5. Communism and Its Errors

World Scripture

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles… The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property… Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

In a higher phase of communist society… only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be fully left behind and society inscribe on its banners: from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program

Communism is completely opposed to the natural law itself, and its establishment would entail the complete destruction of all property and even human society.
Pope Pius IX⁵² (Christianity)

The mission of the proletariat is an article of faith. Marxism is not only a science and politics; it is also a faith, a religion. And upon this its strength is based.
Nicolas Berdyaev, The Origin of Russian Communism (Christianity)

The Christian who wants to live his faith in political action conceived as service cannot, without contradicting himself, adhere to ideological systems that are radically, or in substantial points, opposed to his faith and the concepts of man—neither to the ideology of Marxism, its atheistic materialism, its dialectics of violence and the way it absorbs any transcendental character of man and his personal and collective history; nor to the ideology of liberalism, which tends to exalt individual freedom without any limitation.
Pope Paul VI (Christianity)

Socialism… is drifting toward truth which the Christian tradition has always supported. Indeed, it cannot be denied that its progress often comes close to the just demands of Christian reformers.⁵³
Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno (Christianity)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Since the beginning of history, people have sought to diminish the gap between the upper and lower classes. Communism is the strongest example of this trend. The ideal of communism is to eliminate exploitation between the classes in human societies and to construct a classless society. However, the biggest problem with communism is its atheism, and the fact that it seeks to create an ideal world on a foundation which denies God. It is also a problem that communist states in practice carry out their programs according to the private will of a few dictators.
(115:169-70, November 10, 1981)

In one aspect the communist world is better than the democratic world: It lifts up laborers and farmers as the heroes of society. God could take this as a reason to preserve the communist world even if the democratic world were to collapse. However, communism’s problem is that it is atheistic.
(130:103, January 1, 1984)

Today we hear the communist battle cry: “Liberate the workers and peasants from capitalist oppression!” However, does that cry for liberation accord with the liberation sought by the religion of God? Is it in accord with the hopes of people of faith who are working to liberate all people, even God Himself? Does that cry seek to make God the complete Subject of goodness forevermore? The answer is no.
Communism’s hope is based on a materialist conception of reality. Communism rejects God, calls religion “the opiate of the people,” and is devoted to stamping out religion. In theory also, it contradicts its own claim of liberation. It is undoubtedly a liberation scheme against God. Communism is in fact the flag bearer of the Devil, and is mounting a full-scale offensive against the flag bearer of God’s own church.
(85:230-31, March 3, 1976)

The Communist Party has the motto, “Workers of the world, unite!” Our motto is, “All people with conscience, unite!” The Communist Party denies middle and upper class people, but we the people of conscience will unite all three classes. We include all the races—black, white and yellow—everyone.
(52:136, December 26, 1971)

The philosophers who came up with the law of the dialectic, Hegel and Engels in particular, saw a conflicting, confronting nature within universal law. Unless we successfully resolve the question of the dialectic within the universe, we cannot find the true formula for the ideal world. We cannot discover the way to establish peace and harmony within organizations that have a hierarchical structure. We must explain the errors of such theories as “survival of the fittest,” “the strong eat the weak,” and “power causes progress.” Otherwise, people will think that mistreating others is not a sin.
(132:142, May 31, 1984)

The communist system is for the state, and democracy is for the individual. To bridge this gap we should find a middle way. The nation that develops that middle way will have the ideal economic system.
(52:263, January 2, 1972)