n people (Harris). Leading states of Europe such as France and Britain began to take the path of “social democracy” in which the working class would be given a voice through parliamentary elections (Harris). Also by organizing the proletariat through trade unions, social democracy allowed for collective bargaining to lead to improvements in working conditions, pay, benefits, and other factors that helped to limit the exploitation of lower class labor (Harris). On the other hand, the Bolshevik model for serving in the best interests of the common people was not to raise the level of the proletariat by giving them more rights and a stronger political voice, but to bring down the upper class that was exploiting them by destroying the caste system altogether. The goal of Bolshevism was to use a governing body to place the masses into one equal social class where everybody would work equally for the advancement of society as a whole (Harris). Communism under the direction of Lenin called for the abolishment of private property and the nationalization of all means of production thereby putting the state in control of all economics, politics, and social concerns (Harris). With the direction of the Bolshevik party, the Soviets were beginning to form a cohesive political machine that was to shape a new communist Russia, and eventually, a new communist world.An intrinsic trait of Communist ideology was the opposition of the imperialist and capitalist ways of the west (Harris). The Bolsheviks contended that capitalism itself was one of the human race’s major evils and should be eliminated. Marxism states that inequality and lower class exploitation creates inter-class struggle which he felt was a major downfall of society (Harris). Fueled by materialistic greed, members of a capitalist society found themselves constantly trying to better themselves at the expense of others around them. The lower class of society such as the peas...
