Chapter 21

Communism and the Cold War

1. How did Russia and China differ from Marx’s predictions in the way their communist societies developed

• Russia was rural before socialism became infinite china too
• Neither was an advanced industrialized economy
• 1042 there was a difference in the peasants, more in china than in russia
• Marx prediction...communism would rise as the evolution of capitalist industrialization, marx was an economist
• Predictions incorrect
• Aristocrat’s had to be born into it, where people in the middle class(entrepreneurs) aspired to go into aristocrat class but couldn’t
• Marx felt owners would never give up their luxuries and the laborers would get upset resulting in a revolution
• His theory was that the workers would go to work and take over the factory, kill the owners, but keep the factory and take over control determining the conditions in which they would work in
• What actually happened was reform, legislation, but this was in US and Britain
• Marx would be surprised that communism happened in rural places instead of the economically advanced places
• For mard prediction was that at some point there would be a communist utopia
• Marx came out of the enlightenment idealist era
• “For each according to their ability, for each to their need”
• Russia:  people were considered part of the land, if people inherited land, they got everything that was on it including  people that lived on the land
• Quick revolution for russia
• China: took a longer time to build support of the peasantry,

2. How did Communist societies treat women/ feminism

• Setting up laws for equality between the genders
• Laws included equality of work and education
• Women had rights: marriage , divorce, abortion, pregnancy leave
• There was more equality between genders due to the communism

3. What was the Cold War ? Was it really cold? Is it really over

• Cold war was standstill between Russia and US
• Wasn’t cold actually hot because of the nuclear weapons
• Wouldn’t be a war would just be a massacre on each side
• Not really over, still disputes between the two

4. Has communism really fallen

• China
• N. Korea
• Cuba
• Vietnam
• Cambodia/Laos

Communism now is more geared towards politics, the economy follows a more democratic capitalist set up