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Mrudula Reddy

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Can a country with a large population find better and more efficient solutions to its problems under Communism?

I am from India, the world's largest democracy. I do believe in democracy but somehow, when it comes to finding solutions to problems, a communist government seems to find effective solutions most of the time.

Is communism a better approach towards problems being faced by a country with a large population or is it something which can cost us our individual rights and liberal thinking in the process of enforcing "good" solutions to solve our problems?

This occurred to me when I took a look at China, which is a major force to reckon with in today's world. It has found solutions to a lot of its problems and has been able to solve them because they were able to enforce those solutions, being communist.

Topics: Communism Communist China big government • Deliberative Democracy •
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    Dorian Knus

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    Mar 7 2013: Education is at minimum. They read, they write.
    You can have a 13 year old girl or boy in your bed in exchange for a bar soap or a shampoo. That is Cuba.

    You can read all you want but you need to live it to understand the truth.

    I've heard many people saying that India needs a Mao Tse Tung / Mao Zedong. I don't think so.
    You are looking for order and progress but you will have to fight against the castas and religions. An impossible task. Sorry.
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      Krisztián Pintér 200+

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      TED Translator
      Mar 7 2013: well, at least he was good at population control. killed somewhere between 30 and 60 million people.

    • Mrudula Reddy

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      Mar 8 2013: As I have said before, there are a number of problems to solve here. Prioritizing itself is confusing pointless. Caste systems and religious conflicts are probably just the tip of the ice-berg. The series of problems could be solved, but it will take a long time.
      I agree that somebody like Mao Tse Tung wouldn't work out because it would create more problems than solving them.
      Sorry Dorian I disagree with you thinking that our problems are unsolvable, as I said, it will take a long time and a whole lot of optimism and determination but it's not impossible, :)
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    Dorian Knus

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    Mar 4 2013: No
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      Edwin Nazarian 10+

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      Mar 4 2013: why not?
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        Dorian Knus

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        Mar 6 2013: China
        I've been living there for a long time
        Cuba
        Many times

        • Mrudula Reddy

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          Mar 6 2013: Hello Dorian,
          Can you please elaborate on how your experience residing in the country makes you think that?
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          Edwin Nazarian 10+

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          Mar 7 2013: hello Dorian

          this is the simple and tragic example of communication misinterpretation, which in many cases leads to misunderstanding and tension between two parties. this is one of the reasons that conflicts start between friends / couples / strangers / neighbours / communities / nations.

          I believe I didn't ask where you have lived and how many times this has happened, as you can say above if you have a good look once more.

          allow me to bring your attention back to our communication. you wrote, NO.
          I asked "Why not?"

          my question started with WHY which seeks reasons and beliefs behind the statement you made.

          Would you be so kind to share with us your thoughts and beliefs about this subject (instead of times and places you have lived) now please ?

          Thanks

  • Mrudula Reddy

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    Feb 16 2013: thank you for all of your answers, I realize that communism is not a solution to my country's problems, and Kriztian: I agree that China doing well is more of a reference to it's economic scenario rather than it's political scenario. I have read up on how China has so many restrictions on everything and seems to absolutely oppose liberal thinking. It appears as if they want to program their people to think and act in a certain manner.
    However I realize that there is more to India's problems than a large population.

  • Mrudula Reddy

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    Feb 16 2013: Amily:The ideology behind democracy is empowering the citizen and allowing liberal thinking, whereas the ideology behind a communist government is to give priority to national welfare over an individual's welfare. But you have a very valid point on how each ideology has it's own problems. Taking the majority of the population of India into account, out of which most of them are uneducated and underpriveleged, the political class is able to manipulate and use these vulnerable people for their own benefit.
    I am a strong believer in democracy, but I think a solution or rather a series of solutions which can make a difference, making sure they are more beneficial and effective is absolutely crucial. However I am extremely confused about where to start looking for solutions and which problem to solve first.

  • Mrudula Reddy

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    Feb 16 2013: Kate: I agree that one must sacrifice their individual human rights for a communist government. And yes I am aware of how China has been treating it's citizens and how it still has press restrictions. I do see how getting rid of corruption is imperative for the smooth functioning of the government. But the government is corrupt at every level possible and there is a vicious cycle of corruption now. In order to remove corrupt practices from our system, the way India thinks and acts must change, which can take a rather long time. Right now there is almost no reason for being a clean honest person other than having a clear conscience and having a good set of morals. People have no reason to stop being corrupt. But to effectively remove corruption from our systems quickly enough, we need something to push us to do it, where we have no choice. But to establish such a mechanism is close to impossible and illogical. It is not the large population that scares me, it is the majority of that population which the political class is able to control by giving them free things, etc. Can you think of any effective mechanism which would help?
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      Kate Blake 50+

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      Mar 6 2013: Hi Mrudula, sorry I didn't know you had responded to my comment. Helps if you press the 'reply' on the top right corner of our comments. That way TED notifies us of your reply and the conversation flows easier.

      Please read the other comment I just posted below. Your comments illustrate that you are very aware of the things that need addressing in your country, you have a realistic view.

      The only way I know of to stop such huge prolific corruption is to publically call each and every transgression! Your media has the power to investigate and publish the corruption - they should be the forerunners. Bollywood could help by making relevant movies which address the issues. Whistle blowers, those who report the corruption, should be encouraged and rewarded publically.

      While such things are private secrets they cannot be correctly addressed. So be very very public in announcing all corruption. Make laws to retrieve the funds and put it to better use providing food, shelter and education for your poor. Unless you really start to help them then communism will use them as a tool against the wealthy and educated to bring about the downfall of an independent India. You will become just another ethnic group conquered by China .... They took Tibet, have control of Nepal and have already started infiltrating India via the Naxals and other discontented people.

      • Mrudula Reddy

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        Mar 6 2013: I agree, our country has all the means through which we can solve our problems, it's the attitude of the people that bothers me more. Bribing is so common here, that if you don't bribe somebody to get your job done, they'll look at you like your crazy. They don't seem to care about what that small 200 rupee bribe can lead to.
        On the brighter side, my generation is finally realizing what's happening around us. It was only the idea of complete control which communism offered which seemed like the only quick solution to me. But now I realize that there is no quick solution. I was angry at the way people misuse their freedom and I thought snatching away their rights would do better since they clearly can't use their freedom in the right way. But I see now that our system is not at fault, it's the people who are in it that are at fault. And I also think that it's not possible for China to conquer us. We have way too much freedom to allow somebody to take them away.
        Thanks for your contribution! :)
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    Amily shaw 10+

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    TED Translator
    Feb 13 2013: Im not a believer in communism in a "communist coutry" but i believe when one of the communist leader said,white cat ,black cat .its a good cat as long as it catches rats.( the cats today would be regarded as being "not good"according to him:) I think no ideology is perfect and adoption of any one entails issues(might shown differently) to deal with cuz they all have limitations.its more about the whole process and problem solving instead of deciding which is better cuz once you adopt communism,you got plenty of problems to sovle too. Thats what i think.
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    edward long 100+

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    Feb 11 2013: Marx, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot sure found effective remedies for their aggrivations. QUOTE: "Communism possesses a language which every people can understand-- its elements are hunger, envy, and death."--Heinrich Heine.
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    Laszlo Kereszturi 500+

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    TED AttendeeTED TranslatorAssociateLanguage Coordinator
    Feb 10 2013: The answer is NO.
    And "communist China" didn't found solutions to a lot of its problems, only their leaders think they did found one.

  • Girish Bhamre

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    Feb 10 2013: I believe that we cant compromise with justice and freedom at the cost of development. People will still remain unhappy in the restricted environment inspite of providing solutions for their problems. When you compare between India and China, China has only 55 ethnic groups among which Han Chinese dominate with 91% share of total population. But in India there are more than 2000 ethnic groups. Clearly the ethnic and cultural diversity is greater in case of India. Hence solutions provided by some communist government in India will be unacceptable to a large section of population most of the times. Democracy is the best way for us, just we need to focus on making it work more efficiently...
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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    TED Translator
    Feb 10 2013: what do you mean "seems"? we had a lot of communist/socialist countries, and we still have some. they are doing horribly. china does okay, but all of its wealth comes from the limited capitalism they have.
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    Kate Blake 50+

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    Feb 9 2013: Mrudula I had a similar naive view of the world at 20 years of age, especially when I saw the immense poverty of India for the first time. Fortunately in those years I was able to travel broadly and saw communism in action. The theory is good but the practice is appalling! Please look at their human rights records within China itself (tianamin square) and at the countries it has invaded (Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal).

    If you really look at the rigid control, the disrespect for human life, the fact that a few elite card holders enjoy the great riches, etc. please look very closely and you will see that communism takes the form of a very cruel dictatorship. There is nothing there that could help India.

    The real help India needs is to address its own corruption, if this is addressed constructively then the benefits will flow on for everyone. You have the wealth, the intelligence, resources, etc all there you just need to stop the prolific Corruption at every possible level!
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      Pabitra Mukhopadhyay 30+

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      Feb 10 2013: Cannot agree more. Another problem of Indian thinking is to copy and paste western solutions. Or, if not copy-paste, modifying western models and running it assuming that it will produce results.
      However, pure Indian thinking and by that I mean conceiving solutions from purely Indian perspective, has been found to work wonderfully. For example the computerized/electronic railway reservation system, including the software that does it, is completely indigenous to India and it is by far the most successful and robust booking system and also the largest in the world.
      Indian electioneering (I believe the term was coined in India) is another success. China never had to conduct elections with 500 million voters, collect the ballots and declare results within a week without much of fuss.
      I agree with Kate in as much as that it's products stink of sweat shops and the success that China has made is more due to the exemplary industriousness and discipline of Chinese people than due to communism.
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        Kate Blake 50+

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        Feb 10 2013: Yes you are so right Pabitra, your railway reservation system is amazingly effective. So easy to use and no double bookings to my knowledge. I remember the old days when we could cue for up to 3 days because we had to stand in incredibly long cues to get a ticket for each state the train passed through. So we'd cue for one state, then the next, etc - am guessing that was the ticketing system that the English introduced .... A nightmare to say the least.

        If you can count 500 million votes within a week that is also indeed amazing, I didn't know that.

    • Kapalli Srirama

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      TED Translator
      Mar 6 2013: Agree - If India addresses Corruption issue and minimises the same it would be a great Economy.

      Guess in the last 2 yrs - Indian Courts have boldly asked the Govt to Cancel Telecom Licences which involved bribery of millions of $; Sahra Group has also been brought to its senses by courts. In the last two years Business Community (India & International) have understood that as a short term measure they can gain heavily by bribing but over a period of few years they will be caught (even in India).

      One of the main reasons for Corruption in India is - Laws & Procedures governing India have been copied from British (about 50 yrs ago) and have not been revised to address the Huge increase in Populations and its needs.
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        Kate Blake 50+

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        Mar 6 2013: Kapalli glad India is starting somewhere but blaming the British is not a sound way to address your issues!

        Corruption is rife at every possible level of Indian govt. because of GREED! Greed and greed alone, until this is constuctively addressed I can't see India moving forward much at all. Your wealthy keep getting wealthier while the gap to poverty is increased they become ripe recruits for the communists.

        Naxals and others are already involved and they will be organised to start a revolution against the govt and the wealthy - maybe only then will India address its largest obstacle to real progress?
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          Krisztián Pintér 200+

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          Mar 6 2013: sure not a sound way? but it is so much fun! blame the brits!

          (and australians too. australians are brits upside down.)

        • Kapalli Srirama

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          TED Translator
          Mar 6 2013: In fact I am blaming Indians for not focusing on revising Indian Laws in tune with changed circumstances.

          With a GDP growth rate of 6% India should have been doing well but unfortunately it is dragged down by rapid growth of population 17% per annum (on a base of 1.7 billion).

          Hope we find solutions to curtail the population growth rate.

      • Mrudula Reddy

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        Mar 8 2013: Agreed, the problems started a long time ago, but it has caused so many more problems along with it . A change in the Indian mindset is what we really need. Not going to be easy.
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