What is Communism?

Communism is an oft-wielded buzzword that is used to describe anything and everything under the sun, thanks to years of deliberate fear‑mongering and misinformation.

Colloquially, communism is a classless, moneyless, and stateless society. Sometimes, “communism” will be used interchangeably with “socialism.”

Specifically, communism is the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat. What does this mean? It means that communism is the liberation of the working masses from the oppression of the bourgeoisie. It seeks to resolve class contradictions inherent in capitalist society through the abolishment of class society itself. It strives for the abolition of private property and commodity production through the collective ownership of the means of production.

Socialists have existed long before Marx and Engels created dialectical and historical materialism. The Utopian Socialists, for example, existed as early as the 16th (1500s) and 17th centuries (1600s). Some prominent Utopian Socialists are Henri de Saint-Simon, Francois Fourier, and Robert Owen.

However, the limitations of the Utopians was that they believed it was sufficient to make a man– a boss or a capitalist– change his view in order to stop his exploitation. In other words, if you can just convince the rich and powerful that their actions are harmful, they will willingly relinquish their power. This method is insufficient because it does not address the root cause of exploitation. It is a completely idealist way of thinking since the Utopians believed that ideas were enough to change the world. They did not consider class or class struggle.

Scientific socialism has its roots in 18th century philosophy, building upon the theories of both the early Materialists and Hegelian dialectics. Most modern-day socialists are scientific socialists. In other words, they are Marxists.

Marxism is not only a theory of socialism, but also a philosophical method with which we analyze the world and history. This method is called dialectical materialism. Materialism is a philosophy that has existed since Ancient Greece, with philosophers such as Heraclitus, Democritus, or Aristotle. Dialectics, too, has existed in one form or another since Ancient Greece. There are even elements of dialectics found in Lao Tzu’s writings, such as in the Tao Te Ching.

Communism is the next phase of societal development, eventually replacing capitalism. Just as feudalism replaced slave society, and capitalism replaced feudalism, so too will communism replace capitalism.

To learn more about communism, please check out some of the recommended readings below.

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