Often people have a very fixed conception of what "Communism" is. Communists were ideologically motivated pragmatists and so were willing to do pretty much anything if they thought it advanced their cause. So there is a history of Communists using policies that may typically be described as right wing. Take a look:
1. North Korea Abolished Income Tax
The 1st of April is celebrated in North Korea as Tax abolition day and North Korea regards itself as the worlds only tax-free country. Income tax was abolished in 1974 as a "remnant of an antiquated society" along with all other direct taxation.
However, the government still collects taxes indirectly by sales tax and what is called a "turnover tax". As pretty much everything is owned by the state, the government can tax the companies it owns raising revenues by charging a sales tax on goods being used in production (turnover tax). As certain private enterprises have developed in North Korea in recent years they have begun to charge corporation tax, estimated at between 10-14%.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_North_Korea
2. Income Inequality as economic incentives
In the 1930's, income inequality was greater in the USSR than the USA (which is saying something). Stalin in a speech in 1931 rejected what he described as the ultra-leftist tendency towards "levelling" of wages as utopian. Instead he promoted income inequality as a way to incentivise people to work hard through material rewards. Individuals who fulfilled high output quotas were celebrated as heroes and where known as "Stakhanovites" after Alexei Stakhanov. The Soviets also promoted "socialist competition" or "socialist emulation" where workers competed against each other and were expected to copy the best practices of the most efficient and productive workers.
http://akarlin.com/2012/06/ayn-stalin/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakhanovite_movement
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_emulation
3. "Enrich Yourselves!"
A long time before Gorden Gekko's "greed is good", Nikolai Bukharin told Soviet peasants to "enrich yourselves" during the New economic policy in the 1920's. This was considered quite a gaff amongst the Communist party at the time and hurt his reputation. Bukharin was a champion of the New Economic Policy arguing that by using the market, the USSR could develop into a prosper Socialist country. He was defeated as part of the "right opposition" with his former ally, Joseph Stalin. However, his economic theories have informed current Chinese communist party economic policy.
http://www.korolevperevody.co.uk/korolev/obogashchaytes.html
4. Fiscal Responsibility
As a rule of thumb, Communist countries had relatively balanced budgets. In a command economy where most enterprises are state owned and controlled, this made the use of budget deficits unnecessary as companies did not have the autonomy to respond to these changes. Money played the role as a unit of account rather than as an activator for economic activity so Keynesian demand management wouldn't actually work. The exception is China after market reforms.
At present North Koreas public finances raise revenue of $2.88 billion whereas its expenses are $2.98 billion. So a very small deficit overall.
5. Karl Marx supported Free Trade
A little known fact is that Marx supported Free trade in the 19th century. This was part of discussions over free trade and protectionism over the Corn Laws in Britain at the time. Marx took the side of the free traders because he argued it work wreck capitalism and therefore accelerate social development towards socialist revolution.
This is an anomaly amongst Marxists perhaps reflecting the times and the major role classical economics played in Marxs thinking. most Marxists went on to support welfare states to protect workers as reforms under Capitalism, or to embrace the state monopoly over foreign trade in communist countries after the revolution.
http://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/marx/works/1848/01/09ft.htm
What about China?
I don't know much about China's current economic policies since Deng Xio Peng, but they are part of this tradition of "Market Socialism" if you will. They call it "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" and the rationale behind it is relatively simple: Communism is a state of abundance or post-scarcity, and if markets can be used to achieve that goal Communists should use them in a controlled way to develop the "productive forces" of society. As Deng Xio Peng put it, "it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_with_Chinese_characteristics
Here's how Chinese state television (the ironically named CCTV) explain it:
Do you think this is sort of thing is comparable with Socialism or is it just Capitalism with Red packaging?
1. North Korea Abolished Income Tax
The 1st of April is celebrated in North Korea as Tax abolition day and North Korea regards itself as the worlds only tax-free country. Income tax was abolished in 1974 as a "remnant of an antiquated society" along with all other direct taxation.
However, the government still collects taxes indirectly by sales tax and what is called a "turnover tax". As pretty much everything is owned by the state, the government can tax the companies it owns raising revenues by charging a sales tax on goods being used in production (turnover tax). As certain private enterprises have developed in North Korea in recent years they have begun to charge corporation tax, estimated at between 10-14%.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_North_Korea
2. Income Inequality as economic incentives
In the 1930's, income inequality was greater in the USSR than the USA (which is saying something). Stalin in a speech in 1931 rejected what he described as the ultra-leftist tendency towards "levelling" of wages as utopian. Instead he promoted income inequality as a way to incentivise people to work hard through material rewards. Individuals who fulfilled high output quotas were celebrated as heroes and where known as "Stakhanovites" after Alexei Stakhanov. The Soviets also promoted "socialist competition" or "socialist emulation" where workers competed against each other and were expected to copy the best practices of the most efficient and productive workers.
http://akarlin.com/2012/06/ayn-stalin/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakhanovite_movement
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_emulation
3. "Enrich Yourselves!"
A long time before Gorden Gekko's "greed is good", Nikolai Bukharin told Soviet peasants to "enrich yourselves" during the New economic policy in the 1920's. This was considered quite a gaff amongst the Communist party at the time and hurt his reputation. Bukharin was a champion of the New Economic Policy arguing that by using the market, the USSR could develop into a prosper Socialist country. He was defeated as part of the "right opposition" with his former ally, Joseph Stalin. However, his economic theories have informed current Chinese communist party economic policy.
http://www.korolevperevody.co.uk/korolev/obogashchaytes.html
4. Fiscal Responsibility
As a rule of thumb, Communist countries had relatively balanced budgets. In a command economy where most enterprises are state owned and controlled, this made the use of budget deficits unnecessary as companies did not have the autonomy to respond to these changes. Money played the role as a unit of account rather than as an activator for economic activity so Keynesian demand management wouldn't actually work. The exception is China after market reforms.
At present North Koreas public finances raise revenue of $2.88 billion whereas its expenses are $2.98 billion. So a very small deficit overall.
5. Karl Marx supported Free Trade
A little known fact is that Marx supported Free trade in the 19th century. This was part of discussions over free trade and protectionism over the Corn Laws in Britain at the time. Marx took the side of the free traders because he argued it work wreck capitalism and therefore accelerate social development towards socialist revolution.
This is an anomaly amongst Marxists perhaps reflecting the times and the major role classical economics played in Marxs thinking. most Marxists went on to support welfare states to protect workers as reforms under Capitalism, or to embrace the state monopoly over foreign trade in communist countries after the revolution.
http://marxists.anu.edu.au/archive/marx/works/1848/01/09ft.htm
What about China?
I don't know much about China's current economic policies since Deng Xio Peng, but they are part of this tradition of "Market Socialism" if you will. They call it "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" and the rationale behind it is relatively simple: Communism is a state of abundance or post-scarcity, and if markets can be used to achieve that goal Communists should use them in a controlled way to develop the "productive forces" of society. As Deng Xio Peng put it, "it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_with_Chinese_characteristics
Here's how Chinese state television (the ironically named CCTV) explain it:
Do you think this is sort of thing is comparable with Socialism or is it just Capitalism with Red packaging?
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