1. It hampers personal growth.

One of the setbacks of communism is its being too controlling on the lives of the people. Since it is a classless society, everyone is equal in social status and no one is above the other. This can also be a disadvantage since people will feel they are at the end of the road because there is no room for personal improvement. In Cuba, for example, all medical professionals, medicines and hospitals are controlled by the government. The fees of these professionals are regulated by the government and they cannot demand for higher fees.

2. It dictates on the people.

In a communist society, the government has the power to dictate and run the lives of people. Although its goal is one of equality, there is basically less or no personal freedom at all to criticize the government or demand for changes. Moreover, there is no freedom of speech and whoever goes against the government can be subjected to punishments.

3. It does not give financial freedom.

Another setback of communism is the fact that entrepreneurs cannot expect to make more money than the others. As opposed to a free market economy, the command economy which is practiced by most communist countries ties the hands of business people. Consequently, it is hard to get rich in these countries.

4. The government owns everything, including property, businesses, and production means.

The most significant disadvantage of communism is the fact that it eliminates the free market from domestic society. That means there are no laws of supply and demand available to set the prices for consumers to pay. This issue causes planners to lose the feedback they need to understand what is necessary for the production cycle and what could use an upgrade. There is no up-to-date information about what the needs of the consumers happen to be either.

Because of this disadvantage, it is not unusual for the government to produce too much of one item and too little of another. Surpluses and shortages in critical need areas can be strong enough at times that government disruptions can occur.

5. There is no freedom of speech in the typical communist government.

The needs of the government are indistinguishable from the best interests of society in a communist system, which means the idea of individual freedoms is incompatible with the ideology being practiced. The only reason to suppress this right is to keep those who are in power from losing it, which is why there are restrictions made on individual expressions, journalistic thought, and other challenges to the actions of the government.

Even Karl Marx, who is often vilified because of his ideas involving socialism, argued in favor for the people to have a right of expression. He even defended the free press in such a society, stating that censoring these ideas would lead to the implementation of a class he referred to as the bourgeois elite. Marx said that censorship is a tool that the powerful always use to oppress the powerless.

6. Central planning is challenging to achieve in a communist government.

Although the government can mobilize significant resources for almost any need at a moment’s notice through the structures of communism, there is a difference between the ability to centrally plan and its overall implementation. Because a free market doesn’t exist under this structure, the citizens will setup black markets to help them trade the items they want or need that are not part of the planner’s provisions.

7. Efficiency and productivity are difficult since there is little motive for workers.

There is never a need to have entrepreneurs operating in a communist space because the government maintains control of everything. That means the production cycles operate just well enough to produce what is needed for domestic consumption and the limited export market that may be available. Because innovation is what pushes an economy forward, shepherded by the development made possible by entrepreneurs who wish to experience success, the living situation in a country practicing this form of government can be exceptionally stifling.

8. The needs of the consumer are not taken into consideration in a communist government.

There is a reason why only five active governments in the world today practice communism. North Korea, China, Laos, Cuba, and Vietnam are transitioning from socialism and are not true forms of this government structure any more either. Even modern communism must rely on the concepts of a mixed economy so that it can survive, so the state chooses to own components of supply while encouraging free-market demand.

China began moving to a mixed economy as early as the 1970s. It phased out the collective farms, allowing private businesses to take over some industries. Even though the nation still follows a specific five-year economic point and its policies favor state-owned enterprises, it has grown to become the largest economy in the world.

9. Diverse populations may be challenging to govern with their need for different rules.

Cuba might be a small island, but it has a significant area of cultural diversity that is unique to the rest of the world. Even though it became a communist nation in 1960 when Castro proclaimed it to be the ruling party to encourage the Soviet Union to provide economic support in return for access to the United States, it has struggled to provide each sector with the needs that are necessary for even an average quality of life.

It took over 50 years for the Cuban government to recognize that different people had unique needs. In 2011, residents could take advantage of new economic reforms to purchase vehicles, cell phones, and appliances. Now one set of workers can sell items to another set, like farmers selling their crops to a hotel.

10. Internal balances for supply and demand may be impossible to achieve.

Communism struggles to find the right balance between supply and demand because it has no motivation to do so. The government only needs to produce items based on what it believes the population needs to continue working. In North Korea, that means supplying workers with drugs that make them forget they are hungry instead of giving them actual food to eat.

Supply and demand tend to focus on the export market only. This process allows the government to bring in currency that it can use on the global stage to reinforce its own importance domestically. That places further pressure on the general population to listen to production mandates since the consequences for disobedience can be quite high.

11. It is a government structure that comes with high levels of official abuse. 

Because ownership in a communist government lies with the state instead of in private hands, there is a higher risk of abuse for monetary purposes, power and control, or to pursue a personal agenda. The people at the highest levels of government are the ones who control the resources, which means they can decide in an instant if someone is “worthy” or not of receiving something. Each household is always at the mercy of the government and its potentially ever-changing views on what they deem to be acceptable behavior.

12. Communism takes a step backward on industrial evolution.

Most of the jobs in a communist country are tied to agriculture in one way or another because there is a significant need to provide basic food needs to each person. Without nutrition, there is no society that can exist. That’s why the traditional governments that followed this practice before becoming a mixed economy would usually trade items instead of buying or selling them. That was the only way it was possible to diversify the products which were available in the overall economy.

13. Opposition is not allowed unless the communist government authorizes it.

The goal of the communist party once it comes into power is to hold onto that leverage by any means necessary. Since the government controls every aspect of society, they can send out propaganda through all media channels with enough truth to make the stories believable. A single official might be in control of setting an agenda, measuring the performance of a society, or cracking down on actions that are deemed to be political dissent.

14. Instead of providing wealth, communism often causes poverty.

China is the one exception to this disadvantage because of its efforts to integrate some elements of capitalism or free markets into its society. There are even some semi-autonomous districts like Macau and Hong Kong that are closer to the United States in structure than they are to China. For the other five countries that continue to use this governing structure, the result is a higher level of poverty than other nations. North Korea, Cuba, and Laos are struggling in particular because the first emphasis is to maintain the structure of the government. People are asked to get by on the bare minimum – and even that is not enough sometimes.

During a bout with famine in North Korea in the 1990s, an estimated 3 million deaths occurred because of the economic shortfalls and lack of resources. Deaths peaked in 1997 from this issue. Then the government cracked down on anyone who used the terms “famine” or “hunger” because it would indicate a failure on the part of the government to negate the issue.

15. You cannot save any money in a communist government.

Because everything belongs to the state in communism, there are specific wealth caps that you and your family must follow. Once your salary from your employment is reached, anything that is left goes back into the government for redistribution. You cannot save currency outside of the regular consumption laws either. You get a guaranteed income and nothing more.

If you are caught on the black market making additional money, then fines and jail time can result from the discovery. That means there is little incentive to pursue a different career. Some people even give up chasing their dreams.