The Fall of Communism from the Perspective of Przeworski and Arendt

My reflection this week focuses on Przeworski’s piece, “A Prologue: The Fall of Communism.” In this article he compares the fall of Communism to cancer, and the unique symptoms that led to its demise in individual countries, such as Poland, to pneumonia, which often kills cancer patients before cancer itself. He attempts to describe the decay of Eastern European Communism as a regime that was morally bankrupt and difficult to implement. While reading this I couldn’t help but think of Arendt’s characterization of totalitarian regimes in her work “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” which seems to explore Przeworski’s observation in greater detail.

Arendt states that ideals held by totalitarian parties, such as the Bolsheviks, are utopian, and while they may seem feasible while in the opposition, they are difficult to implement once in power. The machinations of the state’s political process hinders the creation of such a utopia as the party becomes bogged down in everyday politics. However, the party’s desire to keep power necessitates the imposition of a systematic, mass reign of terror, which becomes their sole means for creating order and utopia.

In my opinion, this method of retaining political power is doomed to failure in the case of Marxist-Leninism (and Fascism). The whole idea of a solitary party or vanguard coming to power in the name of the people and claiming to speak for them does not necessarily mean that the people espouse the same ideology. Such an ideology is often only half-heartedly adopted by the masses and only fully espoused with party stalwarts. Over time, the old party enthusiasts lose their zeal and the new generation becomes concerned only with keeping power and very few hold the ideals of the ruling party. Thus, totalitarians are only kept in power by force and control, which cannot last forever.