- "whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need."
A political and economic theory in which society is classless and property is collectively owned and controlled by the state or by the people themselves.
Karl Marx: The founder of communism and author of "Communist Manifesto".
Marxism: The theory and philosophy behind communism.
Dialectical materialism: The philosophical concept that human history is driven by the conflict of opposing forces.
Historical materialism: The idea that economic and social structures are the foundation of history.
Capitalism: The economic system that communism seeks to replace.
Socialism: The precursor to communism, and an intermediate stage between capitalism and communism.
Planned economy: The central principle of communism, which seeks to replace market economies.
Proletariat: The working class, which is central to the communist movement.
Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class, who own the means of production.
Class struggle: The struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie for control of society.
Leninism: The interpretation of Marxism developed by Vladimir Lenin, which emphasizes the need for a strong vanguard party.
Soviet Union: The first communist state, founded by Lenin and ruled by the Communist Party from 1917 to 1991.
Maoism: A variant of communism developed by Mao Zedong in China, which emphasizes the role of peasants as a revolutionary force.
Socialist revolution: The violent overthrow of capitalist society by the working class.
Collectivization: The policy of bringing agriculture under collective ownership, a key feature of many communist states.
Central planning: The system of economic management used in communist states, which involves a central authority making all economic decisions.
Five-Year Plans: The series of economic plans implemented in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, which set production targets for specific industries.
Cultural Revolution: The movement launched by Mao in China in 1966 to purge "bourgeois elements" from society and reinvigorate the revolution.
New Economic Policy: The policy implemented by Lenin in the Soviet Union in 1921 to encourage economic growth through limited market reforms.
Command economy: An economic system in which the government manages and controls all economic resources and production processes.
Marxism: This type of communism emphasizes the role of class struggle and the overthrow of the ruling class to establish a society based on common ownership of the means of production.
Leninism: Leninism is a form of Marxism that emphasizes the need for a vanguard party that will lead the revolution on behalf of the proletariat.
Stalinism: This type of communism is characterized by the centralization of power in a single leader, the cult of personality, and the use of terror to control the population.
Maoism: Maoism emphasizes the importance of mass mobilization and guerrilla warfare as a means of revolution. This type of communism also emphasizes the importance of rural and agrarian development.
Titoism: Named after the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, Titoism emphasizes the need for a decentralized form of socialism and a break from the Soviet model of communism.
Eurocommunism: This type of communism emerged in Europe in the 1970s and emphasizes a commitment to democracy and pluralism, as well as the need for economic planning and social welfare programs.
Council communism: Council communism is a form of communism that emphasizes the importance of workers' councils as an alternative to traditional trade unions and political parties.
Anarchist communism: This type of communism emphasizes the importance of individual freedom and decentralization, and advocates for the abolition of the state and the establishment of a society based on voluntary cooperation and mutual aid.
Christian communism: Christian communism is a form of communism that incorporates religious principles and is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Libertarian communism: This type of communism is based on the principles of libertarianism and advocates for the abolition of the state and the establishment of a society based on communal ownership and self-management.
- "entail the absence of private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state (or nation state)."
- "disagree on the means to this end" and "a more libertarian approach of communization, revolutionary spontaneity, and workers' self-management" vs. "a more authoritarian vanguardist or communist party-driven approach through the development of a socialist state followed by the withering away of the state."
- "placed on the left-wing alongside socialism" and "described as radical left or far-left."
- "anarchist communism, Marxist schools of thought, and religious communism, among others."
- "the current order of society stems from capitalism, its economic system, and mode of production, that in this system there are two major social classes, that the relationship between these two classes is exploitative, and that this situation can only ultimately be resolved through a social revolution."
- "the proletariat, who make up the majority of the population within society and must sell their labor power to survive, and the bourgeoisie, a small minority that derives profit from employing the working class through private ownership of the means of production."
- "grew out of the socialist movement in 19th-century Europe" and "came into power, first in the Soviet Union with the Russian Revolution of 1917, and then in portions of Eastern Europe, Asia, and a few other regions after World War II."
- "one-party rule by a communist party, the rejection of private property and capitalism, state control of economic activity and mass media, restrictions on freedom of religion, and suppression of opposition and dissent."
- "China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam."
- "inherent inefficiencies of communist economies" and "the general trend of communist governments towards authoritarianism and bureaucracy."
- "several scholars posit that in practice the model functioned as a form of state capitalism."
- "a battleground between the anti anti-communist political left and the anti-communist political right."
- "mass killings under communist regimes and mortality rates" and "remain a controversial, polarized, and debated topic in academia, historiography, and politics when discussing communism and the legacy of Communist states."