RE#9: WW22 - Rise/Fall of World Communism

I'm not gonna lie - I've put off blogging about this chapter for a while because it's, well, about communism. Not the most exciting topic when you try to read about it and teach it to yourself. The class discussions, however, brought some life into the idea, especially when we talked about how countries who didn't take the appropriate "steps" (feudalism -> capitalism -> socialism -> communism) to a communistic economy and society failed. It was interesting to view Marx's theory through this perspective, that countries who skip capitalism aren't successful because their people haven't developed a class consciousness that develops through a capitalist economy.

Since America is currently capitalist, and with Obama's new healthcare plan that definitely acts as a transition into a more socialist economy, it seems we are on the right track. Should we decide to turn communist, Marx would be supportive because we have correctly progressed into that system. But there is no way that America would turn completely communist. We are too individualist - freedom and liberty are values that cannot be compromised in a country like America. I think our "utopia" lies halfway between capitalism and socialism - capitasocialism.

Back to the reading. The section on Communist Feminism was pretty interesting. Women of the 2010's, in America especially, have come a long way from the traditional days. The great thing about the WWI was how beneficial it was in terms of the liberation of women. I guess it takes a world war for the world to realize how capable women really are. Hmm... :) Things like the end of concubines, permission of women to remarry, and allowed maternity leave for workers - it's sad that there was once a time when women were deprived of these basic human rights.

One of my friends constantly makes it a point that whoever she marries MUST let her keep her maiden name as her last name instead of taking her husband's surname. And I don't blame her - her last name is verrry unique. And it is allowable/legal for women to do that - I guess she owes that to Communist Feminism and WWI. I'll be sure to tell her that tomorrow when I see her.