Chapter 21

After reading about communism and how that affected certain countries, I find myself still somewhat confused about the process and goals behind communism. I think that the confusion comes from me learning it in middle school and how that was seen as not good for society. I always felt that communism was like a dictatorship because that was what was insinuated to me during middle school. Now, I realize that communism is for equality. However, communism has its downsides as well. Therefore, I feel that there should be a happy medium. In countries such as Russia and China, many people died and suffered from these revolutions and fight for communism. One aspect that I am still trying to understand is the difference between socialism and communism. From what I understand in the chapter, socialism and communism seems to be interchangeable in some parts. We hear the term socialism in the news all the time in the same sentences as Bernie Sanders or other Democratic politicians even President Obama. I still find myself stuck when learning about communism and socialism and wonder if I consider myself to be one or some of those values that they hold. I definitely believe in equal opportunities for everyone, but I also believe in working for what you want. Everyone has to put in the work in order to be successful financially. However, not everyone is given a fair chance, which is a major problem that is being discussed everyday. There are still injustices that occur, and many people are suffering from being discriminated against. I think that communism and socialism were meant to fight against those inequalities and injustices and give everyone a chance at succeeding to make their country thrive. Of course there will be issues with every form of government, and there needs to be some kind of compromise between capitalism and socialism in my opinion. I believe that there is an answer to social inequality and further believe that there are people who choose to not work for social inequality and wants to keep things the way that it is, unfair while they continue to find loopholes for their own benefits.