Why Were Americans so Afraid of Communism?

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Why were so many Americans afraid of communism? Communism is a political theory started by Karl Marx and is based around the equality of society. Every man is equal and is paid according to their needs in society as opposed to their ranks, all property is publicly owned and therefore no man has an advantage over another. This effectively ends all wage labour as a doctor would be paid the same as a cleaner. Communism completely opposes capitalism, and any nation under communist rule would be lead by a single, unchallenged party which would strive for a higher social order. Every man would be expected to eat the same food, work the same hours and put equal effort into the society, this would be the foundation of a ideological community in which nobody is discriminated against. America is a nation built on the theory of freedom, this includes freedom of speech, religion and press. The USA thrived on individuals of their society getting ahead by working harder than others and achieving more. They were led by a democracy and although they believed in equality, they strongly supported the principle of hard work. It was all based on the American Dream, this is the ideology that any man can achieve success and prosperity through their own means. The decorated history of includes the prosperous expansion to the west which increased the wealth of many poor immigrants that had come to America in search of the American dream. It is clear to see the fundamental differences between American leadership and communism and this is linked in to the general outbreak of the red scare. Communism sounds like a rational theory however it was portrayed to the American public as an evil ideology that sought to abolish any form of freedom. In the USSR for example everything was run by the government which meant there were no private television or radio stations, any news that reached the

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