Communist state
- This article is about a form of government in which the state operates under the control of a Communist Party. For information regarding communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, or as a popular movement, see the communism article. See also criticisms of Communist party rule.
Communist state is a term used by many political scientists to describe a form of government in which the state operates under a one-party system and declares allegiance to Marxism-Leninism or a derivative thereof. Communist states may have several legal political parties, but the Communist Party is constitutionally guaranteed a dominant role in government. Consequently, the institutions of the state and of the Communist Party become intimately entwined.
In multi-party liberal democracies, the system of government (executive, legislative and judicial) operates independently of any political party, with each party competing for a right to control the system of government for a specific tenure. In communist states, however, state institutions and party institutions depend on each other to function effectively.
What separates communist states from other one-party systems is the fact that ruling authorities in a communist state claim to base all their actions on Marxist-Leninist ideology. The state and the Communist Party claim to act in accordance with the wishes of the working class; they claim to have implemented a democratic dictatorship of the proletariat; and they claim to be moving towards the gradual abolition of the state and the implementation of stateless communism. These claims have been strongly disputed by opponents of the historical communist states, including both anti-communists and communists who do not subscribe to Marxism-Leninism.
Usage of the term
The term communist state originated in the West during the Cold War. It was invented to describe the form of government adopted by several countries in Eastern Europe and East Asia who followed the political model of the Soviet Union. These countries were ruled by parties which typically used the name "Communist Party of [country]." Since the separation of Party and State became very blurred in those countries, it seemed logical to name them "communist states," by analogy with the Communist parties that ruled them.
Communist states do not use the term communist state to describe themselves, however. Within Marxist theory, world communism is the final phase of history at which time the state would have withered away; therefore, the notion of a communist state is an oxymoron. Current states are either in the capitalist or socialist phase of history, and the role of the Communist Party (i.e., the vanguard party) is to pull a nation toward the communist phase of history.
Not every country ruled by a Communist party is a communist state. As noted above, the term communist state has been created and used by Western political scientists to refer to a specific type of one-party state. There have been instances where Communist parties won elections and governed in the context of multi-party democracies, without seeking to establish a one-party state. Examples include the Republic of Moldova and the Indian states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. Such countries do not fall under the definition of communist state.
Not all Marxists supported the communist states. Since the 1930s, significant numbers of Marxists (including some Marxist-Leninists) have argued that most communist states did not actually adhere to Marxism-Leninism but rather to a perversion of it that was heavily influenced by Stalinism. This critique is based on the view that the communist states were not democratic and did not, therefore, represent the interests of the working class. For example, Trotskyists referred to the Soviet Union as a "degenerated workers' state" and called its satellites "deformed workers states." All Marxists agree that democracy (the rule of the people) is essential to both socialism and communism, but they disagree on the particular form that this democracy should take.
Relations between State and Party
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All communist states are based on the system of government that was developed in the Soviet Union during its first decade of existence. The General Secretary of the Communist Party was the de facto leader of the government, even when he did not hold a state office like president or prime minister. Instead, such state offices were usually held by party members answerable to or controlled by the general secretary. They were given these offices as a reward for their long years of service to the party. On other occasions, having governed as general secretary, the party leader might assume a state office in addition. For example, Mikhail Gorbachev initially did not hold the presidency of the Soviet Union, that office being given as an honor to a former Soviet foreign minister. However, Gorbachev ultimately chose to assume the presidency, running the party and the official state institutions simultaneously.
The degree of this party-state relationship fluctuates both within a state and between different Communist states. In the contemporary People's Republic of China, for example, a degree of separation has developed between state and party, while a number of very small rival parties have appeared on the fringe. Nevertheless, the degree of Communist Party control over state institutions, and the ability of party figures outside state offices to influence the functioning of the state, is far more extensive than in any multiparty system.
The constitutions of communist states usually provided for democratic elections and the rule of law. However, they usually also provided a privileged role to the Communist Party, for instance requiring that all candidates for state office be approved by the party. Since the party had the authority to determine who would be able to run for office, it had in effect the power to appoint people to all state offices. As a result, one's standing within the party became more important than one's standing within the state hierarchy. A powerful member of the Communist Party could appoint himself, or anyone else, to the office of his choice.
Because a state claims it adheres to Marxist doctrine does not in fact make it communist.