During the times of the industrial revolution, the idea of communism was very popular. There have been countries that have tried this form of government. The results of these countries" experiences with communism was unsuccessful. An example of a country that tried communism was Russia. When the country became communists, Russia began to crumble. The people didn't work and they were a drain on the society and on the economy. .
The definition of communism is a concept or system of society in which the community owns the major resources and means of production rather than the individuals (Beck p. 649). It is believed that societies would provide for equal sharing of all work and everyone benefits. Some believed that communist societies would be unnecessary and therefore that such a society would be without rulers (Beck p. 650). Until the ultimate stages are reached, however, communism involves the removal of private property by a revolutionary movement.
Communism originated from ancient sources, including Plato's Republic and the earliest Christian communes (Galbraith p. 2). In the early 19th century, the idea of a communist society was a response of the poor and the dislocated to the beginnings of modern capitalism. At that time communism was the basis for a number of utopian settlements; most communistic experiments, however, eventually failed. Most of these small-scale private experiments involved voluntary cooperation with everyone participating in the governing process. .
In comparison, the United States is based on capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which private individuals and business firms carry on the production and exchange of goods and services through a complex network of prices and markets (Galbraith p.1). Capitalism is primarily European in its roots and has evolved through a number of stages, reaching its peak in the 19th century (Hooker p.
