My problem with communism is how often it degenerates into a one-party system. Communists (and I was one of them once, before I turned 18) are some of the LEAST tolerant people I have ever met. I am serious. You'll never met another bunch of people who are so argumentative about the slightest thing. The vast majority of communists that I've met hate each other more than they hate the capitalists. Every single one of them thinks that "their" interpretation of communism is the "right" interpretation, and they vehemently despise anyone else who disagrees with them even by a small amount.
Communists, as a general rule, believe that THEY AND ONLY THEY are fit to run the world. They have this immense ego in which they literally believe that they are the literal saviours of the world, destined by the forces of history itself to lead the nation and "liberate the people". To a communist, the world is completely black-and-white: Capitalism is wholly evil, Communism is wholly good.
When you have such a world view, isn't it natural that you'd want to ensure that only communists are in charge? Communists cannot, and will not, accept even the very existence of alternative views and economic/political systems because they are a "threat" to their vision of the future. Communists are also very paranoid: Constantly seeing threats and "hidden imperialists" lurking in every corner.
You need to understand the way a communist thinks: They are consumed by the three psychological demons of dictators - which are: "Absolute Certainty", "Belief in Manifest Destiny" and "Rank Paranoia".
Communists are ABSOLUTELY certain about their ideology. Their ideology is PERFECT. Despite being atheists, Communists are actually very religious - they just put ideology on the pedestal, instead of religion. They are supremely unflexible - if reality contradicts their beloved ideology, reality is dismissed. If their great "Five Year Plans" fail, it wasn't because the plan itself was garbage, they think, it's because THERE MUST BE WRECKERS! AND IMPERIALISTS! AND SABOTEURS! AROUND EVERY CORNER! This fundamentalist mentality of "The Party is ALWAYS RIGHT, our ideology is ALWAYS RIGHT" leads to a system in which any failures are blamed on everyone else. Introspection, doubt and self-reflection are almost forbidden for Party Members - they are taught to never doubt the Party, never doubt the State.
Communists also belief in a version MANIFEST DESTINY. A communist sincerely believes that communism is the literal end-state of human social development. They believe that a true communist state is a LITERAL PARADISE WHERE NOTHING EVER GOES WRONG AND EVERYONE IS ALWAYS HAPPY ALL THE TIME. Just look at the nauseating propaganda produced by the Soviet Union, Maoist China (during the 60's) and the current government of North Korea - they produce a constant barrage of propaganda involving nothing but smiling families and farmers laughing at huge crops. It VERY closely resembles some of the water-paintings I've seen Jehova's Witness people produce to depict what they imagine Heaven to be like. When you sincerely believe that you are destined by history no less to rule over everything to bring about a literal paradise on Earth and end literally every single bad thing ever, you start getting a little zealous. You start thinking that the ends justify the means. You start thinking that sometimes you might have to break a few "eggs" to make an omelet. It's for the future right? It's for the greater good, right? After all, we're the GOOD GUYS right? So what if we have to sent people to siberia, or "interrogate" a few people - it's for the people, right? It's for the future, right? So goes the thinking of a communist.
Communists are also consumed by RANK PARANOIA. It's not hard to understand why: They were, and are, persecuted. Not as much today as they used to be, but they still are. Communists view themselves as outcasts, outsiders, as people on the fringe, divorced from the way society works. They constantly see people trying to subvert them, deny them a platform, or insult them. I mean, for a communist, their ideas make perfect and total sense to them: which is why they believe that insidious forces MUST be preventing them from achieving victory. They view themselves as the smartest people in the entire world, and all their plans are absolutely brilliant... which is why they are damn damn damn quick to blame everyone else, even fellow colleagues, whenever anything goes wrong. They are absolutely intolerant of any criticism - please, if you are a university student, go to a communist meeting. I have. They are the biggest bunch of hissy-fit throwing whiners that I have ever seen. They CONSTANTLY denounce each other, constantly throw barbed comments at each other, constantly berate each other over the SLIGHTEST difference. They believe that almost everyone is out to get them, and that they and they alone have the TRUE interpretation of Marx and Lenin and that everyone else is trying to prevent them from achieving their GLORIOUS vision! When communists think that way about each other, is it any wonder why they become paranoid basket cases when they get into power?
True communists don't want competition. They don't want competing ideas. They want obedience. They want to run things their way, which they believe to be the only way. They are so consumed by a passion to protect the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION that they will go to any lengths to protect it. Communism is perfect, therefore the party is perfect - thus, any criticism of the party is interpreted as criticism of communism, which is interpreted as "backsliding" or "capitalist roading" or "latent imperialism" WHICH MUST BE WEEDED OUT. Communists always talk about the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" - and since they are the self-appointed true representatives of the proletariat, it means a dictatorship by the party.
It's funny how often communists kill people in order to protect "THE PEOPLE". It's almost as if communists have a political concept of "The People" which is divorced from the flesh-and-blood people on the streets.
