Democracy vs. Communism: Understanding The Historical Ideological Battle

The cold war is imprinted with an ideological face between two political systems: democracy and communism. However, the arguments did not commence during the cold war. There have been comparisons between both political systems among scholars and politicians for many decades. It goes without saying that both political systems still have an impact on the world today, and we will be taking a look at some of the key differences between both systems.

To define, communism stands for the socio-economic framework set to establish an egalitarian, classless, and stateless society. Democracy, opposingly, is a political system where governance is carried out by the people either directly or through their elected representatives through an electoral voting system.

One of the key differences between both systems is the economic ideas behind them. While democracy allows for a capitalist economy such that individuals can hold private property, the main priority of communism is to eliminate the concept of class and individual property. In communism, the government possesses complete control over the forces of distribution and production of goods.

Another key difference between both ideological blocs has to do with their policies on religion. It is quite common for a communist political system to abolish every form of religion. One of the foremost communists, Lenin, refers to religion as a “drug or booze.” Cardinal to democracy, on the other hand, is the concept of freedom of religion which is usually embedded in democratic laws

It is important to note that there are converging points in both ideologies, such as their stance on discrimination, which they both prohibit in most cases.