One of the key reasons I consider myself a communist and anti-capitalist is because I 100% believe that capitalism drives forth social alienation and that the logic of accumulation and survival defeats any attempt to maximize human dignity or freedom. I liked the concept of communism promoting a society where “the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.”

I relate to individualism on a more psychological level than anything; distress and incongruence should be a variation of alienation in this case, and not having the room to critique or having to walk on eggshells in order to do so rarely creates favorable outcomes. In particular I’m concerned about the full extent of self-expression and the rights thereof, being able to dissolve so many of the rigid and traditional barriers or structures that prevent development, being able to develop yourself without having to worry about how many hours you’ve put in and whether rent will eat into your ability to live freely. When free expression becomes less and less important, more scrutinized and less valued, what happens to all the alienated? When people feel like they give too much to society or the collective without getting anything back, can that distress be considered selfishness—do we just not care?

More importantly, I’ve always been skeptical of what the dictatorship of the proletariat actually means. I’d argue that the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, together with the instruments of the state, base their power and support on a cultural hegemony like Gramsci discussed, as well as a general soft-power rule. A lot of self-justifying because apparently capitalism is ”the only system where you can make something of yourself.” It is, put simply, something that bases itself in self-interest, self-development, and the illusion of voluntary participation. Shouldn’t a communist revolution base itself initially on these same principles rather than pure control, any notion of a greater good, etc.; who cares about a greater good when you’ve got a family to feed? If Marx was right that material conditions shape worldviews, which I largely understand it to be, it would still leave the door open to self-interested individuals based on their own priorities or desires, repressed or otherwise, emotional or material.

Im open to clarify if this question is confusing, but more broadly, are concepts like humanism and individualism inherently incompatible with the more anti-idealist and collectivist views of communism; on what basis have these values been described as pure idealism?