# Communism: How would it work **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678 "2004-10-22T21:02:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678/81 "2004-10-26T03:41:59Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It’s amazing to me that every discussion on communism inevetibly turns to robots or Star Trek replicators. Basically what it comes down to is “once society can magically produce everything it needs out of thin air, then we are ready for communism”. People’s “jobs” become bascially hobbies or mental masterbation. There would be no need for education or programmers or anything really since all goods and services are handled by automated systems. Nothing for people to do but sit around and get fatter and stupider. Although I am personally sceptical about the wild eyed rantings of “technologists” like Kurzweil, I regard the situation not so much as communism requires star trek replicators to work, but rather, star trek replicators **require communism to work**. In this case, a communist system is put into place deliberately to **retard** innovation. Once a society has reached that level of technical innovation, it requires a very deliberate and delicate equilibrium. A society must, at the same time, make all monotonous tasks automated and invisible while also restricting the use of automation in as many tasks that humans find pleasure in doing as possible. Unless this is done, in a comparatively short time, all jobs would become automated and human work would become obsolete. Looking at current historical examples, the human race is not good at coping with such a lifestyle and we would quickly descend into hedonism. In short, we would become a society of Paris Hiltons. A communist government where all innovation, at least that related to automation, remains strictly in the purview of the government where presumably wiser heads would prevail is the only way I see that can prevent such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678/82 "2004-10-27T04:07:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I have to disagree with your basic premise here. The single greatest medical advancement in the history of mankind is the efficient handling of shit. Not medicine, not science (that only allowed us to prove that handling shit better would indeed save lives), not even anti biotics or surgery compare. The shoveling of shit is the single biggest uplifter of human civilization we have ever known. You might say we have built out civilization on our ability to shovel shit. I’ll agree that the concept of shoveling shit was an important one. But once the idea took root, the actual act of shoveling shit really doesn’t lead anywhere. I’ve actually shoveled shit for a living - trust me when I say it’s not as glamorous as it appears. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678/83 "2004-10-27T04:10:08Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s amazing to me that every discussion on communism inevetibly turns to robots or Star Trek replicators. Basically what it comes down to is “once society can magically produce everything it needs out of thin air, then we are ready for communism”. People’s “jobs” become bascially hobbies or mental masterbation. There would be no need for education or programmers or anything really since all goods and services are handled by automated systems. Nothing for people to do but sit around and get fatter and stupider. I think you’ve completely missed my point. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678/84 "2004-10-28T21:10:12Z")
Have to get this in somewhere. 🙂 Today that left-wing propaganda rag, the Wall Street Journal, was gushing about the benefits of large govenment, high taxes, generous welfare, and strong public egalitarianism. Referring to the [Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005, released by the World Economic Forum](http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/NORDIC+COUNTRIES+LEAD+THE+WAY+IN+THE+WORLD+ECONOMIC+FORUM%E2%80%99S+2004+COMPETITIVENESS+RANKINGS), Nick Clegg [writes on the WSJ opinion page](http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109891462932457707,00.html?mod=opinion%5Fmain%5Ffeatured%5Fstories%5Fhs) (paid subscription required) about the miracle that some the world’s most competitive economies are also among the most highly taxed. > [@](#): > > What is most intriguing is that these successful economic role models do not conform to the orthodox prescriptions for economic reform, or at least the orthodoxy that seems to prevail in the Anglo-American debate. They are not low-tax economies. They have generous welfare systems. They are shaped by strong public egalitarianism. Surely this would lead to a suffocating, state-led, bureaucratic morass that stifles the creative vim and vigor of economic entrepreneurialism? Now, these countries are not Communist. They are capitalist. But, as you can see, in no way does a large government have to “ruin” any political system. Likewise, the size of its government is not a factor in determining whether or not a communist-based system “works”. The solution to bad govenment is not less government, it is _good government_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communism-how-would-it-work/270678.md?page=4)