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"Communist state" is a Western term^[1] for a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party system by a party which claims to follow communism, usually with a professed allegiance to Marxism-Leninism as the guiding ideology of the state. None of these states achieved communism, and the term is used no matter to what degree that state or the movement associated with it actually follows communism, if at all.^[1] The label is the source of controversy, especially among the left; according to many communist and Marxist tendencies, the system in use in the Soviet Union and the states modeled after it (i.e., "communist states") - which claimed to have reached socialism, not communism - was not socialism but rather state capitalism.^[2] The term "Communist state" is an oxymoron (a contradiction on itself) as a communist society is stateless.^[3] Usually, the term Marxist-Leninist state is more appropriate.

In the theories of German philosopher Karl Marx, a state in any society is an instrument of oppression by one social class over another, historically a minority exploiter class ruling over a majority exploited class. Marx saw that in his contemporary time, the new nation states were characterized by increasingly intensified class contradiction between the capitalist class and the working class it ruled over. He predicted that if the class contradictions of the capitalist system continue to intensify, that the working class will ultimately become conscious of itself as an exploited collective and will overthrow the capitalists and establish collective ownership over the means of production, therein arriving at a new phase of development called Socialism. The state ruled by the working class during the transition into classless society is called the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Russian theoretician Vladimir Lenin further expounded upon this concept with the understanding of the revolutionary vanguard. Lenin saw that science is something that is initially practicable by only a minority of society who happen to be in a position free from distraction so that they may contemplate it, and believed that scientific socialism was no exception. He therefore advocated that the Communist party should be structured as a vanguard of those who have achieved full class consciousness to be at the forefront of the class struggle and lead the workers to expand class consciousness and replace the capitalist class as the ruling class, therein establishing the Communist state.

In a Communist state, the Communist party is the nucleus of society. Other parties may function alongside the Communist party occasionally, but parties advocating the restoration of capitalism are typically prohibited. Using Marxism-Leninism as a method of understanding the material and social conditions of society, the Communist party governs according to what the society's historical and national characteristics demand in order to unleash the productive forces and further advance towards communism. This has been done through a variety of methods in conforming to local circumstances. For example, in Russia and the Soviet Union in the 1920s, a regulated market economy was initially implemented due to the country's lack of infrastructural development and to overcome the devastation of civil war. But into the 1930s, the economy of the Soviet Union was characterized by assessment planning, heavy industrialization, and a centralized bureaucracy headquartered in Moscow. Similarly, the People's Republic of China operated almost entirely along plans of development until the 1980s when it opened its economy to foreign investment, allowing for market development alongside planned development. Reliance on markets and planning have varied in different Communist states, but most such states are characterized by state monopoly over land ownership, full union representation in the workforce, and social security systems to provide for those unable to work.

During the 20th century, the world's first constitutionally socialist state was in Russia in 1917. In 1922, it joined other former territories of the empire to become the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After the Second World War, the Soviet Army occupied much of Eastern Europe and thus helped establish Communist states in these countries. Most Communist states in Eastern Europe were allied with the USSR, except for Yugoslavia which declared itself non-aligned. In 1949, after a war against Japanese occupation and a civil war resulting in a Communist victory, the People's Republic of China was established. Communist states were also established in Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. A Communist state was established in North Korea, although it later withdrew from the Communist movement. In 1989, the Communist states in Eastern Europe collapsed under public pressure during a wave of non-violent movements which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today, the existing Communist states in the world are in China, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba.

Types of socialist states

While historically almost all claim lineage to Marxist thought, there are many varieties of socialist states, with indigenous adaptions.

These Socialist states often do not claim to have achieved socialism or communism in their countries; rather, they claim to be building and working toward the establishment of socialism in their countries. For example, the preamble to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's constitution states that Vietnam only entered a transition stage between capitalism and socialism after the country was re-unified under the Communist party in 1976,^[4] and the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba states that the role of the Communist Party is to "guide the common effort toward the goals and construction of socialism".^[5]

Alternative names that states adhering to an officially communist ideology may assign themselves is socialist state, socialist republic or "people's republic". This is because these nations have not yet transcended capitalism or state capitalism and progressed toward pure communism in the Marxist sense, which can only be achieved once capitalism exhausts itself.

State institutions

Marxist-Leninist states share similar institutions, which are organized on the premise that the communist party is a vanguard of the proletariat and represents the long-term interests of the people. The doctrine of democratic centralism, which was developed by Vladimir Lenin as a set of principles to be used in the internal affairs of the communist party, is extended to society at large.^[6]

According to democratic centralism, all leaders must be elected by the people and all proposals must be debated openly, but, once a decision has been reached, all people have a duty to obey that decision and all debate should end. When used within a political party, democratic centralism is meant to prevent factionalism and splits. When applied to an entire state, democratic centralism creates a one-party system.^[6]

The constitutions of most socialist states describe their political system as a form of democracy.^[7] Thus, they recognize the sovereignty of the people as embodied in a series of representative parliamentary institutions. Such states do not have a separation of powers; instead, they have one national legislative body (such as the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union) which is considered the highest organ of state power and which is legally superior to the executive and judicial branches of government.^[8]

Such national legislative politics in socialist states often have a similar structure to the parliaments that exist in liberal republics, with two significant differences: first, the deputies elected to these national legislative bodies are not expected to represent the interests of any particular constituency, but the long-term interests of the people as a whole; second, against Marx's advice, the legislative bodies of socialist states are not in permanent session. Rather, they convene once or several times per year in sessions which usually last only a few days.^[9]

When the national legislative body is not in session, its powers are transferred to a smaller council (often called a presidium) which combines legislative and executive power, and, in some socialist states (such as the Soviet Union before 1990), acts as a collective head of state. In some systems, the presidium is composed of important communist party members who vote the resolutions of the communist party into law.

State social institutions

Another feature of socialist states is the existence of numerous state-sponsored social organizations (trade unions, youth organizations, women's organizations, associations of teachers, writers, journalists and other professionals, consumer cooperatives, sports clubs, etc.) which are integrated into the political system.

In some socialist states,^[which?] representatives of these organizations are guaranteed a certain number of seats on the national legislative bodies. In socialist states, the social organizations are expected to promote social unity and cohesion, to serve as a link between the government and society, and to provide a forum for recruitment of new communist party members.^[10]

Political power

Historically, the political organization of many socialist states has been dominated by a single-party monopoly. Some communist governments, such as North Korea, East Germany or the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic have or had more than one political party, but all minor parties are or were required to follow the leadership of the communist party. In socialist states, the government may not tolerate criticism of policies that have already been implemented in the past or are being implemented in the present.^[11]

Nevertheless, communist parties have won elections and governed in the context of multi-party democracies, without seeking to establish a one-party state. Examples include San Marino, Republic of Nicaragua,^[12] Moldova, Nepal (presently), Cyprus,^[13] and the Indian states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.^[14] However, for the purposes of this article, these entities do not fall under the definition of socialist state.

Criticism

From the liberal or conservative viewpoint

Marxist-Leninist states have been criticized for their one-party dictatorships, and what according to its critics is totalitarian control of the economy and society and repression of civil liberties by the Council of Europe,^[15] economic focus on heavy industry at the expense of consumer goods, sometimes resulting in shortages of vital products or even famine,^[16] and militarism and propaganda to cover up the mistakes of the government .^[17]

From the communist and socialist viewpoints

Within the socialist and communist movements themselves, there are a number of criticisms of self-declared "socialist states". Many communist tendencies argue that their economic system actually was state capitalism.^[18]

Modern period

List of current socialist states

The following countries are one-party states in which the institutions of the ruling communist party and the state have become intertwined; hence they fall under the definition of Socialist states that officially support communism. They are generally adherents of Marxism-Leninism in particular and as such represent a particular ideology that many communists may not share. They are listed here together with the year of their founding and their respective ruling parties:^[19]

Country	Since	Party	Leader(s)
People's Republic of China	1 October 1949	Communist Party of China	Xi–Li Administration: Xi Jinping Li Keqiang
Republic of Cuba	1 July 1961	Communist Party of Cuba	Raúl Castro
Lao People's Democratic Republic	2 December 1975	Lao People's Revolutionary Party	Choummaly Sayasone
Socialist Republic of Vietnam	2 September 1945 (in the north) 2 July 1976 (unified)	Communist Party of Vietnam	Tetrarchy: Nguyễn Phú Trọng Trương Tấn Sang Nguyễn Tấn Dũng Nguyễn Sinh Hùng

Disputed or mixed governments

North Korea (since 1948); Many people, especially in the west, would describe the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a Socialist state^{[citation needed]}. The DPRK asserts that its system is socialist. The government's official ideology, on the other hand, is now the Juche policy of Kim Il-sung, as opposed to traditional Marxism–Leninism. In 2009, the constitution of the DPRK was quietly amended so that not only did it disavow all Marxist-Leninist references present in the first draft, but it also dropped all reference to 'Communism'.^[20] Similar to officially Marxist-Leninist states, the Workers' Party governs the country as a single-party state.

Multi-party states with current governing communist parties in power

These are multi-party states that currently have communist parties leading the government. Such states are not considered to be communist states as the countries themselves allow for multiple parties, and do not provide a constitutional role for their communist parties.

Currently none [The last state was Nepal (2008 - 2013); Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); Formerly the ruling Communist parties participated in a multi-party coalition government, an alliance of 22 parties that held 350 seats in the 601-member constituent assembly.]

Communist parties as part of a ruling coalition

There are also some parties that participate as junior partners in ruling coalitions, as listed below.

Bangladesh, the Workers Party of Bangladesh participates in the ruling coalition
Belarus, the Communist Party of Belarus participates in the ruling coalition
Brazil, the Communist Party of Brazil participates in the ruling coalition
Mali, the Malian Party of Labour participates in the ruling coalition
Nepal, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) participates in the Nepali Congress-led government.
Peru, the Peruvian Communist Party participates in the ruling coalition
South Africa, the South African Communist Party participates in the ruling coalition
Sri Lanka, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, participates in the ruling coalition
Syria, the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) and the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) participate in the ruling coalition
Uruguay, the Communist Party of Uruguay participates in the ruling coalition
Venezuela, the Communist Party of Venezuela participates in the ruling coalition

References

^ ^a ^b Steele, David (1992). From Marx to Mises: Post-Capitalist Society and the Challenge of Economic Calculation. Open Court Publishing Company. p. 45. ISBN 978-0875484495. Among Western journalists the term 'Communist' came to refer exclusively to regimes and movements associated with the Communist International and its offspring: regimes which insisted that they were not communist but socialist, and movements which were barely communist in any sense at all
^ "State capitalism" in the Soviet Union, M.C. Howard and J.E. King
^ "N.I. Bukharin and E. Preobrazhensky in The ABC of Communism write "In a communist society there will be no classes. But if there will be no classes, this implies that in communist society there will likewise be no State." See also State and Revolution by Lenin, chapter 5.4 "The Higher Phase of Communist Society"
^ VN Embassy - Constitution of 1992 Full Text. From the Preamble: "On 2 July 1976, the National Assembly of reunified Vietnam decided to change the country's name to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; the country entered a period of transition to socialism, strove for national construction, and unyieldingly defended its frontiers while fulfilling its internationalist duty."
^ Cubanet - Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1992 Full Text. From Article 5: "The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Martí’s ideas and of Marxism-Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society,"
^ ^a ^b Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, pp. 8-9.
^ Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 12.
^ Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1987, p. 13.
^ Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 14.
^ Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 16-17.
^ Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 18-19.
^ Kinzer, Stephen (15 January 1987). "NICARAGUA'S COMMUNIST PARTY SHIFTS TO OPPOSITION". The New York Times.
^ "Cyprus elects its first communist president", The Guardian, 25 February 2008.
^ Kerala Assembly Elections-- 2006
^ Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Resolution 1481 (2006) Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes
^ The Economics of Soviet Agriculture by Leonard E. Hubbard, p. 117-18
^ Kenez, Peter (1985). The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31398-8.
^ "State capitalism" in the Soviet Union, M.C. Howard and J.E. King
^ Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook: FIELD LISTING :: GOVERNMENT TYPE
^ http://leonidpetrov.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/dprk-has-quietly-amended-its-constitution/

[Steele_1992_45-1] Steele, David (1992). From Marx to Mises: Post-Capitalist Society and the Challenge of Economic Calculation. Open Court Publishing Company. p. 45. ISBN 978-0875484495. Among Western journalists the term 'Communist' came to refer exclusively to regimes and movements associated with the Communist International and its offspring: regimes which insisted that they were not communist but socialist, and movements which were barely communist in any sense at all

[2] "State capitalism" in the Soviet Union, M.C. Howard and J.E. King

[3] "N.I. Bukharin and E. Preobrazhensky in The ABC of Communism write "In a communist society there will be no classes. But if there will be no classes, this implies that in communist society there will likewise be no State." See also State and Revolution by Lenin, chapter 5.4 "The Higher Phase of Communist Society"

[4] VN Embassy - Constitution of 1992 Full Text. From the Preamble: "On 2 July 1976, the National Assembly of reunified Vietnam decided to change the country's name to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; the country entered a period of transition to socialism, strove for national construction, and unyieldingly defended its frontiers while fulfilling its internationalist duty."

[5] Cubanet - Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1992 Full Text. From Article 5: "The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Martí’s ideas and of Marxism-Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society,"

[Furtak,_Robert_K._1986,_pp._8-9-6] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, pp. 8-9.

[7] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 12.

[8] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1987, p. 13.

[9] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 14.

[10] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 16-17.

[11] Furtak, Robert K. The political systems of the socialist states, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1986, p. 18-19.

[12] Kinzer, Stephen (15 January 1987). "NICARAGUA'S COMMUNIST PARTY SHIFTS TO OPPOSITION". The New York Times.

[13] "Cyprus elects its first communist president", The Guardian, 25 February 2008.

[14] Kerala Assembly Elections-- 2006

[15] Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Resolution 1481 (2006) Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes

[16] The Economics of Soviet Agriculture by Leonard E. Hubbard, p. 117-18

[17] Kenez, Peter (1985). The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31398-8.

[18] "State capitalism" in the Soviet Union, M.C. Howard and J.E. King

[19] Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook: FIELD LISTING :: GOVERNMENT TYPE

[20] ttp://leonidpetrov.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/dprk-has-quietly-amended-its-constitution/

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 Nevertheless, communist parties have won elections and governed in the context of [[Multi-party system|multi-party democracies]], without seeking to establish a one-party state. Examples include [[San Marino]], Republic of [[Nicaragua]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/15/world/nicaragua-s-communist-party-shifts-to-opposition.html | work=The New York Times | first=Stephen | last=Kinzer | title=NICARAGUA'S COMMUNIST PARTY SHIFTS TO OPPOSITION | date=15 January 1987}}</ref> [[Moldova]], [[Nepal]] (presently), [[Cyprus]],<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/25/cyprus.greece "Cyprus elects its first communist president"], ''The Guardian'', 25 February 2008.</ref> and the Indian states of [[Kerala]], [[West Bengal]] and [[Tripura]].<ref>[http://cyberjournalist.info/kerala/sumas.php4?year=2006 Kerala Assembly Elections-- 2006]</ref> However, for the purposes of this article, these entities do not fall under the definition of socialist state.
-== Objections to use of term ==
-The states ruled by communist political parties nonetheless self-identified as [[socialist state]]s rather than as "communist states", because they did not consider themselves to have achieved the classless and stateless society known as [[communism]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Political Systems of the Socialist States: An Introduction to Marxist-Leninist Regimes|first=Robert K.|last=Furtak|publisher=Wheatsheaf Books|year=1986|page=3}}</ref> In [[Marxism]], [[communism]] is the final phase of history at which time the state would have "withered away"<ref>The oft-cited quote is borrowed from a variation of the English translation of [[Anti-Dühring]] 1878 by [[Friedrich Engels]], [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1877/anti-duhring/ch24.htm Part III: Socialism] - «The proletariat seizes political power and turns the means of production in the first instance into state property. But, in doing this, it abolishes itself as proletariat, abolishes all class distinctions and class antagonisms, abolishes also the state as state. Society thus far, based upon class antagonisms, had need of the state, that is, of an organisation of the particular class, which was pro tempore the exploiting class, for the maintenance of its external conditions of production, and, therefore, especially, for the purpose of forcibly keeping the exploited classes in the condition of oppression corresponding with the given mode of production (slavery, serfdom, wage-labour). The state was the official representative of society as a whole; the gathering of it together into a visible embodiment. But it was this only in so far as it was the state of that class which itself represented, for the time being, society as a whole: in ancient times, the state of slave-owning citizens; in the Middle Ages, the feudal lords; in our own time, the bourgeoisie. When at last it becomes the real representative of the whole of society, it renders itself unnecessary. As soon as there is no longer any social class to be held in subjection; as soon as class rule, and the individual struggle for existence based upon our present anarchy in production, with the collisions and excesses arising from these, are removed, nothing more remains to be repressed, and a special repressive force, a state, is no longer necessary. The first act by virtue of which the state really constitutes itself the representative of the whole of society—the taking possession of the means of production in the name of society—this is, at the same time, its last independent act as a state. State interference in social relations becomes, in one domain after another, superfluous, and then dies out of itself; the government of persons is replaced by the administration of things, and by the conduct of processes of production. The state is not "abolished". ''It dies out''.»</ref> and therefore "communist state" is a contradiction in terms under premises of this definition. Current states are either in the capitalist or socialist phase of history{{spaced ndash}}making the term "[[socialist state]]" preferable to many communists and Marxist theorists.<ref>[[Alain Badiou|Badiou, Alain]]. ''The Communist Hypothesis'', transl. by [[David Macey]] and Steve Corcoran; (New York: Verso, 2010</ref>
 == Criticism ==