Final answer:
Anoosh suggests it is nearly impossible to persuade the population to follow Marxism because Marx underestimated the challenges of creating a wealthy and classless society, the necessary centralization of power, the pre-industrial conditions in rural areas, and the people's preference for stability and security over revolutionary change.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Anoosh, Marxism faced significant challenges in persuading the population to adopt its principles, predominantly because Marx had not fully anticipated the complexities of creating a wealthy and classless society. The theory necessitated a centralized government which was at odds with relinquishing power, leading to fears of counterrevolutions. Furthermore, Marxism ideally required an advanced industrial society with a mature industrial base, a large and self-aware proletariat, and a bourgeois class using harsh political measures to maintain control. However, in places like Russia, the conditions were not ripe for such a revolution as the society was largely agrarian and the population mostly consisted of peasants with limited industrialization.
The genuine populace, engaged in continual labor, favored stability and security over abstract ideologies, which presented a barrier to embracing revolutionary change. Meanwhile, the East European authoritarian governments were hesitant to adopt free elections, and the late James C. Davies noted that people in absolute poverty are less capable of effecting governmental change due to power disparities. Lastly, the Marxist-Leninist ideology required that the populace not only be educated about socialism but fully adopt its tenets, a challenging task in a society with low literacy rates and a focus on survival.
Opponents of socialism also argued that workers were free to choose employment, and without the incentive of profit and private property, there would be little motivation to take financial risks or strive for improvement. Thus, the vague concept of a workers' paradise was less appealing when compared to the tangible benefits of education, thrift, and self-discipline. Ultimately, despite the various socialist revolutions that occurred, Marx's lack of clarity on the functioning of a socialist state post-revolution created a historical dilemma for those countries to govern effectively under socialism.