Can Children Learn Communism?

Summary

• However, children need not view communism merely as something to be accepted or rejected.
• The provision reflects Indonesia’s legal position toward communist and Marxist-Leninist ideology, but this does not mean that children should be denied the opportunity to study the history and ideas surrounding communism.
• Conversely, children given the opportunity to ask questions will learn that the state need not always be feared, ideology need not always be venerated, and policies need not always be accepted without criticism.

AI Generated Summary

By Dr. Tomy Michael

(The writer is Faculty of Law Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya
Indonesia)

To discuss justice is to discuss the ultimate goal. Within a state, justice—alongside security—is a value upon which there is universal agreement, regardless of the circumstances. This shared commitment is underpinned by various ideologies, such as socialism, communism, accelerationism, and solarpunk. Discussions regarding these ideologies often focus primarily on their utility to society. Consequently, policy takes center stage due to its orientation toward the public good. Yet, children are rarely consulted directly on such policies; while the state protects children through its measures, their own presence often seems to carry little weight.

Children should be a primary focus, as they are the ones who will ultimately live out the consequences of these systems. In film, communism is often portrayed as a force shaping national development, with opposition to it frequently equating to opposition against the state itself. However, children need not view communism merely as something to be accepted or rejected. Instead, they can be encouraged to ask questions: Why did communism emerge? What problems did it seek to address? And why did the idea garner such widespread support at a particular point in history?

This raises a simple question with a complex answer: should children learn about communism? Learning about communism is certainly different from being taught to become a communist. In the age of artificial intelligence, children can access a vast array of information; however, they require guidance to discern the accuracy or validity of what they encounter. For instance, a child reading Karl Marx does not automatically become a communist, just as a child studying liberalism does not automatically become a liberal. Knowledge does not necessarily create followers; rather, it fosters the ability to make comparisons, question ideas, and form a stance.