In communism who is in power

This system of central planning enabled rapid industrialization, and from to growth in Soviet gross domestic product GDP outpaced that of the U. In general, however, the Soviet economy grew at a much slower pace than its capitalist, democratic counterparts. Weak consumer spending was a particular drag on growth. Central planners' emphasis on heavy industry led to chronic underproduction of consumer goods, and long lines at understocked grocery stores were a fixture of Soviet life even during periods of relative prosperity.

Thriving underground markets — termed the "second economy" by some academics — catered to demand for cigarettes, shampoo, liquor, sugar, milk, and especially prestige goods such as jeans smuggled in from the West. While these networks were illegal, they were essential to the party's functioning: they alleviated shortages that, left unchecked, threatened to spark another Bolshevik Revolution; they provided party propagandists with a scapegoat for shortages; and they lined the pockets of party officials, who would either take payoffs to look the other way or grow rich running illegal market operations themselves.

The Soviet Union collapsed in , following a push to reform the economic and political system and provide greater room for private enterprise and free expression. These reform pushes, known as perestroika and glasnost , respectively, did not halt the economic decline the Soviet Union suffered in the s and likely hastened the Communist state's end by loosening its grip on sources of dissent.

Mao allied the country with the Soviet Union, but the Soviets' policies of de-Stalinization and "peaceful coexistence" with the capitalist West led to a diplomatic split with China in Mao's rule in China resembled Stalin's in its violence, deprivation, and insistence on ideological purity. During the Great Leap Forward from to , the Communist Party ordered the rural population to produce enormous quantities of steel in an effort to jumpstart an industrial revolution in China.

Families were coerced into building backyard furnaces, where they smelted scrap metal and household items into low-quality pig iron that offered little domestic utility and held no appeal for export markets. Since rural labor was unavailable to harvest crops, and Mao insisted on exporting grain to demonstrate his policies' success, food became scarce.

The resulting Great Chinese Famine killed at least 15 million people and perhaps more than 45 million. The Cultural Revolution, an ideological purge that lasted from until Mao's death in , killed at least another , people.

After Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping introduced a series of market reforms that have remained in effect under his successors. The U. The Chinese Communist Party remains in power, presiding over a largely capitalist system, though state-owned enterprises continue to form a large part of the economy.

Freedom of expression is significantly curtailed; elections are banned except in the former British colony of Hong Kong, where candidates must be approved by the party and voting rights are tightly controlled ; and meaningful opposition to the party is not permitted.

The year marked the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War between that power and the United States. As a liberal democracy that had just defeated fascist dictatorships in two theaters, the country — if not all of its people — felt a sense of exceptionalism and historical purpose. So did the Soviet Union, its ally in the fight against Germany and the world's only revolutionary Marxist state.

The two powers promptly divided Europe into spheres of political and economic influence: Winston Churchill called this dividing line the "Iron Curtain. The two superpowers, both of which possessed nuclear weapons after , engaged in a long standoff known as the Cold War. Due to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction — the belief that a war between the two powers would lead to a nuclear holocaust — no direct military engagements occurred between the U.

Instead, they fought a global proxy war, with each sponsoring friendly regimes in post-colonial nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Liulevicius' courses have been salient to our discussion.

The scope is much broader than the title would suggest. This course is a worthwhile follow-on to Dr. In the final lecture, he promises a third course on The Decline of Communism. Sign me up for that one. Liulevicius is a frequent contributor to The Great Courses. Each of his courses is worth taking. He specializes in history of intelligence and Communism. Liulevicius is more fluent in Russian and German than in Mandarin Chinese.

Although this has good content, the impact of external interventions and manipulations got at most two sentences in the entire course. I don't think we can consider any of these countries in isolation, although with North Korea that is probably a fair approximation.

It's odd that the entire course doesn't include a single interview or video clip, though. The whole way through I was wishing that this was an article that could have been read in a few minutes. Once again the platform is a disappointment: Playback issues it continues playing long after closing and a lack of simple features like bookmarking or even downloadable notes like other platforms at this price point. The reading list would be great but I couldn't find the book reference I was looking for after a few attempts replaying and skipping through the long videos.

Regarding "downloadable notes," there's a page guidebook available free with the course, and it's downloadable. Interesting and frightening at the same time. The transcriber makes occasional errors that are funny too. Liulevicius is very good as usual but this production is not as good as it could be. I've got 25 years worth of GCs lectures and I see an evolutionary process going on here. This is a remarkable course. The detail that this Professor presents in his course is remarkable.

I am super impressed! I like that this course told a lot about the evil Dictator Stalin and the problems with communism I feel I understand better what happened from studying this course. Liulevicius visited and studied in the Soviet Union while it was still in existence, and has traveled throughout Central and Eastern Europe!

If you order the "Instant Video" version of the course, you receive nothing in the mail. You can watch the lectures anytime, provided you have internet service, as many times as you like, forever. You can also use as many devices as you like. Learn how Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and other communist rulers came to power and kept their power. Communism in Power: From Stalin to Mao.

Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong. Professor, University of Tennessee. Course No. Choose a Format Instant Video. Add to Cart Choose a format in order to add this course to your cart. Add to Wishlist Please choose a format in order to add this course to your Wish List. Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, Ph. Modernity is a notoriously slippery concept, because, obviously, what is modern now will soon become the past, as time marches relentlessly forward.

In , mourners in Moscow filed past the mummified body of Vladimir Lenin, dead from a stroke after seven tumultuous years working to transform czarist Russia into the first communist state in history. The struggle to determine a successor to Lenin saw the rise of an unscrupulous party official named Trace the rise of Joseph Stalin after the death of Vladimir Lenin in Learn how Stalin emerged from obscurity to outwit his rivals, including the renowned revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

At its height from to , this campaign of political repression saw an estimated , executed and millions more deported to brutal labor camps known as gulags. Thus, the needs of a society would be put above and beyond the specific needs of an individual.

In the late 19th century, communist philosophy began to develop in Russia. In , the Bolsheviks seized power through the October Revolution. This was the first time any group with a decidedly Marxist viewpoint managed to seize power. They changed their name to the Communist Party, and sent their ideals to all European socialist parties. In the state of Kerala in India, where the communist party is strong and influential often winning elections , it has helped to build a relatively strong economy, educational system and social safety net.

In terms of economic performance, China, where the Communist Party rules with no other legal parties, has been outstanding in recent decades; while in Cuba, also with a one-party community party-ruled government, economic performance has been weak but social indicators life expectancy, educational level have been remarkably good.

These three cases are examples of very different systems ruled by communists. View more questions.