Difference Between Communism and Dictatorship (With Table)

In a Communist government, the system is classless, which meant they provide equality among everyone. There was no discrimination among people based on their wealth, skin colour, education, income, etc. A communist government believes in common ownership for the entire community or society. In the country following Communism, the authoritative powers were not permanent and were limited. That is why it is an example of a stateless society. Now, at present, there are only five countries that are following the same government that is – China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba.

In a dictatorship type of government, a single person authorizes its ownership over the country. The single person is known as the dictator and is the most powerful person in the entire country. The rules and regulations for the country are governed by them, making it governed by the state machinery. The belief in a dictatorship government is a single person or ownership.

Comparison Table Between Communism and Dictatorship

What is Communism?

Communism is a government in which a society or a group, or a community rules over. The ideology of a communist government was social, economic, philosophically, etc., based on co-own property and ideas that stood against capitalism or liberal democracy. The communist system divided the society into two classes: the proletariat or the working class and the bourgeoisie or capitalist class. The working class was the major group and was supposed to work for their living, while the second minor capitalist class was the ones who made profits from the working class by employing them. 

The word came into existence in the 18th century, which meant the sharing of benefits, profit, properties, labours, work, etc. The above modern use of the word was given by Victor d’Hupay. The main key points in a communist government to be remembered are- 

• The sharing of property, work, profits, etc., makes it a classless society where they treat everyone equally without discriminating against them based on income, wealth, education, culture, etc. 
• The second key point is the communist government ideology was developed by two individuals naming Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels. 
• The last point to remember is that the communist government collapsed in 1991, the new system which evolved included some ideologies of a capitalist government.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels find the French Revolution as a great opportunity to turn over the present government in the late 1780s and came up with the idea of communalism where a group of individuals will rule over the people. The rest citizens who make up the country are believed to be a part of a classless society that provides or distributes their services as required. The best example for the communist government at present is China, North Korea, Vietnam, etc. 

The main three reasons behind the failure of the communist government are mentioned below – 

• The lack of interest among the people to produce enough profit.
• The lack of proper centralized planning for development.
• The power was passing on to the selected individuals hereditary increasing the levels of corruption.

What is Dictatorship?

Dictatorship is a government in which a single person is authorized or supreme over everyone else and thus requires a piece of state machinery to work. The dictatorship government is majorly formed by forceful acts. The supreme authority in the government is called a Dictator. A dictator is capable of taking all the necessary details and has total power in their hand. They considered themselves to be a prime authority just as – king, queen, prime minister, president, etc.

The well-known word dictator is originated from the word Latin language ‘dictator’, which in Roman language meant a single supreme authority that rules over the country. Throughout history, to the present, there have evolved many dictators in various countries. Some of the examples for the same are – Soviet Union: Vladimir Lenin (1917-1924), China: Chiang Kai-shek (1943-1948), Egypt: Gamal Abdel Nasser 1954—1970.

In a dictatorship government, the dictator is generally cruel, and it is never necessary that the dictator of a country is going to serve the people with their needs. The most famous example of a dictatorship government is Adolf Hitler, who took over Germany with an act called the “Enable Act”.

Main Differences Between Communism and Dictatorship

1. Communism type of government is one where the ruling power is distributed among many people, while Dictatorship is a type of government where a single person in a community or a society is the topmost tier.
2. In a communist government, the community, or a society that rules have limited access to their powers, while in a dictatorship government, a single person is authorized and most powerful.
3. In community government, they treat everyone as equal like in a democratic government, while in a dictatorship government, the supreme authority is the authentic person, and the rest are treated as unequal. 
4. Communist belief a common belief while a dictator belief in single ownership. 
5. When a community or a society gained a profit, it is shared within everyone, while in a dictatorship government, the profit gained is shared by no one. 
6. In a communist government, a group of people or society ruled the country, while in a dictatorship government, a single person called a dictator rules over. 

Conclusion

The government is the supreme authority of a nation. It is responsible for maintaining laws for the betterment of society, organizing the work, implementing them. Many types of governing bodies ruled over people. They are somewhat like anarchy, monarchy, communist, Dictatorship, etc.

Communists are the ruling government which is governed by a group of individuals who has limited access to their powers, and they do not have an actual government to be precise is stateless, while Dictatorship is the ruling government in which the supreme authority is the single person.

The belief of a communist people is common, while for a dictatorship, the belief of the people is single ownership. The best example for the communist party is China, Vietnam, while for a dictatorship party is Germany, Egypt: Gamal Abdel Nasser 1954—1970.

References

1. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-aeuDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=difference+between+communism+and+dictatorship&ots=eVAZ1ZP5WK&sig=e_ZImMBMjSNJAtJnVL3aSzYppzk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=difference%20between%20communism%20and%20dictatorship&f=false
2. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=o4G8SlNUROoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=difference+between+communism+and+dictatorship&ots=GTmLoQsJ41&sig=zXByK-icCTocXw40AdycqI6v_Ks&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=difference%20between%20communism%20and%20dictatorship&f=false
3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ronald-Wintrobe/publication/242521555_Dictatorship_Analytical_Approaches/links/53fb4f210cf27c365cf09a28/Dictatorship-Analytical-Approaches.pdf
4. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=908617