[Angus]

Originally Posted by Niall

That really wasn't the main problem the USSR faced though. I think the brutal ways the government had of dealing with political dissenters and the censorship of the media along with poor economic planning contributed a lot more to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Religion had a small part to play in the grand scheme of things.

And Communism is in no way a religion - its a political ideology. Also, Communism isn't actually meant to be restrictive, at heart its all about giving everyone an equal world with equal chances but like you said, power does corrupt.

I made the point that Communism is a secular "religion" - true it is a political ideology, but these days most religions are also political ideologies - take Islam for example: Religion and Politics inextricably entwined, making it a hell of a force to be reckoned with as the West is now discovering.

Marxist theory IS just that - theory. In an ideal world there would be no power hungry, corrupt, exploitative people, but the fact is that there are. The reason communism does not work is because Marx left out the human nature factor - that the strong will always exploit and abuse the weak. Russian communism was oppressive and restrictive, it was brutal to dissenters, it sought to crush any opposition or freedom of speech, thought or belief. It became a dictatorship, far worse than that which had existed prior to the Revolution.

Equality as a concept is illusory, people are NOT. and never will be, equal in terms of their inherent talents, skills or contribution to society; Communism seeks to repress difference and diversity, it's intention is to remove competition, inspiration and motivation, in short to crush the human spirit. The price for "equality" was and is way too high.