Difference Between Communism and Liberalism (With Table)

Communism is a political ideology based on equality for all. The objective of Communism is to establish a communist society with common ownership and people are not divided based on their wealth and class. Communism is a distinct form of socialism.

Liberalism is a political ideology based on liberty. Liberalism supports individual rights including civil and human rights, freedom of speech, freedom to follow any religion, etc., Liberalism is a modern phenomenon that gained recognition in the 17th century as people were now more aware of individual acknowledgment in society.

Comparison Table Between Communism and Liberalism

What is Communism?

Communism is a political ideology that aims to establish a society with no distinguishable class of people where all property and wealth are owned collectively by communists, and not by any individual among the citizens. This ideology is based on equality for all people of society. Communism is a distinct form of socialism.

Historically, communism was first recognized globally in 1917 during Russia’s October Revolution. This was when the first communist government was enacted in a nation. Following the pattern, Communism was forcefully established in many nations. However, today, only a few nations are controlled by communist parties.

Under the ideology of communism, there are no individual rights and everyone is to contribute to the welfare of the society, for the common good only, and not for profit. The resources produced are equally shared among the people, based on the requirements, and not on their level of contribution to the work. This results in a classless unified society where no individual is considered superior or inferior to the other.

The establishment of communism can only be done by the destruction of capitalism, and hence, the actions of communists have been criticized globally. According to critics, communism leads to poor economic performance and violation of human rights.

What is Liberalism?

Liberalism is a political ideology that aims to protect individual rights including civil and human rights, freedom of speech, freedom to follow any religion, etc. Liberalism is also an intellectual tradition followed by people. The idea of liberalism was unified globally by John Locke, an English philosopher. John Locke is regarded as the father of modern liberalism.

Historically, liberalism was first recognized in the 17th century. The idea of liberalism influenced several revolutionary reforms throughout the world including the rise of secularism, constitutionalism, and nationalism. The first liberal government was enacted in the UK by the Liberal Party in 1905.

Under the ideology of liberalism, people have individual rights and everyone is free to work privately on their own, follow different religions, and beliefs. The resources and money earned by people are solely based on the work they do. As a result, liberal societies are diversified with people based on economy, class, religion, etc. Furthermore, liberalism results in a plurality of cultures and rights in society.

The establishment of liberalism is done based on democratic elections, where every citizen has the right to vote. Liberalism is both appraised and criticized for its ideologies as it identifies every individual’s freedom, but it also creates an unhealthy division in society based on wealth.

Main Differences Between Communism and Liberalism

1. Communism promotes equality whereas Liberalism promotes individual freedom and rights.
2. Communist states are a result of revolutions whereas Liberal societies are formed by democratic elections.
3. Communism results in a classless society where no individual is considered above or below the other. On the other hand, Liberalism divides society based on social status and economic wealth.
4. There are now only a few communist nations whereas liberal nations are large in number.
5. Communist nations are dependent on the government for the economy whereas liberation nations depend mostly on the private sector.

Conclusion

Communism and Liberalism are completely different in most relevant senses. Both of the ideologies result in an opposite way of living altogether including cultures, religion, wealth, freedom, etc. Over the past decades, people who had once been unaware were now enlightened to individual freedom, and liberalism has been on a rising path ever since.

Since liberalism’s basic value signifies individual freedom, the government bodies in most nations are based on democratic elections. People of the nation have the liberty to work on their own and the wealth is fairly distributed based on the level of work. However, liberalism creates divided sections in the society based on wealth, religion, etc.

On the other hand, communism is not praised in the modern era for its ideology. The nations under communists work separately from the rest of the world, and as a result, no individual is supposed to work privately. Violation of human rights, the total absence of liberty, unfair distribution of wealth, etc., are highly criticized.

As of now, only five communist countries are remaining throughout the world including China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos. On the other hand, liberalism is now enacted throughout the world and is on an all-time rise.

References

1. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/18236