Anti-communism is a strong opposition to the ideology and practice of communism. Following the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, groups opposed to communism began to organize, rising against the country’s new socialist regime. While anti-communists oppose both the practice of communism and disagree with its claims, three major groups hold anti-communism as a primary part of their ideology. These are capitalists, anarchists and fascists.
Those who claim to have anti-communism ideals take issue with communism’s strict rules against political opposition and strongly disagree with the Communist claim that capitalist or free-trade societies force the lower class to rely on the wealthy. While there are many anti-communism groups that loath all socialist ideals, those more in the middle do concede that many socialist ideals would work in a perfect world. Their issue with communism comes from the fact that they believe human beings are incapable of living up to socialist principles, causing any attempts at a Communist society to fail. Several psychologists fall into this category of anti-communism, saying that a person’s drive for personal fulfillment and success is a strong part of human nature, and no amount of Communist rules or ideals can change this.
Capitalists are possibly one of the strongest anti-communism groups, especially in the western world. Communism is the polar opposite of capitalism, with Communists arguing that free trade and personal gain will lead to the eventual downfall of a society. Capitalists, on the other hand, cite the continued growth of all classes in capitalist societies as proof that this Communist claim is untrue, and argue that innovation is stifled when human beings are not allowed to work for themselves.
While anarchists originally supported communism, the strong government control that came with it put them squarely in the anti-communism camp. While most anarchists agree with socialist ideals, such as working together as a group for the betterment of society, they believe these ideals should be carried out by individuals rather than a government. This strong control of communism over its followers came as a blow to anarchists in the 1920s, causing many of them to become disenchanted with all political parties, no matter the ideals.
The anti-communism ingrained into the minds of nearly every fascist society has been present since its organization during World War I. Several historians believe fascism was actually created as a response to communism during this time and implemented as a means of preventing a Communist takeover in Italy and the rest of Europe. While several intellectuals conclude that the core beliefs of fascism and communism are actually quite similar, fascists strongly oppose communism because of the socialist opposition to nationalism; they also lean more toward the capitalist side when it comes to economics.
While anti-communism is a core belief held by most industrialized nations, many of its ideals are considered part of what the perfect world would be. Despite communism’s decline since the mid-1900s, it is still present in the governments of several large countries. The role of anti-communism in world events has been great, and it continues to be the predominate value of some of the largest political groups in the world.