Best Time for Communist Revolution (WorldWide)?

[GlobalHumanism]

There were a few marked opportunities for communism to rise from a eurocentric-proletarian, leftist movement to an actual worldwide revolution.

In each of these, worldwide revolution failed to happen.

So, when do you think the best opportunity for worldwide communist revolution actually was and what could have been done differently to make it happen?

 

[funnyhat]

A genuinely worldwide revolution is ASB. You could perhaps get more countries to go communist, but not the entire world. Any sort of revolution that aims to destroy the concept of private property is going to result is massive capital flight to other countries, which will gladly take it. Communists' opposition to all forms of religion didn't help them either.

 

[ChazMo]

Delaying or otherwise preventing the Bolshevik rising might actually do wonders for international Marxism. By the mid-20th Century, the excess and corruption at the heart of the Soviet system had both alienated large swathes of the Eurasian socialist intelligentsia and rallied the working-class movement around more liberal ideologies. But global revolutions are simply untenable.

 

[GlobalHumanism]

I always heard the One Big Union movement, which if successful, could have been a precursor to worldwide general strikes and possibly proletariat revolution.

 

[Snowstalker]

Continue the Western Front stalemate into 1919--Germany and France (dragging Belgium with them) collapse almost simultaneously, followed by the other European great powers. The Communists strike while the iron is hot. Not all of the world is communist, but as Europe was still the economic center of the world until after WWII, socialism stretching from Portugal to Petropavlovsk is fairly significant. It's also questionable how long the African and Asian colonial empires could last without their masters in Europe.

 

[Alternate History]

A genuinely worldwide revolution is ASB. You could perhaps get more countries to go communist, but not the entire world. Any sort of revolution that aims to destroy the concept of private property is going to result is massive capital flight to other countries, which will gladly take it.

How is this a counterargument? Capital flight will mean that the revolutionary territories will be impoverished for a while, but it doesn't mean that said other countries cannot fall victim to revolutions - eventually capital will run out of countries to flee to, and with enough resources under its sway, a communist bloc can monopolize the world economy and effectively starve the enemy out slowly just like Team America did during the Cold War.

 

[David T]

It's 1919 or never. Which means it's never.

 

[RousseauX]

How is this a counterargument? Capital flight will mean that the revolutionary territories will be impoverished for a while, but it doesn't mean that said other countries cannot fall victim to revolutions - eventually capital will run out of countries to flee to, and with enough resources under its sway, a communist bloc can monopolize the world economy and effectively starve the enemy out slowly just like Team America did during the Cold War.

This doesn't work because even Communist countries quickly realize that it needs to trade with the outside world to survive and capitalist countries will trade with anyone in which profit can be made.

 

[moxn]

This doesn't work because even Communist countries quickly realize that it needs to trade with the outside world to survive and capitalist countries will trade with anyone in which profit can be made.

Communism itself as an ideology is not opposed to trade.

 

[funnyhat]

How is this a counterargument? Capital flight will mean that the revolutionary territories will be impoverished for a while, but it doesn't mean that said other countries cannot fall victim to revolutions - eventually capital will run out of countries to flee to, and with enough resources under its sway, a communist bloc can monopolize the world economy and effectively starve the enemy out slowly just like Team America did during the Cold War.

This is an entirely arbitrary assumption on your part. There is no reason to believe it will "run out" of places to go to. And any country that is the recipient of that capital will only be strengthened. Countries that are getting richer generally do not experience radical upheaval.

And again, Communists seriously shot themselves in the foot by attacking religion. There was no good reason for them to do so. In fact, one could argue that Christianity is very compatible with communist theory. Their arbitrary hatred of religion only created many more enemies for themselves.

When you have money and religion against you, you're not taking over the world.

 

[GlobalHumanism]

This is an entirely arbitrary assumption on your part. There is no reason to believe it will "run out" of places to go to. And any country that is the recipient of that capital will only be strengthened. Countries that are getting richer generally do not experience radical upheaval.

Tell that to the Shah of Iran

 

[funnyhat]

Tell that to the Shah of Iran

Generally being the key word there. Of course you can find an exception.

 

[HonestAbe]

There will simply never be enough commies in enough countries. I mean hell, we can't even agree to get rid of monarchy.

 

[GlobalHumanism]

There will simply never be enough commies in enough countries. I mean hell, we can't even agree to get rid of monarchy.

It's because the bourgeoisie have successfully co-opted them into the capital modes of production & worker control.

 

[HonestAbe]

Uh huh. Anyway, you couldn't so much as get all of Europe without a war and you'll never have enough communists in many countries. There will be no world revolution of any kind by any ideology for the same reason there will be no world government.

 

[BeardedHoplite]

A world wide Communist revolution isn't going to happen, and the best shot for a Europe-wide revolution would be right after WWI. Of course, such a revolution has the Freikorps and other anti-communist groups against it, which is why it failed OTL.

From what I've seen the chance of having a successful communist revolution in the Americas is ASB.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

It's 1919 or never. Which means it's never.

Pretty much this.

 

[CountPeter]

I don't think a global revolution is possible (in one go anyway) but I think a socialist dominated earth could be.

I think the syndicalism of Kaiserreich provides a decent background for a potential socialist dominated world, even more so if Germany collapsed as well. I could see European nationstates using a radical democratic system like in Kaiserreich (and advocated by pretty much every socialist except Lenin who it must be remembered was rejected by Kautsky, the guy so Orthodox as to be called the pope of Marxism). A decentralised socialist economy which refrains from becoming totalitarian I could see become enough of a norm that it could spread from the UK to China, leaving a few unusual and frowned upon capitalist states.

 

[TFSmith121]

What planet is Lenin supposed to be on?

There were a few marked opportunities for communism to rise from a eurocentric-proletarian, leftist movement to an actual worldwide revolution.

In each of these, worldwide revolution failed to happen.

So, when do you think the best opportunity for worldwide communist revolution actually was and what could have been done differently to make it happen?

What planet is Lenin supposed to be on?

I mean, what I think is West Africa sort of looks like West Africa, but North America apparently has a land bridge to - somewhere - in the eastern hemisphere, apparently, and either Hudson Bay is a huge triangular lake, or the Great Lakes are really in trouble.

Best,

 

[SpaceGeek]

What planet is Lenin supposed to be on?

I mean, what I think is West Africa sort of looks like West Africa, but North America apparently has a land bridge to - somewhere - in the eastern hemisphere, apparently, and either Hudson Bay is a huge triangular lake, or the Great Lakes are really in trouble.

Best,

I think that "land bridge" is Lenin's shadow.