Communism

Communism is a pre-War, far-left ideology, advocating communal, rather than private ownership of the means of production, and an economy that works according to people's needs, rather than a desire for profits.^[1] Adherents of communism are called communists. Their enemies will frequently refer to them as commies,^[2] Reds,^[2][3] and pinkos.^[2] It is sometimes conflated with socialism.^[4][5] In the Fallout world, the most prominent communist nation was China, a participant in the eventual Great War, though the Soviet Union also still existed by 2077.

Ideology[]

Part of a series on
China
Politics
Chairman Cheng · Communism · Sino-American War
Military
People's Liberation Army (Iron Army, Crimson Dragoons, "Ghost Fleet") · People's Republic of America · Chinese remnants · Operation Trinitite
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Stealth technology (Stealth armor) · Liberator · Yangtze-class submarine · Warmachine
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By the 21st century, the principal current of communist thought was Maoism.^[6] Rooted in dialectical materialism,^{[Atomic Shop 1][Atomic Shop 2]} communism saw capitalism as an inferior economic philosophy,^[7] reducing workers to slavery. Breaking these shackles was not just a matter of liberation,^[8] but also self-defense: The only way for humans to survive was to crush capitalism, before humanity was crushed by it.^{[Atomic Shop 3]}

Class struggle^[9] between the proletariat and the capitalists was essential to achieving this goal. The proletariat - common people who have to trade their labor for wages and with limited wealth - would be unified under the leadership of communists into a vast collective, and confront the capitalists,^{[10][Atomic Shop 4]} with the goals of securing control of the means of production (factories, tools, land etc.)^[11] and becoming the sole source of political power.^[12] Capitalists, the bourgeoisie controlling the economy and the government,^{[Atomic Shop 5]} were seen as inherently untrustworthy,^{[Atomic Shop 6]} with their wealth was a greedy mask hiding fascism.^{[Atomic Shop 7]}

Communist thought did not reject violence or warfare, as long as it was used in service to the cause. Class war^[13] was a valid form of struggle, with any and all defenders of capitalism legitimate targets, considered puppets of their capitalist masters.^[14][15][16] Eliminating capitalists^[17][18] and the bourgeoisie^[19] was simply the wrath of the workers,^[20] and the means to crushing the capitalist system^[21] and erasing the beliefs that led to its formation.^[22][23] There was a moral aspect to it: Anyone defending capitalism was considered cowardly,^[24] serving only due to monetary benefits,^[25] and treated with contempt as capitalist dogs.^[26][27]

This idea of class war envisioned a mass rise of a class-conscious proletariat,^[28] an unstoppable red wave^[29] leading to victory over capitalism. The power of the proletariat^{[Atomic Shop 8]} would result in nations united under the red banner of the worker's party^{[Atomic Shop 9]} under the dictatorship of the proletariat.^{[Atomic Shop 10]} The end of the class war would lead to the establishment of a worker's paradise,^[30] with workers free of their bonds,^[31] enjoying full sovereignty^[32] and with the military under their control protecting, rather than repressing the working class.^[33][34]

This struggle was considered never-ending,^{[Atomic Shop 11]} and all communists were expected to work towards their common goal.^{[Atomic Shop 12]} One key issue was the conflation of the party with the working class and the revolution, rather than considering the former in service to the other. This led to considering enemies of the party to be enemies of the working class by default,^[35] which extended to threats to party unity^[36] and dissension in the ranks.^[37] Until the communist party was safe, nobody would be safe.^[38] As such, everyone was expected to remain on the lookout for counter-revolutionary values,^{[Atomic Shop 13]} particularly "rightist deviant materials,"^{[Atomic Shop 14]} and confiscate them.^{[Atomic Shop 15]} Anything approved by the party was, naturally, non-deviant.^{[Atomic Shop 16]} Sacrifice was expected in general, up to and including giving up one's life for the cause.^[39]

Despite being a materialist philosophy, communism in its 21st century form exhibited some metaphysical properties: Prosperity would be achieved thanks to the "sun of communism,"^{[Atomic Shop 17]} and the "will of the people" was invoked as a good wish for eg. field agents.^[40] Communists rejected deities, however, considering them a cultural imposition.^[41]

Ideological struggles[]

In the 21st century, the People's Republic of China was a Communist superpower, ideologically opposed to the capitalist United States of America. The US was seen as an oligarchy, controlled by a wealthy elite, the "Wall Street gang," which instigated the Sino-American War to gain further power, wealth, and influence. American soldiers and the public were pawns in a game of power, who would be abandoned in case of a nuclear war, while the elite would ride out the apocalypse in secure bunkers. The only way for Americans to survive would be to depose them in a revolution,^[42] fighting in the name of the communist party. As such, the United States' idea of "liberty" was dismissed as a farce,^{[Atomic Shop 10]} leading only to imperialism.^{[Atomic Shop 18]}

The fear of infiltration, land invasion, and eventual revolution (or nuclear annihilation)^[43] fueled paranoia among the ruling classes, which bankrolled an intense propaganda campaign to discredit communism in particular and all left-wing thought in general. The official dictionary definition of communism in America was that it was a form of government in which the state controlled everything and freedom was non-existent,^[44] juxtaposed with the official definition of democracy as a form of government where the leader is chosen by vote and everyone theoretically has equal rights.^[45] Citizens of communist countries were portrayed as dirt-poor, without basic utilities like electricity.^[46] The United States meanwhile was simultaneously painted as an unbeatable bastion of freedom, and a scrappy underdog desperately fighting against the Reds, even after the invasion of Mexico, annexation of Canada, and declaration of nationwide martial law in response to food riots.^[47]

Eventually, all left-wing thought became borderline treason, particularly labor unions, considered the first step towards communism.^[48] Left-wing actions, especially aforementioned labor organizing and striking,^[49] were commonly considered criminal acts by the powers-that-be. Workers were subject to terrible conditions and pay, and any agitations for improvements to the situation were branded communist.^[50] Union organizers were routinely subjected to surveillance^[49] and imprisoned alongside actual communists,^[51] usually without trial, using accusations of communism as an excuse.^[52] The mere fact of having a collectivist belief system was enough to force people into hiding, for fear of denunciation and reprisal.^[53] Eventually, opposing the United States government and corporations in any fashion was enough to be branded a communist and persecuted, both by government agencies and loyalist citizens.^[54][55] This was heavily promoted by organizations like the U.S. Center of Anti-American Activities, through funding and production of films such as I Married a Maoist.^[50]

In the military, any collectivist actions were treated as indication of communist sympathies,^[56] and that everyone, even neighbors, friends, and family - should be considered a potential communist and observed accordingly.^[57] The paranoid tendencies went beyond the military, spreading through every branch of the government, down to technical workers of public utilities, like the DC Transit Authority.^[58] Corporations would also fuel the paranoia, marketing their products using anti-communist sentiments (for example, ArmCo products were sold for "defending American Freedoms from the plague of Communism").^[59]

Citizens were encouraged to report suspicious behavior to authorities, and standing orders were to use deadly force when dealing with suspected communist infiltrators, including robots.^[60][61][62] The rich, such as Frederick Sinclair, also feared a Communist attack on the contiguous United States, stockpiling supplies and materiel in case of an invasion, and preparing nuclear shelters in case of armageddon.^[63][64][65]

This climate of paranoia and fear meant that anyone accused of harboring communist sympathies was eventually considered fair game by the United States government. By 2075, left-wing sentiments gradually meant not just the risk of suffering surveillance and imprisonment, but outright murder by intelligence agencies. In case of families, children would also be forcibly adopted by people less inclined towards thoughtcrime.^[66] Those who avoided a death sentence could very well wind up living in horrific conditions in a concentration camp in remote corners of the US, such as the Turtledove Detention Camp in the marshes of Point Lookout, living in squalor and tortured for information they may not have. By 2077, the US government expanded its policy: Under Executive Order 99066 anyone of Chinese descent could be arrested, and thanks to deregulation and outsourcing, they would be placed in a camp by private contractors unbound by the usual laws.^[67] A certain pretense was maintained, as federal agents would routinely drive journalists away from sites of reported communist activity, leading to a race between the two.^[68]

Many victims of these repressions would suffer fates worse than death, shipped to black sites for use as test subjects in the process of developing new technologies. While companies like Big MT would have preferred entire communist cities to be used, they settled for using victims of the anti-communist hysteria to create cities of their own.^[69] The first such shipment to Big MT consisted of three train cars of alleged communist infiltrators, placed into the Little Yangtze and quickly used for testing, fitted with explosive collars to kill any would-be escapees on the spot.^[70] This would later extend to members of the hippie movement and anti-war activists as well,^[71] with Commander Devlin and General Wellesley planning to send a group of protesters at Ashton to Big MT towards an unknown but undoubtably unenviable fate.^[72]

Aftermath of the War[]

The Great War and the destruction of human civilization ended the titanic struggle between China and the United States, and put a pause on the general issue of class struggle. Immediate post-War generations retained knowledge of capitalism and communism, and while few subscribed to the idea itself, many rejected the idea of unfettered capitalism, seeing its ruins every day.^[73] Even those who embraced the collectivist ideals underpinning communism and living in literal communes were hesitant to use the term, though lingering memories of persecution may have played a role in such reluctance.^[53] Even those who didn't embrace the term and its connotations, but participated in the struggle, became major assets for survivors. Former union members became the driving forces behind the Pittsburgh Union seeking to harness what remained of the city's industrial capacity and protect Pittsburghers from the Fanatics, becoming a self-organizing militant force.^[74] Foundation was founded on the principle of cooperation, collective labor, and horizontal organization, similar to anarchism,^[75] and the most successful community in the wasteland, Shady Sands, was similarly based on the same principles, eventually paving the way for the New California Republic.^[76]

The principles would persist in the coming century, though the term would fade into a dictionary entry. Both the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Children of the Cathedral embraced some aspects of communism, in particular the sharing of wealth an abolition of class divisions, as did the Unity. Following the destruction of the Master, the Followers would become known for their anarchist ways, selflessly helping the wasteland and sharing wealth and knowledge.^[77] Even the NCR, though experiencing a rebirth of a capitalist economy and wage labor, would practice left-wing thought under President Tandi's leadership, such as legislation to limit the acreage and herd size an individual can own, preventing accumulation of wealth and slowing down the emergence of a capitalist class - the brahmin and agri-barons. Citizens of the NCR also followed various forms of collective welfare, with resources shared among towns and many services provided free of charge, as part of mutual self-help. However, with the rebirth of capitalism, many became more selfish in the developed, prosperous areas and such mutual aid is now the exception, rather than a rule.^{[Non-game 1]} The Followers of the Apocalypse are the only organized group in the NCR to conclusively practice this form of aid, composed of various left-wingers, from anarcho-syndicalists, through socialists, to communists - and are one of the few groups able to conclusively tie their beliefs to pre-existing political philosophies.^{[Non-game 2]}

Communist states[]

• China was the principal communist superpower of the 21st century and the primary ideological foe of the United States, to the point that Chinese and communist was frequently used interchangeably.^[78] China was commonly portrayed in propaganda as a backward nation without technological achievements.^[46][79] Chinese communist forces invaded Anchorage in the winter of 2066, to seize Alaskan oil reserves and prop up its economy.^[80] This touched off the decade-long Sino-American War and eventually the Great War when the almost-defeated China launched nuclear weapons, leading to the mutual destruction of itself and the United States.^[3]
• The Soviet Union was a secondary power commonly grouped with China as a communist monolith,^[81] portrayed as a land of forced labor camps where every expression of individualism is cracked down upon, including makeup for women.^[82]

References[]

Atomic Shop

Due to the looser standards governing Atomic Shop content, all references are grouped separately for clarity.

Non-game