COMMUNISM - and the disabled...

Michael had a wonderful question yesterday - how does communism view the elderly, the disabled, the in-firmed - those who some view as insignificant to society.


We all know how Hitler treated those "undesirables" (EUGENICS!) - but what about Marx, Lenin or even Stalin?


For extra credit I offered you guys the chance to answer the question. And Michael took it up!


Michael found this website, http://libcom.org written by self proclaimed "Liberal communists" (see their about page which states: "The name libcom is an abbreviation of "libertarian communism", the political idea we identify with.") On this website it states this about the disabled:

It is easy to see how the phrase ‘to each according to their needs’ will abolish an aspect of disability. If we produce for need rather than profit there is no reason why we should not chose to produce buildings, equipment, technologies and so on that are designed on the assumption that physical and psychological variation of all sorts is a normal part of human society and that it is right to take this fully into account when producing things for people to use.

So from a MODERN communist viewpoint it appears that the disabled will be taken care of and not treated as Hitler's Naziism did in the 1930s-40s.


BUT what about early communism under a dictator such as Stalin? Here's what I found on another site for you to consider:

Soviet society officially appeared to provide well for the welfare needs of citizens. Full employment was guaranteed and a universal social security system was administered through places of work. Health care, education and leisure activities were provided free of charge, and vast amounts of affordable public housing were available in purpose-built apartment blocks.

In his paper to the First International Conference of Social Work in Paris in 1928, Semachko stated that relief of the needy was the responsibility of the State.

“Any worker in need has the right to be assisted by the State in all cases: sickness, infirmity, old age, unemployment, or distress due to any cause whatsoever” (p. 533).

While vigorously opposing ‘parasitism and begging’, the principle duty of the State was to provide rehabilitation for all those who have found themselves, by chance, ‘eliminated from a life of normal work’. For those identified as entitled to assistance this, should be provided in the forms of pensions, institutional care and ‘special, vocational re-education’ to resume work.

So there's two sources that say the disabled under communism were treated with respect and consideration. I'll keep researching it and let you know of anything else I find.


And while I praise those communists (either today or in the past) who treated the disabled, the elderly or any other in-firmed person with kindness...the question is still - do we want to live in a godless, communistic society or one of free market and free enterprise?


I'll leave that one open for you to ponder.


GREAT JOB MICHAEL!