Why and when did Communism became synonymous with villainous ideology?

by AssortedCrap

From what I read and understand, communism is just another ideology. Inherently, it seems impractical to me, but there is nothing wrong in it. But if you see today, many political statements equate communism with villainous stance.

But it seems that the communist regimes failed because of the flawed leadership (Mao, Stalin) and not because of its principles. Democracies fall too but we don't make them enemies.

So why is communism related to enemy concept? Did it happen due to Soviet Russia or Mao's China or current China?

_persevero_

First of all, before I even start to try and give an answer, you've opened quite the can with your question. It is one that will automatically lead to harsh discussions that are more often than not politically charged and heavily influenced by modern-day politics. Nonetheless, let's try to find an introductory overview.

Your question about why "Communism became synonymous with villainous ideology" refers to a phenomenon called "anti-communism" - a term that for obvious reason cannot be explained or defined without having first defined the term "communism" which is easier said than done as "communism" and the descripitive use of the word "communism" can mean a lot of very different things, often in a polemic way which made you ask the question in the first place. Similarly though, there have been (and still are) a lot of groups that would proudly refer to themselves as communists while also distancing themselves from other groups also using "communist" as a self-description. You mentioned Stalin and Mao but you could add a lot of other persons throughout the 20th century whose relations to one another showcase the (often fierce) fragmentation within marxist-communist tradition (for example Trotsky, Tito or why not Fidel Castro). What I'm trying to say with this is the fact that whether or not you define "communism" or rather whatever "communism" means to you as "bad" inherently depends on your point of view in time and space.

It is important to note that while "anti-communism" is pretty much as old as "communist" ideas themselves (especially since 1848) the subsequent events of the 20th century were more decicive in shaping what constitutes "anti-communism". Not the least, because of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing civil war in which self-declared "communism" became a system of government and state for the first time. Disregarding the fact that by that time the inner conflict within the communist movement was clearly visible (for example within the Social Democratic Party of Germany that lost its "bolshovik-friendly" wing to the newly formed KPD which had very close ties to what would later become the CPSU) the joint coalition against the rise of soviet-influenced bolshovik communism was a strong (also ideological) common ground for the sea of political enemies (monarchists, conservatives etc). In the interwar period, the most notable example would be the "Anti-Comintern Pact" of 1936, orginally signed by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and subsequently joined by Facsist Italy among others. The same sentiments of fear over the rise of communism that lead to what became known as the "Red Scare" in American history were also existant in western-european societies at that time - the Weimar Republic especially suffered from this.

It should also not be forgotten that after Lenin's death in 1924 soviet-state communism became more and more synonymous with "Stalinism" which in turn resulted in the rise of "anti-Stalinism" within the "communist" movement. On a global level though, after the Second World War was won by the allies (including the Soviet Union) the ideological conflict between soviet-communist east and capitalist west became much more obvious and relevant as more and more soviet satellite states were installed. In the US especially, the "Red Scare" returned in full force as shown by the McCarthy-era.

So obviously, as you already said, the existing self-described "communist" states were the main catalysator for "anti-communist" sentiment, coming from depending on the times very different perspectives. I'm afraid this is a very rushed answer that only partially covers what you were asking for, I hope someone might pick up the comment and offer more and deeper context and explanation. There's also a lot of literature out there about this topic, although "anti-communism" itself is rarely covered in an own monographical study.

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