Communism: Why it doesn't work

It is a common misconception that communism is an inherently evil totalitarian government. This is unfortunate, as it masks the true reasons why communism doesn't work. The problem with such assumptions about communism is that the nations that call themselves communist are anything but. The Soviet Union was never communist. Cuba was never communist. North Korea was never communist. Vietnam was never communist. China was never communist. Yet people refer to them as the communist countries, as if this describes them. Instead, they are melding the word "communism" to what we see in those nations, a functionally ignorant viewpoint.

The true definition of communism comes from Karl Marx, the writer of the book that defined the word for the masses, The Communist Manifest. This short piece quickly and concisely explains what a country must undergo and form to become a true communism. The definition is as such:
1. There must be an overthrowal of the bourgeois, defined as the upper class in a capitalist society(effectively limiting the countries that can turn into communism into ones that are already capitalist), by the proletariat, defined as the lower class in a capitalist society.
2. The society formed thereafter must be effectively classless, with no divides due to poverty, or property, or any other factors. It should be noted that, according to the manifest, this state will naturally fall into place; society does not actually have to make an effort to push itself into this state.

Now, here's something interesting about the above; it's very, very optimistic about human nature. It assumes that people will not accept the injustice of a society, being considered lower than someone else due to financial status, and will work to form a nation that is utterly equal in all respects, that is the natural form of government. Actually, government is the wrong word; if one takes the entire text into the spirit of the language, no one else having power over anyone would mean there would be no government. What Marx describes is literally a ideal anarchy.

So, it's a mistake to assume that communism fails because it is too cruel and diabolical for human nature. It's rather the opposite; it's too presupposing of humanity's good traits to stand a good chance of actually succeeding. It relies on every member of society working together. A nice dream, but hardly a realistic one.

Karl Marx was a dreamer. It's almost a shame his ideas are shot down like they are because in some ways, they aren't bad.