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The Dictatorship of the Proletariat

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Dictatorship of the Proletariat – Democracy through Dictatorship
Written by: Geopex
Written on: 26 February 2014 – 27 February 2014

The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a term which garners the attention and use of many individuals when such topics as Socialism and Communism are in discussion, and this can especially be the case in a conversation on the topic of the Soviet Union, or its various satellite states, but what exactly does the term itself mean? There is, indeed, a grave misinterpretation of the application of the dictatorship of the proletariat, in the terms of its functions within a sense of governance. This misunderstanding, of the general function of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, and the understanding of why this misunderstanding occurs, is the topic of this piece of writing.

The application of the word ‘Dictatorship’ is perhaps what leads to this immediate conclusion on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Dictatorship is commonly understood, in Western society, to be in referral to the vestment of absolute political power in a singular individual, or an elite group of individuals. The connotation of dictatorship is commonly associated with military juntas and a myriad of other forms of tyrannical governance. This is however not the case in the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Indeed the government which would come about through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat is more likely to be one of a direct democratic nature.

As the class system, of the two classes of proletariat and bourgeoisie, is eradicated from the economy, through the implementation of the democratic control of the means of production, the classes themselves merge into one. The proletariat – who formerly worked the means of production for the bourgeoisie – now own and control the means of production, and thus become somewhat similar to the bourgeoisie, while still maintaining their proletarian class characteristics. As a result of this merger, the economic situation becomes one in which all individuals are denotatively members of the Proletariat.

Through the application of the word ‘dictatorship’, in the sense of total vestment of absolute political power, to the proletariat, the definition of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat becomes clear. The Dictatorship of the Proletariat is thus the ‘vestment of absolute political power in the proletariat’. As the proletariat has become all inclusive, through the application of the democratic control of the means of production, this means, in a single statement, ‘the vestment of absolute political power in the people’, or as it is more commonly known as, direct democratic governance.

In this manner, it can be understood that the Dictatorship of the Proletariat is not a form of dictatorship that Western society is most familiar with, in this scenario, but rather a form of directly controlled democratic government where the people have the absolute control of their political situation. Such a scenario can be held to contrast to the general perception of the terminology, in that its function is opposite to this perception.
This is an attempt to discuss a topic which links a seemingly lost definition of dictatorship with the Socialist and Communist definitions of the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes.  In this way, this paper attempts to show how the dictatorship of the proletariat is not all that we often think it to be.

What are your thoughts on the paper? I'd love to here them in the comments. 
© 2014 - 2024 Geopex
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Saint-Tepes's avatar
Democracy through Dictatorship, that is incredibly stupid only communists can make something like this, its like making monarchy through anarcu