Communism
Communism emerged around the turn of the 20th century in present-day Russia as “a hypothetical stage of socialism, as formulated by Marx, Engels, Lenin and others, to be characterized by a utopian classless and stateless society and the equal distribution of economic goods and to be achieved by revolutionary and dictatorial, rather than gradualistic, means” (Webster’s New World Dictionary). Communism is proudly atheistic and seeks to liberate mankind from superstition and “spiritual bondage.” §
COMMUNIST BELIEFS
- I believe there is no God and no knowable providential order, that this physical world is the only reality, physical beings are the only real beings, and reason is man’s highest faculty.
- I believe religion is “the opiate of the people,” an exploiters’ tool of oppression that should be eliminated and its resources redirected to improving world conditions to lift mankind from misery.
- I believe mysticism and religion are primitive and fraught with error, prejudice and superstition, and that modern science, based on materialism and empirical evidence, is the only respectable avenue to useful knowledge.
- I believe that each person has but a single life and that death is final. Therefore, in this life we are to attain all that is deemed worthwhile and express our finer qualities in service to the greater social good.
- I believe that as in the case of nature, history evolves in a continuous line from lower to higher forms, from tribalism, feudalism and capitalism to its final maturity in socialism, and that the collapse of capitalism and the establishment of socialism will usher in an age of peace and plenty, when state control will no longer be needed.
- I believe that all men are created equal and are inherently good, and that distinctive attitudes, personalities and experiences are determined solely by one’s environment; therefore, to uplift mankind, improve the environment.
- I believe that the views expressed by our great Marxist revolutionaries represent the one and only correct world outlook, and that it is imperative to overthrow the capitalist regimes, through violent revolution if necessary, to usher in a new order.
- I believe that the world’s wealth should be shared equally, and that unequal distribution caused by class distinctions, is the root of all social evils, driving men to greed, selfishness and exploitation. Economic necessity is the basic moving force in society.
- I believe there is no knowable providential order, that death is permanent, that God does not exist and that the highest life is one of intense consciousness.