Communism

Communism is an ideology that aims to create a classless, stateless society in which the means of production are communally owned and goods distributed according to need. In Marxist theory, communism is the final stage after a transitional socialist period in which the working class holds political power and private property in production is abolished.

Key principles include common ownership of productive assets, elimination of private property in means of production, planned distribution of goods, and the slogan from each according to ability, to each according to need. In theory, the state withers away as class distinctions disappear.

There are multiple strands, including Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, and Trotskyism, which interpret how to move from capitalism to communism. Other currents, such as anarcho-communism, advocate stateless, decentralized arrangements. Democratic socialists seek socialist reforms within democratic systems.

In the 20th century, several states claimed to practice communism, notably the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, and Vietnam. These regimes combined one-party rule with centralized planning and state ownership. They achieved gains in education and health but faced economic difficulties and political repression, and many collapsed or reformed in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Today, communism remains a theoretical framework and a political reference for some parties and movements, though no country has realized a fully stateless, classless society. Critics argue that centralized economies undermine freedoms and efficiency; supporters contend that socialism can be compatible with democracy and human development.