DeSantis signs Florida communism bill. What is communism?

A new bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this week requires Florida kindergarteners to be taught "the evils of communism."

On Wednesday, which was also the 63rd anniversary of the launch of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the United States' ill-fated attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro's dictatorship in Cuba, DeSantis signed SB 1264 to require the history of communism and its "increasing threat" to the country to be taught in lower grades. The topic was previously already taught in high school courses.

"We know that the Bay of Pigs was launched because the island of Cuba had succumb to communist tyranny," DeSantis said at a press conference at the Hialeah Gardens Museum, which honors the efforts of the Bay of Pigs' Assault Brigade 2506. "We're going to tell the truth about communism in the state of Florida. We're going to tell the truth about the evils of communism."

Communism proposes that people as a whole, or in groups such as villages or communes, should own all the means of production such as land, houses, factories, railroads, canals, etc. with "the fruits of their labor" distributed appropriately, according to Richard T. Ely in his 1883 book "French and German Socialisms in Modern Times."

Communists believe that when the means of production are owned by the powerful (called the bourgeoisie) they have too much power over their workers (called the proletariat).

This was in reaction to the abuses of workers during the Industrial Revolution, according to Sarah Pruitt of history.com, which saw industrialists gaining massive wealth while workers grew increasingly poor. The concept of socialism arose, which would require industrial production to be owned by a democratically elected government. German philosopher Karl Marx, the father of communism, took that several steps further.

In an ideal communist society, there is no government or private property, no money, and no different social classes. Wealth is divided among citizens "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," in a phrase popularized by Marx, who wrote "The Communist Manifesto" in 1848 with Friedrich Engels.

The governments of different countries such as Russia (which combined with other surrounding countries to become for much of the 20th Century the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Soviet Union), China and Cuba were overthrown in the 20th Century in the name of workers' states in a worldwide movement called Social Democracy which was influenced by Marx's ideas.

However, the authoritarian leaders of these countries were not chosen democratically and used force and propaganda to maintain power.

What was the Cold War?

About a third of the world's countries had rejected capitalism and tried to build communist states by the 1960s, which led to a battle of ideologies between those countries and the rest of the world. This was known as "The Cold War" as no firepower was exchanged, although the U.S. and the Soviet Union entered into a fierce arms race (and space race) for supremacy.

Communism under authoritarian leaders didn't last in most countries. The Soviet Union broke up in 1991, although Russia remained a communist country. China is communist but uses some capitalistic methods to compete on the world market. Other Communist countries include Cuba. Vietnam, Laos and North Korea.

What is the difference between communism and socialism?

This can be endlessly debated, and even Karl Marx used both terms interchangeably. Both ideologies put industrial production and the chief means of generating wealth under the control of the people, either directly or under a democratically elected government.

But Marx saw two phases of communism. In the first transitional phase, the working class controls the government and individuals could still own property and be paid for their work. For many people, this stage, which can work in tandem with capitalism, is widely regarded as socialism. Socialism is generally considered to be a gradual effort as socialists working within the political and social systems to effect change.

In contrast, communism calls for a violent revolution by the workers rising against the middle and upper classes to achieve a pure, classless, moneyless state with no private property.

What are the evils of communism?

The Florida Department of Education has not yet provided its new curriculum, but critics of communism have historically pointed to several flaws:
• Communism has been easily subverted by authoritarian and totalitarian leaders who use the promise of a glorious, unachievable future to justify current tyranny and oppression, leading to state-controlled media, mass surveillance, repression of free speech, dissent and other rights, harsh laws and armed state force.
• The ease in which strong personalities (Stalin, Mao, Castro) rise to the top of communist countries.
• The existence of human nature and greed to corrupt the system.
• Marx and Engles never worked out exactly how a communist economy would work in practical terms.
• Despite the promises, countries calling themselves communist don't always economically outperform capitalist countries

There has never been a pure communist country. Countries calling themselves communist are generally a mix of socialism and capitalism with the state controlling employment, production and the economy to varying degrees.