ABSTRACT
Communism is and always has been national communism. Every international communist organization from the Communist League to Comecon has been characterized by national differences. National communism is the norm of Marxism-Leninism. The perversion of communism results not from the nationalization of ideology and practice, but from the proclivity of some national communists to attempt to universalize their national models. The ability of a communist party to universalize its experience has been a function of the power of the nation it rules and the determination of its leaders to impose their will on others. The nationalization of communism will also affect how future communist revolutions will be received in the communist world. Communism has survived because it has been national, and its continued survival depends on how successfully it can maintain this national impulse under changing conditions. Specifically, the nationalization of communism means that the communist powers no longer view Marxist-Leninist revolutions or postrevolutionary transformations as necessarily positive developments.
