Italian fascism. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Meanwhile in Germany, numerous right wing nationalist groups arose, particularly out of the post-war Freikorps, which were used to crush both the Spartacist uprising and the Munich Soviet. The designation of Freikorps ( German for "Free Corps " was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of 18th century

However, certain anti-communist authors have disputed the view of fascism as a reaction against socialist revolutionary movements and instead stressed what they believed to be essential similarities between state communism and fascism in both theory and practice. This is posited under the theory of totalitarianism. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private The noted Austrian School economist Friedrich Hayek, author of The Road to Serfdom, argued that various modern totalitarian movements, including fascism and Communism, have common philosophical roots both springing from the opposition to the liberalism of the 19th century. The Austrian School, also known as the “ Vienna School ” or the “ Psychological School ” is a heterodox school of economics that advocates An economist is an expert in the Social science of Economics. Friedrich August von Hayek CH ( May 8, 1899 March 23, 1992) was an Austrian British Economist The Road to Serfdom is a book written by Friedrich Hayek (recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974 which has significantly Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Those arguing from these positions see it as far more than a coincidence that Benito Mussolini himself claimed to be a Marxist and member of the Italian Socialist Party before World War I, while many philosophical founders of fascism, such as Sergio Panunzio and Giovanni Gentile, came from a Marxist or syndicalist background that they later repudiated in their writings. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Sergio Panunzio ( July 20, 1886 - October 8, 1944) was an Italian Theoretician of Revolutionary Syndicalism Giovanni Gentile (dʒoˈvɑnni dʒenˈtile May 30, 1875 April 15, 1944) was an Italian neo- Hegelian Idealist Syndicalism is a type of movement which aims to degrade capitalist societies through action by the Working class on the industrial front However, these authors concede that the ideologies are divided on the issue of what the foundation for the ideal society should be (communists focus on class struggle for a classless society free of all forms of exploitation and oppression, while fascists focus on national class solidarity through an often corporate state). Additionally, as late as 1938 Hitler said that marxism and National Socialism were practically the same thing. ^[1]

With the worldwide Great Depression of the 1930s, it seemed that liberalism and the liberal form of capitalism was doomed; communist and fascist movements swelled. These movements were bitterly opposed to each other and fought each other frequently. The most notable example of this conflict was the Spanish Civil War, which became in part a proxy war between the fascist countries and their international supporters who backed Francisco Franco and the worldwide Communist movement (allied uneasily with anarchists and Trotskyists) which backed the Republican government and were aided chiefly by the Soviet Union. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of A proxy war is the war that results when two powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

Initially, the Soviet Union supported the idea of a coalition with the western powers against Nazi Germany as well as popular fronts in various countries against domestic fascism. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers A popular front is a broad Coalition of different political groupings often made up of leftists and centrists who are united by opposition to another group This policy was largely unsuccessful due to the distrust shown by the western powers (especially Britain) towards the Soviet Union. The Munich Agreement between Germany, France and Britain heightened Soviet fears that the western powers were endeavoring to force them to bear the brunt of a war against Nazism. The Munich Agreement (Mnichovská dohoda Mníchovská dohoda Münchner Abkommen Accords de Munich was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland, which were areas along borders The Soviets changed their policy and negotiated a non-aggression pact with Germany, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. The Soviets later argued that this was necessary to buy them time to prepare for an expected war with Germany. However, some critics question this claim, pointing out that along with a non-aggression clause, the pact also laid out extensive economic cooperation between the Soviets and Germans, in the form of the German-Soviet Commercial Agreement, providing Nazi Germany some of the materials it needed to build its war machine. This detail is used by the aforementioned critics to argue that Stalin expected the war to be waged solely between Germany and the Western Allies, with the Soviet Union keeping its neutrality while its two greatest enemies fought each other.

Whatever the case, it is clear that Stalin did not expect the Germans to attack until 1942, so he was taken by surprise when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, with Operation Barbarossa. Operation Barbarossa ( Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the Codename for Nazi Germany 's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II Fascism and Communism reverted to their relationship as lethal enemies - with the war, in the eyes of both sides, becoming one between their respective ideologies.

Roman Catholic Church anti-communism

The Catholic Church has a history of anti-communism. The most recent Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

“The Catholic Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with 'communism' or 'socialism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or CCC, is an official exposition of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the twenty-two ' … Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the basis of social bonds … [Still,] reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to the common good, is to be commended. ”^[2]

Pope John Paul II was harsh critic of communism[1], and other popes shared this view as well, for example Pope Pius IX issued Papal encyclical called Quanta Cura in which he called "Communism and Socialism" the most fatal error^[3] During the Spanish Civil War, the Catholic church opposed the left-leaning Republican forces due to their ties to communism and atrocities against Catholicism in Spain, and in many churches and schools prayers were made for the victory of Franco and the Nationalists. Pope Blessed Pope Pius IX (May 13 1792 &ndash February 7 1878 born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16 1846 until 1878 History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church Quanta Cura was a Papal Encyclical issued by Pope Pius IX on December 8 1864, which condemned several propositions relating to The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid

Nationalist anti-communism

Nationalist anti-communism has usually arisen for two reasons: defense of traditional values or social structures as a part of the nationalists' program of enhancing national power and prestige, in competition with communist groups fighting in a war of national liberation (i. e. the Angolan Civil War, the Vietnam War, etc. The Angolan Civil War began in Angola after the end of the war for independence from Portugal in 1975 The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ) or in a war of aggression, as seen by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers

Objectivist anti-communism

One example of anti-communist philosophy is the Objectivist philosophy presented in the works of Ayn Rand. Objectivism is a Philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in the 20th century that encompasses positions on Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American Objectivism asserts that laissez-faire capitalism flows directly from human nature and rational self-interest. Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” Rational egoism is the thesis that the pursuit of one's own Self-interest is always rational. In Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, several protagonists are wealthy American industrialists while the antagonists, desiring to destroy individual achievement, are gradually building a culture and political system the novel presents as highly collectivist, approaching Communism. Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based The presumption of this ulterior Communist motive is reinforced by the frequent mention of other countries having become "People's States" after enacting similar measures, with disastrous economic results implied.

Anarchist anti-communism

This section deals with anarchist criticisms of various forms of communism. Many anarchists (including anarchist communists) describe themselves as communists - spelled with a lower case c - referring to their belief in a society without exploitation or property.

Some anarchists criticize Communism and all anarchists criticize authoritarian Communism. These anarchists traditionally agree with Communists that capitalism is a tool for oppression, that it is unjust and that it should be destroyed, one way or another. These anarchists, however, go on to say that all centralized or coercive power (as opposed to just wealth) is ultimately injurious to the individual. Therefore, the concepts of dictatorship of the proletariat, state ownership of the means of production, and other similar tendencies within Marxist thought are anathema to an anarchist, regardless of whether the state in question is democratic. The " dictatorship of the proletariat " or workers' state is a term employed by Marxists that refers to what they see as a temporary state between the However other anarchists such as have a more fundamental critique of communism, often from an individualist or even anarcho-capitalist point of view. Anarcho-capitalism (also known as Free-market anarchism) is an individualist anarchist Political philosophy that advocates the elimination There are, also, strong anti-anarchist tendencies among Marxists, who have been denounced variously as unscientific, romantic, or bourgeois. e. g. according to the International Communist League (Fourth Internationalist) in a pamphlet entitled Marxism versus Anarchism. [2]

The debates in the First International between Mikhail Bakunin and Karl Marx are well-known. Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin ( - July 1 1876) was a well-known Russian Revolutionary and theorist of Collectivist anarchism. ^[4] While Bakunin's own philosophy owed much to Marx's critique of capitalism, their views diverged sharply over questions of how a post-capitalistic society should be organized. Bakunin saw the Marxist State as simply another form of oppression:

The question arises, if the proletariat is ruling, over whom will it rule? This means there will remain another proletariat which will be subordinated to this new domination, this new state.

He loathed the idea of a vanguard party ruling the masses from above, quipping that "when the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick. A vanguard party is a Political party at the forefront of a mass action movement or revolution '"

Anarchists initially rejoiced over the 1917 revolution as an example of workers taking power for themselves, and indeed played a part in the revolution (see Russian anarchism). Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Russian anarchism is Anarchism in Russia or among Russians. Bakunin and the anarchists' exile See also Exile In 1848 It quickly became evident, however, that the Bolsheviks and the anarchists had very different ideas regarding the kind of society they wanted to build there. The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction Anarchist Emma Goldman, for example, deported from the USA to Russia in 1919, was initially enthusiastic about the revolution, but left sorely disappointed, and began to write her book My Disillusionment in Russia. Emma Goldman (June 27 1869 – May 14 1940 was an anarchist known for her political activism writing and speeches My Disillusionment in Russia is a book by Emma Goldman describing her experiences in Soviet Russia from 1920 to 1921 where she saw the aftermath of the Russian Perhaps the most prominent and respected Russian anarchist of the era, Peter Kropotkin, proffered trenchant criticism of the emergent Bolshevik bureaucracy in letters to Lenin (who on rare occasions visited his home). He noted in 1920: "[a party dictatorship] is positively harmful for the building of a new socialist system. What is needed is local construction by local forces" and "Russia has already become a Soviet Republic only in name" (referring to the dominance of Bolshevik party committees over the peasants' and workers' soviets).

Anarchists often cite the crushing of the Kronstadt Rebellion, in which the Red Army defeated an embryonic anarchist commune, as a specific example of the tyranny they perceived in the Bolshevik government. This article is about the historical event known as the Kronstadt rebellion The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The typhus epidemic, and subsequent crushing of Nestor Makhno's weakened anarcho-communist "Black Army" in the Ukraine was also a specifically controversial action of the early Bolsheviks. Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria Nestor Ivanovich Makhno (Нестор Іванович Махно October 26, 1888 – July 6, 1934) was an anarcho-communist Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe.

During the Spanish Civil War, a Stalinist Communist Party of Spain gained considerable influence due to the political manipulation of aid from the Soviet Union. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 The Communist Party of Spain ( Partido Comunista de España or PCE) is the third largest national Political party of Spain. Communists and liberals on the Republican side fought mainly against the Falange fascists, but also put some effort against the anarchist Spanish Revolution, ostensibly to bolster the anti-Fascist front (the anarchist response was, "The revolution and the war are inseparable"). This article is about the Spanish political party For the Lebanese Phalange see the Kataeb Party. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i The Spanish Revolution of 1936 began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The most dramatic action against the anarchists was in May 1937, when Communist-led police forces attempted to take over a telephone building run by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo in Barcelona. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( CNT; English Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia The telephone workers fought back, setting up barricades and surrounding the Communist "Lenin Barracks. " Five days of street fighting in the Barcelona May Days ensued. Barcelona May Days is a term covering the events between May 3 and May 8 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil The enmity between anarchists at communists reached a new high, and remained there.

Bitter feelings between some anarchists and some communists are apparent even today in revolutionary circles. Much conflict and arguing occurs as it did in the 19th century between Marx and Bakunin. However, in recent times, anarchists and Marxist Communists often join in protest (at least for pragmatic purposes) on certain issues, such as the recent 2003 invasion of Iraq and the anti globalisation movement. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia

New Left and Eurocommunism

See also: Anti-Stalinist left

Many left-wing socialist parties tend to distance themselves from the more authoritarian Stalinism and Maoism. The New Left were the Left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that unlike the earlier leftist focus on union activism instead adopted a Eurocommunism was a new trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that The term anti- Stalinist left refers to elements of the political left which have been critical of the policies of Joseph Stalin and of the Political Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Despite his Radical Socialist views, George Orwell was also highly critical of what he perceived as the authoritarianism of Soviet regime. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union

There are also various revolutionary socialists, including some who still self-identify as communists (ex. Trotskyism, Titoism), who are highly critical of what is conventionally known as communism in the west (more precisely Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Stalinism).

Anti-communism in the United States and Cold War

The first major manifestation of anti-communism in the United States occurred 1919–1920 in the First Red Scare led by Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer. In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917–1920 and was marked by a widespread fear of Anarchism, as well as the effects of radical Alexander Mitchell Palmer (May 4 1872 - May 11 1936 was the Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921

Following World War II and the rise of the Soviet Union, many of the objections to Communism took on an added urgency because of the stated Communist view that their ideology was universal. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The fear of many anti-Communists within the United States was that Communism would triumph throughout the entire world and eventually be a direct threat to the government of the United States. This view led to the domino theory in which a communist takeover in any nation could not be tolerated because it would lead to a chain reaction which would result in a triumph of world communism. The domino theory was a Foreign policy theory promoted by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence There were fears that powerful nations like the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China were using their power to forcibly assimilate other countries into communist rule. The Soviet Union's expansion into Central Europe after World War II was seen as evidence of this. These actions prompted many politicians to adopt a kind of pragmatic anti-Communism, opposing the ideology as a way of limiting the expansion of the Soviet Empire. The US policy of halting further communist expansion came to be known as containment.

The United States government usually argued its anti-communism by citing the human rights record of Communist states, most notably the Soviet Union during the Stalin era, Maoist China, the short-lived Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia led by Pol Pot, and North Korea, because those states ended up killing of millions of their own people and continued to suppress civil liberties of the surviving population. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader The Khmer Rouge (ខ្មែរក្រហម Kmae Krɑhɑɑm was the Communist ruling political party of Cambodia &mdashwhich it renamed The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Saloth Sar ( May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998) also known as Pol Pot, was leader of the Communist movement known as North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia,

Anti-communism became significantly muted after the fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe between 1989 and 1991, and the fear of a worldwide Communist takeover is no longer a serious concern. During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were Remnants of anti-communism remain, however, in United States foreign policy toward Cuba, mainland China, and North Korea. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, In the case of Cuba, the United States continues to maintain economic sanctions against the island in a policy which is sharply criticized outside of the United States, but which has substantial support in the US, particularly from the Cuban-American constituency, including many of the Cuban exiles living in Florida who oppose any such normalization with the Cuban government. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la The United States Embargo Against Cuba (described in Cuba as el bloqueo, Spanish for "the Blockade " is an economic commercial and A Cuban American ( Cubanoamericano) is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Much of the right wing of American politics also opposes trade normalization with Cuba while the Communist Party of Cuba retains its influence. The Communist Party of Cuba ( Spanish: Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC is currently the governing political party in Cuba.

Due to expanding American trade interests with the People's Republic of China, much of the United States foreign policy establishment does not regard "Communist China" as communist in any meaningful sense. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Nevertheless, there is some hostility toward the People's Republic of China, particularly among conservative Congressional Republicans which can be regarded as remnants of anti-communism. For example, national security issues were raised during Chinese state-owned CNOOC Ltd. 's takeover bid for Unocal, an American energy firm. Union Oil Company of California dba Unocal is a defunct company that was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century through the 20th century and into the early North Korea remains staunchly Stalinist and economically isolationist, and tensions between the country and the US have heightened as the result of reports that it is stockpiling nuclear weapons and the assertion that it is generally willing to sell its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology to any group willing to pay a high enough price. Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 Isolationism is a Foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of Economic nationalism ( Protectionism A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. A ballistic missile is a Missile that follows a Sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead to a predetermined target

Repression and anti-communism

In Russia

See also: Russian Civil War

After the October Revolution in Russia, allied intervention troops tried to crush the revolution. The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during the Russian Civil War and World War I In the summer of 1919, some 13,000 American soldiers, 44,000 British, 13,000 French, 3,000 Italians and 80,000 Japanese were fighting against the Red Army. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya In addition, these countries provided significant financial and material help to the White Movement (e. The White movement (Beloie Dvijenie Белое движение whose military arm is known as the White Army (Belaia Armia Белая Армия or White Guard g. , United States provided US$500,000, 400,000 rifles, etc. A rifle is a Firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling" cut into the barrel walls ).

In Finland

See also: Lapua Movement

In the United States

There was also some political repression in the name of anti-communism in the United States, most notably in the Red Scare of the 1920s and the McCarthyist era after World War II. Lapua Movement (Lapuan liike sometimes referred to as " Lapua Fascism " named after the then Municipality and modern days town of Lapua Political repression is the Persecution of an individual or group for political reasons particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take part The United States of America —commonly referred to as the McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s

In the rest of the world

Communist political parties and organizations were actively opposed by conservative governments in Eastern Europe after the failed communist revolutions around 1920, in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe, in Japan during World War II, in the Republic of China by the Kuomintang in the 1920s and 1930s, in post-war Taiwan and South Korea, in Latin America by various right-wing military regimes (Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Dirty War in Argentina, civil war in El Salvador, etc. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (November Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the This article refers to the Argentine Dirty War for the British film of the same name see Dirty War (film. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. The Salvadoran Civil War (1980–1992 was between the Right-wing Military government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation ), and in many other places and instances.

Communists and communist sympathizers often emphasize the persecution of their political movement by "reactionary" forces, which has been downplayed by capitalist governments. Anti-communists respond to this by pointing out that communist governments have often used similar methods to deal with their political enemies, including fellow communists. Regarding this issue, the opinions of communists are divided: some of them support the actions of those communist governments on the grounds that they were necessary in order to deal with dangerous terrorists and criminals, while other communists agree that such actions cannot be justified and put in question the self-proclaimed communist nature of the governments willing to carry them out.

Criticisms of anti-communism

Opponents of anti-communism challenge the veracity of anti-communist ideology. A common rebuttal of anti-communism is that the Soviet Union degenerated into a bureaucratic thermidorian state, under the control of an elite caste in no way connected to the needs or aspirations of the working class. Thermidor was the eleventh Month in the French Republican Calendar. This is a view first put forward by left communists in the twenties and Trotskyists since the 1930s. Left communism is the range of communist viewpoints held by the Communist Left, which opposes the political ideas of the Bolsheviks Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky.

Anti-communists respond to these claims by saying that they believe communist states are totalitarian by nature, and that in Marxist theory too much power is given to the state, although Marxist theory wants the state to cease existing. They claim that several "communist" governments have existed, yet none have been considered democracies; elections held by communist governments have typically been limited to a single party. Anti-communists also question if a classless communist society can truly be achieved.

Some anti-communists, particularly those with Libertarian leanings, extend their criticisms well beyond Soviet-style communism, associating it with any state-run activity beyond the most minimal. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the People who support a mixed economy where some services are supplied by government-run institutions, such as what takes place in social-democrat countries, resent the association between socialism and communism. A mixed economy is an Economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left

Certain writers and historians object to anti-communists' comparisons of communism to fascism (under the blanket term "totalitarianism", which they believe to be incorrect). Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private They cite historical evidence, such as the fact that the Soviet Union fought against Adolf Hitler during World War II and say that fascism was the enemy of communism (a view that was shared by Hitler himself, who was one of the most virulent anti-communists of the time), while many anti-communists in occupied Europe took the side of the National Socialists in Nazi Germany. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Others, however, placed anti-fascism or national independence above their dislike of communism.

Yet another objection to anti-communism, which became more widely advanced in the 1970s, was that in pursuit of anti-communism, the United States was conducting a foreign policy in which it supported people and governments that sometimes egregiously violated human rights, which it saw as lesser evils than communism. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American Magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled In order to justify these actions, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick stated the Kirkpatrick doctrine, which argued there was a difference between totalitarian regimes and authoritarian regimes. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick ( November 19, 1926  &ndash December 7, 2006) was an American ambassador and an ardent The Kirkpatrick Doctrine was a political Doctrine expounded by United States of America Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union

Many staunchly anti-communist regimes have been dictatorial and guilty of egregious human rights abuses, oppression, and sometimes genocide. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group These may include Nazi Germany, secular Middle Eastern dictatorships in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and the Sudan, right-wing military juntas in Latin America such as those in Chile, Panama and Brazil, the apartheid regime in South Africa, the anti-communist regime in Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko, and anti-communist regimes in the Far East as Suharto's Indonesia and Chiang Kai-Shek's Republic of China. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga ( October 14, 1930 September 7, 1997) known commonly as Mobutu, or Mobutu Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Chiang Kai-shek ( POJ: Chiúⁿ Kài-se̍k Jyutping: zoeng2gaai3sek6 GCB ( October 31, 1887 &ndash REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Citing governments like these as evidence, communists claim that much western Cold War policy was driven by simple anti-communism and a disregard for problems in nations ruled by anti-communist but undemocratic governments.

Various Western countries are also often accused of racism, oppression and violence, denial of political or labor rights, support for governments which presided over mass killings, torture and detention of political opponents, or engagement with regimes (usually on the basis of their shared anti-communism) which practised genocide or racial segregation, making them no better than the communist governments they were standing in opposition to. In Italy, the use of the strategy of tension in the 1970s has been widely criticized. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda

Nevertheless, anti-communists generally believe such claims to be of an "and you are lynching negroes" variety. They believe that while capitalist governments may have some faults, Communist ones are worse. Many also state that they disapprove of some actions undertaken by anti-Communist leaders, though the defeat of communism and Soviet influence during the Cold War was a top priority. Some also believe that it is easier for countries previously ruled by an authoritarian, anti-Communist government to transition into a democracy, while it is more difficult for a totalitarian Communist nation to do so.

The communists take the other side in claiming which government is more flawed, stating that while communist governments may have had some faults, capitalist ones are worse. Communists cite democratic and popular support for a variety of Marxist-oriented governments (or at least "anti-anti-Communist" governments) that existed during the Cold War era, such as Allende's Chile. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Communists condemn support for oppressive regimes for the sole purpose of eliminating communist influence, and claim that this sort of action is worse than any differences that communist nations may have had with capitalist countries. In addition, communists assert that a transition from an authoritarian, anti-communist state to a democratic one could only occur with military intervention, civil war, or the death of a leader, as evidenced by the nations in the Axis during World War II, or the death of Francisco Franco in Spain. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

Communists also point out that in all former socialist countries, conditions were better before its collapse. An example used in this argument is Russia, which has faced a brutal transition to capitalism, maintaining a massive state-run infrastructure and has a 25% poverty rate, and Belarus, under the central, socialist-style planning of Lukashenko, suffered less economic damage. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (Аляксандр Рыгоравіч Лукашэнка Aljaksandar Ryhoravič Lukašenka/Alyaksandar Ryhoravich Lukashenka; Александр However, formerly Soviet states of the Baltic region, having deregulated their industries and adopted free-market principles, have enjoyed powerful and successful economies.

Ironically, many anti-communists were more focused on the perceived challenges of communism than on the internal problems in certain communist states, and few anti-communists were able to predict the fall of the Soviet Union even as late as the mid-1980s.

Contemporary anti-communism

Objections to communist theory

The central part of Karl Marx's communist theory is historical materialism, a methodology for studying history using dialectical reasoning which concludes that human society has grown or evolved through several historical stages due to the contradictions inherent in each stage, with each transition to the next stage involving the overthrow of the existing socioeconomic order. Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society economics and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx ( 1818 - 1883 This idea was first theorized by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, but Marx used it to formulate his beliefs. Using this method, Marxists conclude that capitalism will be followed by socialism, just as feudalism was followed by capitalism. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed Marxists then conclude that socialism would be followed by communism, which Marx claimed would not be able to be improved upon as it has no contradictions of its own.

Most anti-communists reject the entire concept of historical materialism, or at least do not believe that socialism and communism must follow after capitalism. Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society economics and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx ( 1818 - 1883 Some anti-communists question the validity of Marx's claim that the state will just wither away into a true communist society.

Many critics also see a key error in communist economic theory, which predicts that in capitalist societies, the bourgeoisie will accumulate ever-increasing capital and wealth, while the lower classes become more dependent on the ruling class for survival, selling their labor power for the most minimal of salaries. Labour power (in German Arbeitskraft, or labour force is a crucial concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of capitalist Political economy Anti-communists, claiming that this argument is equivalent to the statement that "the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer", point to the overall rise in the average standard of living in the industrialized West as proof that contrary to Marx's prediction as, they assert, both the rich and poor have steadily gotten richer. There is still, however, communist attack of this objection. This is rooted in Lenin's "Imperialism - the Highest Stage of Capitalism", argued to be the conclusive chapter of the founding series of communist works set out by Marx. His predictions correlated with Marx's in that the poorer would get poorer and the richer would get richer as capitalism would live on, however he predicted, in accordance with the early 20th century rise of imperialism, that the class struggle would move to an international basis. Many members of the modern Left assert that trends like this have indeed been seen in recent years, for example as Western economies develop and those of third world countries continue to decline as their citizens are continually exploited.

Another reply to this criticism is that the nations who most endorse capitalism today, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, had a long history of bountiful natural resources, strategic geography, military victory, and technology long before many capitalist intricacies, giving them these benefits today. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Similarly, they claim nations such as Russia, Vietnam, and Cuba had long histories of military defeats, brutal environments, strict dictatorships, and underdeveloped economies throughout their histories, making living conditions harsher even after socialist revolutions. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Anti-capitalists, on the other hand, often argue that capitalism is now a global economical system, therefore affecting the whole world. Thus, it is necessary to see economic trends without national boundaries. They state for example that much of the commodities sold in the United States are produced or enhanced in one way or another, in a poorer country. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the And on an international scale, the division between the rich and poor has generally increased.

Communists also argue that the industrialized West profits immensely from the exploitation of the Third World through globalization, that the gap between rich and poor capitalist countries (sometimes called the North-South Gap) has widened greatly over the past hundred years, and that poor capitalist countries vastly outnumber the rich ones. The term " exploitation " may carry two distinct meanings The act of utilizing something for any purpose Third World is a name given to nations that are generally considered to be underdeveloped economically Globalization (or globalisation) in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones The standard anti-communist reply to the latter argument is to point out the examples of former Third World countries that have successfully escaped out of poverty in the recent decades under the capitalist system, most notably the Asian Tigers, India and even nominally Communist China itself. The term Four Asian Tigers or East Asian Tigers refers to the Economies of South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Anti-communists also cite numerous examples of Third World Communist regimes that failed to achieve development and economic growth and in many cases led their peoples into an even worse misery, for example the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia or the North Korean totalitarian government. Mengistu Haile Mariam (መንግስቱ ኃይለ ማርያም məngɨstu hi lə maryam (born 1937 a repression campaign against the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Supporters of Mengistu or Kim typically attribute the shortcomings in their societies to "imperialist" Western meddling. Other communists, such as the Trotskyists, while agreeing that imperialism harmed these countries, also say that Ethiopia and North Korea were never communist--they were Stalinist, meaning that they were ruled by a clique of bureaucrats who claimed to be acting in the popular interest but actually betrayed it, being more oppressive to its working class. Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953

Many refer to both communism and fascism as totalitarianism, seeing similarity between the actions of communist and fascist governments. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology It should also be noted that many modern left-attributed communists, particularly anarcho-communists, use these similarities, and actual sayings from Marx himself, to argue that those self-proclaimed communist regimes were not actually following any sort of communism at all. One such quote by Marx to support this simply says, "Democracy is the road to socialism. "

Anti-communists also object to the actual practices of communist governments in contrast to the stated promises of communism, questioning whether or not they are truly able to be called "communist". For example, the view of "human nature" usually expounded by anti-communist Objectivists is that while an egalitarian society could be looked at as ideal, it is virtually impossible to achieve. Objectivism is a Philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in the 20th century that encompasses positions on Metaphysics, Epistemology, They state that it is human nature to be motivated by personal incentive, and point out that while several communist leaders have claimed to be working for the common good, many or all of them have been corrupt and totalitarian. Communists retaliate that "human nature" essentially doesn't exist, since human beings are extremely adaptable with inbred logic and have shown themselves to be able to live in a wide variety of social organizations, some similar to communism, throughout history.

Anticommunist historians

One of the most influential anti-communist historians was Robert Conquest, a former Stalinist and British Intelligence officer. Dr George Robert Ackworth Conquest (born July 15 1917) British Historian, became a well known writer and researcher on the Soviet Union Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 He argued in his works that Communism was responsible for tens of millions of deaths during the 20th century.

Communist parties (sometimes combined with left socialist parties as workers' parties) which have come to power have likewise tended to be rigidly intolerant of political opposition. Most Communist countries have shown no signs of advancing from Marx's "socialist" stage of economy to an ideal "communist" stage. Rather, Communist governments have been accused of creating a new ruling class (called by Russians the Nomenklatura), with powers and privileges far greater than those previously enjoyed by the upper classes in the pre-revolutionary regimes. The nomenklatura were a small elite subset of the general population in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions

It should be noted, however, that many communists have been virulent critics of the policies carried out by Stalin's Soviet Union and other nations who followed the same model. They refer to these nations as Stalinist rather than communist, and sometimes call them deformed workers states. Stalinism is the political regime named after Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953 In Trotskyist political theory deformed workers' states are states where the Bourgeoisie has been overthrown through Social revolution, the industrial The anti-communists reply that the repression in the early years of the Bolshevik regime, while not as extreme as that during Stalin's reign, was still severe by any reasonable standards, citing the examples such as Felix Dzerzhinsky's secret police, which eliminated numerous political opponents by extrajudicial executions, and the brutal crushing of the Kronstadt rebellion and Tambov rebellion. The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( Polish: Feliks Edmundowicz Dzierżyński, Russian: Феликс Эдмундович Дзержинский Belarusian This article is about the historical event known as the Kronstadt rebellion The Tambov Rebellion of 1919&ndash1921 was one of the largest and best organized peasant rebellions against the Bolshevik regime during the Russian Civil War According to them, Trotsky could hardly claim any moral high ground, having been one of the top-ranking Bolshevik leaders during these events. Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij Trotsky was later to claim (unconvincingly) that the Kronstadt rebels were early harbingers of the bureaucratisation which he associated with Stalinism.

Anti-communists will likewise argue that the contemporary communist/Marxist claim that any communist regime that perpetuated human rights abuses was not a "true" communist state is merely a convenient excuse that can be evoked to avoid taking responsibility.

References

See also

This entry is related to, but not included in the Political ideologies series or one of its sub-series. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics Other related articles can be found at the Politics Portal.

• American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia
• Anti-fascism
• Anti-Stalinist left
• Capitalism
• Category:Anti-communists
• Category:Soviet dissidents
• Cold War
• Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia
• Criticisms of communism
• Criticisms of Communist party rule
• Evil empire
• House Unamerican Activities Committee
• Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism
• National Alliance of Russian Solidarists
• National Committee for a Free Europe
• Nationalist Movement
• Operation Condor
• Operation Gladio
• Radio Free Europe
• Second Red Scare
• Reagan Doctrine
• Stay-behind
• Strategy of tension
• Truman Doctrine
• Western propaganda
• World Anti-Communist League
• Iron Man#Origins (anti-Communist comic book superhero)

External links

• Anti-Communist Action
• The Chilean Anti-Communist League
• Industrial Workers of the World: The IWW Shattered – an excerpt from Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States
• Hirata Tetsuo and John W. Dower, "Japan's Red Purge: Lessons from a Saga of Suppression of Free Speech and Thought"

The American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was an American anti-communist organization founded in the late 1940s which worked for the liberation of Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies organizations governments and people The term anti- Stalinist left refers to elements of the political left which have been critical of the policies of Joseph Stalin and of the Political Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (in Russian: Комитет Освобождения Народов России Criticisms of Communism can be divided in two broad categories Those concerning themselves with the practical aspects of 20th century Communist state and those concerning This article only discusses criticisms that are specific to Communist states and not necessarily to other forms of socialism The phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union by US President Ronald Reagan and American conservatives, who took an aggressive The House Committee on Un-American Activities ( HUAC or HCUA 1938–1975 was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14 1908 – May 2 1957 was an American politician who served as a Republican U McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s The National Alliance of Russian Solidarists (Национально Трудовой Союз or Народно-Трудовой Союз российских солидаристов The National Committee for a Free Europe was an American Anti-communist organization founded on March 17 1949 in New York, which For nationalist movements in general see Nationalism. The Nationalist Movement is a Mississippi -based White supremacist For other uses of Operation Condor please see Operation Condor (disambiguation Operation Condor (Operación Cóndor Operação Condor was a campaign Gladio ( Italian, from Latin Gladius, meaning Sword) is a code name denoting the clandestine NATO " Stay-behind This article is about the radio broadcast service For the REM McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the In a stay-behind operation a country places secret operatives or organisations in its own territory for use in the event that the territory is overrun by an enemy A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda The Truman Doctrine was a proclamation by US President Harry S The propaganda model is a Theory advanced by Edward S Herman and Noam Chomsky that alleges systemic Biases in the Mass media and seeks The World League for Freedom and Democracy (formerly the World Anti-Communist League) is an international Right-wing political organization founded in 1966 in Iron Man is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Howard Zinn (born August 24 1922 is an American Historian, political scientist, social critic, activist and Playwright, best known A People's History of the United States is a 1980 Nonfiction book by American Historian and Political scientist Howard Zinn

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