The Death of Hegemonic Supra-National -isms (Grand Narratives)

..."muh...must spread Democracy!"

from Google AI:

Historically, it is true that communist revolutions have only successfully seized power in agrarian societies, which directly contradicts the original theory of communism. [1, 2]

Karl Marx predicted that communism would occur naturally in highly advanced, industrial societies (like Great Britain or Germany) where a massive factory working class would overthrow wealthy capitalists. Instead, history played out in reverse. [1, 2]

The paradox of why communism took root in rural, agricultural nations rather than industrial ones comes down to several historical reasons:

1. Why It Succeeded in Agrarian Societies

• The Peasantry Had the Most Gridlock: In countries like Russia (1917) and China (1949), the vast majority of the population consisted of desperately poor, exploited peasants living under near-feudal conditions. Promises of land reform—taking land from wealthy landlords and giving it to the people—acted as an incredibly powerful revolutionary motivator. [1, 2, 3]
• Weak State Infrastructures: Agrarian nations generally had fractured, autocratic, or weak governments. When these societies were destabilized by massive crises (like World War I for Russia or the Japanese invasion for China), the existing governments collapsed easily, creating a power vacuum for disciplined communist parties to exploit. [1]
• Ideological Adaptation: Communist leaders actively changed Marxist theory to fit their reality. Mao Zedong famously adapted Marxism into Maoism, arguing that in a non-industrialized nation, the rural peasantry—not factory workers—would serve as the vanguard of the revolution. [1]

2. Why It Failed in Industrial Societies

• The Rise of the Middle Class: As Western industrial societies matured, capitalism evolved. Governments introduced labor laws, unions, higher wages, and the 40-hour workweek. Because industrial workers saw their standard of living rise, they felt they had a stake in the system and preferred democratic reform over violent revolution. [1]
• Strong National Identity: Highly industrialized nations possessed strong state structures, institutional stability, and a potent sense of nationalism. This shared national identity routinely overrode the "class warfare" solidarity that Marx expected workers to feel across international borders. [1]
• Democratic Outlets: Industrial nations typically featured some form of representative democracy. When workers were angry, they could vote for socialist or labor parties to pass welfare laws, rather than needing to take up arms to destroy the government. [1, 2]

The Historical Irony

Because these revolutions succeeded in the "wrong" places, communist regimes in Russia and China faced an immediate paradox: they had seized power to protect a working class that barely existed yet.

Consequently, their first major priority wasn't actually establishing a communist utopia, but rather forcing rapid, state-controlled industrialization upon their agrarian populations. This resulted in aggressive policies like forced agricultural collectivization—such as Stalin's Five-Year Plans or Mao's Great Leap Forward—which often led to devastating economic disruption and catastrophic widespread famines.