Why can’t communists be communist the way the Amish are Amish, as in, peacefully, voluntarily, among themselves, without taking anyone else’s property or forcing anyone else to participate? If communism is really about cooperation and community, why does everyone else have to be forced into it?

Socialism starts with the claim that capitalism is just government favoritism toward the rich. Then it proposes the solution: give that same government total control over the economy and trust that it will now favor the poor. So the premise is that political power is corrupt when markets exist… but becomes virtuous when markets are abolished. If you already believe the government doesn’t represent you today, ask yourself what happens when it no longer needs your vote, your consent, or your continued participation to function. When it openly rejects the idea that it answers to you at all. At that point, you don’t exist as a citizen with rights. You exist as a resource to be managed. If concentrated power is the problem, concentrating it further isn’t the cure.