A few questions.

[zorkfromplanetx]

Hello, I was browsing on google today and happened to stumble upon this site.
I have an interest in Communism, and I just wanted to ask a few questions.

1. What are the Communist views on war, violence, etc.? I looked it up in the FAQ section, and it mostly talked about individual terrorism being wrong, not too much on state terrorism. Do Communists use violence in any way?

2. Everybody in a Communist gov. gets equal pay. Some people actually work hard, and some people slack off because they know they'll get paid the same amount, and don't put forth as much effort. How do Communists deal with these people?

3. I've been told that Communism and Theocracy are much the same. A Communist government is run by a single leader, chosen by a group of people, leaving no room for the citizens to decide. A Theocracy is somewhat of the same thing; one leader, you follow their rules, no one really gets to decide who's boss. Your thoughts?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Pie]

Hello and Welcome zorkfromplanetx!

It is great that you are interested in communism, however there exist some gross misunderstandings in your thought, which is not unexpected.
First to answer some of these questions.

What are the Communist views on war, violence, etc.?

This is a vague question dealing with vague concepts. Put short, we are neither pacifists nor warmongers. What we view as acceptable uses of violence depend upon the context i.e. defending the interests of the working class is acceptable violence. In regards to state terrorism, I believe that state terrorism is acceptable as a means of extraordinary defense, e.g. I find the Reign of Terror in the 1789 French Revolution and the Red Terror during the Russian Civil War as acceptable uses, they were used in defense of the revolutionary states against the counter-revolutionaries of their respective situations. World War I, current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. are naked imperial wars, this violence we find atrocious.

Everybody in a Communist gov. gets equal pay.

This is a myth. In a socialist society a general principle of everyone works according to ability and receives according to deed; in short the more labor you provide the more material benefits you receive. Communist society each receives according to need, to put simply.

I've been told that Communism and Theocracy are much the same.

Then you have been told wrong; niether socialist/communist society works like the way you have described. Your view is also self-contradictory: "chosen by a group of people" and "no one really gets to decide who's boss." A basic sketch of the form of gov't may be found in the YFIS FAQ:
"Free and democratic elections with right of recall of all officials.
No official must receive a higher wage than a skilled worker.
No standing army but the armed people.
Gradually, all the tasks of running the state should be carried out by the masses on a rotating basis. When everybody is a bureaucrat in turn, nobody is a bureaucrat. Or, as Lenin put it, "Any cook should be able to be prime minister."
http://www.newyouth.com/content/view/119/60/#workersdemocracy

All I can say is learn, learn, learn. I have been studying Marxism for years and feel I have only scratched a tiny part. In addition a good site for learning on the internet may be found here: http://marxists.org/
Intro. Page:http://marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm
And some good short introductory texts:
http://marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1913/mar/x01.htm
http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm
http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm

Analyses of current situations may be found here: http://www.marxist.com/

[zorkfromplanetx]

Okay, thanks for the information. I'll definately be doing some reading.

[fire_mat99]

Hello, I was browsing on google today and happened to stumble upon this site.
I have an interest in Communism, and I just wanted to ask a few questions.

1. What are the Communist views on war, violence, etc.? I looked it up in the FAQ section, and it mostly talked about individual terrorism being wrong, not too much on state terrorism. Do Communists use violence in any way?

2. Everybody in a Communist gov. gets equal pay. Some people actually work hard, and some people slack off because they know they'll get paid the same amount, and don't put forth as much effort. How do Communists deal with these people?

3. I've been told that Communism and Theocracy are much the same. A Communist government is run by a single leader, chosen by a group of people, leaving no room for the citizens to decide. A Theocracy is somewhat of the same thing; one leader, you follow their rules, no one really gets to decide who's boss. Your thoughts?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

There is no state or money under communist society and every think is group own or collectivism.Under socialism it is state run or worker state.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

phrase summarizes the principles that, under a communist system, every person should contribute to society to the best of their ability and consume from society in proportion to their needs, regardless of how much they have contributed. In the Marxist view, such an arrangement will be made possible by the abundance of goods and services that a developed communist society will produce; the idea is that there will be enough to satisfy everyone's needs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_each_according_to_his_ability_to_each_according_to_his_need


Under socialism  a  system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people or state and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles ..