Communism and Human Nature

         In class today we were discussing Karl Marx's views on capitalism. One of the topics of discussion was that capitalism and the idea of private property is detrimental to society because it makes people greedy. This greed is something that Marx says promotes the bourgeoisie to create more and more surplus value by exploiting the proletariat more. This creates a class divide that will eventually lead to revolution that creates a communist society where people put in what they can and take out what they need. I personally do not believe that Marx is correct by thinking that this will continue to happen overtime with a completely free society. I think that the only way a communist society works on a large scale is through oppression through violence or the threat of violence. I think this is due to the fact that over time people would begin to put in less than they can and take out more. Humans are driven by survival so in a society where people can take what they need, the people do not have an incentive driven by survival to work. Once the strongest force driving people to work is eliminated, complacency emerges and people become lazy and live of the work of other people. In this system the society collapses unless there is a threat to the citizens survival which historically in most communist countries have come from the government in the form of violent oppression. Communism does succeed in creating a single class and eliminates the proletariat and bourgeoisie but it still creates an oppressed and an oppressor. In this way communism still does not eliminate a divide in the community.
        The second aspect of communism that I do not agree with is the absence of private property. Private property and its acquisition is one of the driving forces in not only capitalism but throughout history. It is human nature to acquire property and I do not believe that it is something that has been pressured onto humanity as Marx says. People need to know that they have ownership of certain things especially those of which are vital to their survival for instance, a house or clothing. If a community is deprived of the right to private property there wont be a drive to obtain property that can better ensure survival. Although Marx's communist ideas work in theory I personally do not think that human nature aligns completely with his ideas and it is evident in history that communist countries fail and revert to capitalism like the Soviet Union, or can only perpetuate communism through strict and violent oppression like North Korea.