I don't agree with such extremes, such as the executions of landlords etc.

This, I have to admit, is my one sticking point in actually calling myself a communist. This one question has tortured me for a long time:

What do you actually DO about the reactionaries and counter revolutionaries?

The USSR sent them to gulags. That seems harsh, but it's something. Mao's China killed them, and I'm sure similar things happened in Cuba.

There has to be an option that doesn't scare people or cause horror in general, but I don't think I personally have a perfect answer. I could say, "the average person won't be mistaken for a bourgeois," but I don't know how convincing that will be. The revolution would have to be truly perfect for that to happen.

What I can say, though, is that Marxists of the present day recognise and condemn these actions, and the Marxist tradition teaches us to constantly reevaluate our methods, in the scientific discipline of observation, experiment, reflection and so on. It's a cold way to put it, but the mistakes of the past have been carefully studied to ensure they can't happen again.

That doesn't mean new mistakes can't happen. We are only human, and even democratic will can run foul. But we can use our knowledge of material conditions to measure our approach. Only ever what the people want - and what we want is justice for all.