Why was communism/socialism such a threat back then?

Question

I mean, seriously ..

Answer 1

Because many communists and socialists believed in re-distributing wealth from the rich to the poor, by force if necessary.  And any time people in government threaten to use force.  Then this does sound threatening to many people.

But capitalist governments also believe in using force to collect taxes.   It's just that capitalists believe in lower taxes than socialists believe in.

Answer 2

The USSR was taking over country by country and had the goal of taking over the whole world.  

You don't consider that a threat???

They were actively trying to take control of much of Latin America, South East Asia, etc.  Had America and NATO gotten in their way they would have been another Adolf Hitler.

....and under the USSR communism you'd have to give up your right to free speech, right to bear arms, right to a fair trial, right to privacy, right to due process, freedom of religion, freedom to pursue your own dreams, etc.

...........but those are all just little pesky things, right?

Answer 3

I don't think the economic systems were ever really that threatening. But the political systems of some "communist" nations were.

Answer 4

two very different things, communism and socialism, in terms of how they have worked out in the world since the time you probably are referring to.

Communism has historically been implemented by drastic changes in civil rights and freedoms.  America was founded on the premise that its citizens remain free, above almost all other needs.  So the prospect of a system where freedom takes a back seat to economic equality or other principles of communism, is indeed disheartening and anger provoking for many Americans.

Socialism has turned out to be a lot more like a situation where companies lose a lot of freedom, but individuals willing to work for state run businesses or for the private companies able to survive are still relatively free on a personal level.   Socialism has been relatively successful in some cultures, some scandanavian countries seem to have made a go of it.

But Americans like freedom, and are more interested in equality of opportunity than in equal outcomes.   If Americans would simply vote in their own best interests, we would be a lot better off.  Somehow the elite, monied interests in American have been successful in getting a lot of people to vote against their own best interests, so far at least.

Answer 5

To answer your question without being TOO long winded, COMMUNISM was such a threat (I'm assuming you mean to America) because it challenged the Capitalist economic system.  The Soviet Union's Communist regime was not Socialist and therefore, socialism was not a threat.

Socialism, as put by Marx, was the next step in the system of economic transition after Capitalism. As Capitalism was the next step after Feudalism.  This transition was forced by the Soviet Union, which violated the theory of Marx.  Marx believed socialism would be a naturally occurring economic phenomenon only capable of being sustained by the most economically advanced countries.  The Soviet Union would not have been considered advanced AT ALL!

The economic system devised by the Soviet Union commonly became known as "The Administrative Command Economy" which was essentially based on Marxist theory but "tweaked" to fit the Soviet Union.  This is said because of the central planning involved which led to extremely disproportionate spending on media attention grabbing projects (i.e. military spending, space exploration programs).

The fear of the spread of Communism was so realistic because of the reported success enjoyed by the Soviet Union.  The reports that were released were authored by the Soviet Union and were unverifiable until many years later when it was discovered that the United States enjoyed a much more considerable period of economic growth that their Soviet counterparts.

Okay, so much for not being long winded, but I hope this helps a little.

Answer 6

communism was represented by USSR, which was an equal power as US.  also, the goal of the communists was "to eliminate classes, which is what capitalism founded on."

Answer 7

Both systems tend to decrease the overall standard of living for everyone, and lead to despotic rulerships that would destroy the freedoms that America has fought for and stands for.