Communism: Definition & Explanation |

In this article you will learn everything about the term communism. We give you an overview of the emergence and importance of communism and how it differs from socialism. The term is important for the subject of history in order to understand the two-camp theory in the post-war period.

  • Ideology of a classless and ruleless society
  • Marx and Engels communist theories
  • Socialism as an intermediate phase
  • Communism in the Soviet Union

Communism definition

The word communism comes from the Latin from communion and means «Together».

Communism is generally understood to be the worldview of an ideal society. The aim of the communist ideology characterizes one thing above all unruly and classless community. In this society it shouldn’t private property give, but everything should belong to all people together. These include, above all, means of production and plants, houses or land holdings.

All goods should be shared among the people in solidarity. The principle applies: Everyone gives as much as they can and takes as much as they need. Communist political parties want to turn their theories into reality and thus ensure a more just society in which no stratum of society is exploited.

The word communism is often associated with dictatorships. This is because in the 20th century some dictatorships such as the Soviet Union or the People’s Republic of China emerged under the leadership of communist parties.

emergence of communism

During industrialization in the 19th century, the people were increasingly divided into two classes. On the one hand there was the working-class society or that proletariat called and on the other hand that economic citizenship. The proletariat suffered greatly from mass poverty and social ills, while the bourgeoisie gained economic power and could invest more private capital. Goods and investments were unfairly distributed in society and the bourgeoisie were much better off than the working class.

A question arises in society that characterizes the beginnings of communism: how can everyone in a community do well?

Important representatives of communism

Karl Marx was a German philosopher and social theorist of the 19th century. Along with his close colleague Friedrich Engels he is one of the most influential theorists of communism and socialism.

Both wrote down their theories in the work «The Communist Manifesto» (1848). This states that a more just society would come about through the overthrow of class rule. For this, the proletariat must start a revolution in order to conquer political power. In this way, a communist society could emerge in which there would be no more class struggle and exploitation.

The last section of the manifesto says:

May the ruling classes tremble before a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose in it but their chains. You have a world to win. Proletarians of all countries, unite!

In their book series «Das Kapital» (1857-1894) Marx and Engels analyzed the theories of capitalism.

The works of Marx and Engels are now considered the basis of communism. The theories of both are also summarized under the term Marxism.

The book series «Das Kapital» consists of three volumes. In these, Marx and Engels criticize the capitalist mode of production and capitalist values ​​in society. Marx wrote the first volume himself. After his death, Friedrich Engels continued the book series. The first volume was included in the UNESCO Register of Memory of the World in 2013.

Marx and Engels both died in the late 19th century, but their ideas and visions lived on. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was already inspired by Marx’s theses in his youth and dedicated his political work to communism in Russia at that time.

Lenin was the leader of the communist Bolsheviks. They overthrew the tsar in the October Revolution of 1917 and took power in Russia to build communism. The revolution was followed by a civil war marked by terror and the suffering of civilians. This resulted in the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922.

difference from socialism

Karl Marx defined socialism as intermediate phase to create communism, as a preliminary step, so to speak. Class society still exists in socialism. There is no longer private ownership of the means of production, but the state plans centrally what is produced (planned economy).

Socialism stands in stark contrast to capitalism. This is about the greatest possible efficiency and growth of the economy. All goods and means of production are owned by the individual. The economy regulates itself through supply and demand, with all suppliers being in direct competition (free market economy).

In socialism, on the other hand, the state has power over the distribution of factories, land for agriculture, or capital. The values ​​of Equality, Justice and Solidarity are the basis for economy and society in socialism.

Communist dictatorship in the Soviet Union

After Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin expand its autocracy with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and proclaimed Marxism-Leninism as the official political ideology of the Soviet Union.

The states of the Eastern Bloc were under Stalin’s reign of terror and were governed and controlled centrally by the CPSU, including the GDR.

Regime critics who opposed Stalin and his ideology were arrested or killed. In the country there were numerous penal and labor camps in which people were imprisoned. Only the slightest suspicion was enough for an arrest. Stalin wanted to wipe out all enemies and traitors of his regime and made no compromises.

The term real socialism describes the socialism that existed in the Soviet Union and other countries, but also highlights the discrepancy between the theory of socialism according to Marx and Engels and the authoritarian politics that actually prevailed. Stalin and other communist dictatorships justified their actions with the ideology of communism, but the violent and dictatorial conditions no longer had anything to do with the original ideas of Marx and Engels.

communism today

After the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the dictatorship in the Eastern Bloc countries also fell apart. Russia was declared a democratic constitutional state and in Germany the GDR and the FRG were reunited.

Today, communist states still exist in parts of Asia, including China and North Korea.

Communism – The most important things at a glance

  • Communism is an ideology of a ruleless and classless society
  • There is no private property and all goods are shared in solidarity
  • The theories of communism were formed through the injustice of the industrialization period. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the best-known theorists
  • Socialism is the precursor to communism, here the state controls the economy
  • The Soviet Union was a communist dictatorship, but the real conditions differed from Marx and Engels’ theories