Page 184 - Communism in Ambush

COMMUNISM IN AMBUSH
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Communism—its political aspect—may become an influential force.
In today's world, there is generally a strong trust in democracy and
a liberal economy. But any international crisis in the liberal economic
order could change people's tendencies and psychology. This has hap-
pened before. Following the Crash of 1929, a serious economic crisis
throughout the whole world quickly increased the popularity of
Communism and Fascism in Europe. Communists interpreted the Great
Depression as the "collapse" of the capitalist system and used it as an op-
portunity to influence the masses more easily.
At present, Communists have considerable power, especially in
Europe. Communist parties in France and Italy remain strong and in
elections, they obtain a high proportion of votes. Almost all the former
Eastern Bloc countries have socialist parties led by former Communist
party members, who also obtain a substantial number of votes. A new
international crisis could push these countries to strengthen their social-
ist parties and from there, into Communist regimes.

Russia: One Forward, Two Back!

A very narrow line separates Communism and Fascism, which are
like two opposite sides of the political fan. Each ideology has a similar
social and moral structure and the same model of leadership. Social sci-
ence includes each in the same class of "totalitarian ideologies."
Totalitarianism is a model in which the state controls society with prop-
aganda, oppression and fear, and where opponents are removed by the
most merciless methods.
After 1991, Russia's political regime and political culture did not
change very much. They just passed from Communism to a kind of
Fascism based on the domination of the mafia. Basic changes occurred
only in the economy and social structure. Many people became rich very
quickly, but most people's living standard fell. A growing chasm formed
between the rich and the poor, and Russia acquired a "brutal capitalist"
structure similar to that of 19th-century England. With weak state au-
thority and the appearance of organized crime, a kind of "feudal" struc-
ture came into being.