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Authoritarianism
Communism is a philosophical and political ideology, largely grounded in the work of economist Karl Marx, that is broadly opposed to the private ownership of resources and property under capitalism and specifically aims to establish a classless, equal society. Communism has taken many forms in different political contexts, and in this book Snyder specifically focuses on officially communist states, like the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, that established tyrannical authoritarian governments in order to fulfill their goals.
Communism Quotes in On Tyranny
The On Tyranny quotes below are all either spoken by Communism or refer to Communism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
Quotes
We have seen that the real meaning of the greengrocer's slogan has nothing to do with what the text of the slogan actually says. Even so, the real meaning is quite clear and generally comprehensible because the code is so familiar: the greengrocer declares his loyalty in the only way the regime is capable of bearing; that is, by accepting the prescribed ritual, by accepting appearances as reality, by accepting the given rules of the game, thus making it possible for the game to go on, for it to exist in the first place.
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Epilogue
Quotes
Until recently, we Americans had convinced ourselves that there was nothing in the future but more of the same. The seemingly distant traumas of fascism, Nazism, and communism seemed to be receding into irrelevance. We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy. After communism in eastern Europe came to an end in 1989-91, we imbibed the myth of an “end of history.” In doing so, we lowered our defenses, constrained our imagination, and opened the way for precisely the kinds of regimes we told ourselves could never return.
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Communism Term Timeline in On Tyranny
The timeline below shows where the term Communism appears in On Tyranny. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue: History and Tyranny
...1918, 1945, and 1989. Many of these democracies collapsed, giving way to authoritarian fascist and communist governments that tried and failed to stop globalization. In the 21st century, the United States...
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Chapter 4: Take responsibility for the face of the world.
...instance, the Czech writer Václav Havel remembered seeing a grocery store owner put up a pro-communist sign in his window just to please the government, but this made it impossible for...
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Chapter 13: Practice corporeal politics.
...working together, these groups created a labor union and put pressure on the government. The communist government then outlawed the coalition, but when the government grew weak in 1989, the coalition...
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Chapter 15: Contribute to good causes.
...foundation of “civil society,” and they help people trust and learn from others. Like 20th-century communists and fascists, contemporary authoritarian governments oppose such organizations because they are a way for people...
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Epilogue: History and Liberty
...of all history. After the fall of the Soviet Union, when it became obvious that communism would not create a utopia, Americans happily decided that capitalist liberal democracy was inevitable. But...
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