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{{Articleissues|disputed=January 2008|POV = January 2008|citations missing=January 2008}}
{{otheruses4|the form of society and political movement|information on Communist organizations|Communist party|states ruled by Communist parties|Communist states}}
:''Distinguish from [[Communalism]].''
{{Communism}}
'''Communism''' is a [[socioeconomic]] structure that promotes the establishment of a [[classlessness|classless]], [[State#Marxism|stateless]] [[society]] based on [[common ownership]] of the [[means of production]].<ref>">{{cite book
| last = Morris
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| title = News from nowhere
| url = http://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/works/1890/nowhere/index.htm
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}}</ref> It is usually considered a branch of the broader [[socialism|socialist movement]] that draws on the various political and intellectual movements that trace their origins back to the work of theorists of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the [[French Revolution]]<ref>"Socialism." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 03 Feb. 2008. <Reference.com http://www.reference.com/browse/columbia/socialis>.</ref>. Opponents say that communism is an ideology, whereas marxist promoters say that it is the only political system without ideology, because it is the consequence of [[historical materialism]] and the [[revolution]] of the [[proletariat]].{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Although many forms of communism, such as [[Leninism]], [[Trotskyism]] and [[Luxemburgism]], are based on [[Marxism]] and Karl Marx is sometimes known as the "father of [[Communism]]", non-Marxist versions of communism (such as [[Christian communism]] and [[anarchist communism]]) also exist.

==Background==
{{Refimprove-section|date=October 2007}}
[[Image:Kerala communist tableaux.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A tableaux in a communist rally in [[Kerala]], [[India]] showing two farmers forming the [[hammer and sickle]], the most famous communist symbol.]]
Communism as a political goal is a form of future social organization, although [[Marxism|Marxists]] have described early forms of human social organization as "[[primitive communism]]". Self-identified communists hold a variety of views, including [[Marxism-Leninism]], [[Trotskyism]], [[council communism]], [[Luxemburgism]], [[anarchist communism]], [[Christian communism]], and various currents of [[left communism]]. However, the offshoots of the [[Marxist-Leninist]] interpretations of [[Marxism]] are the most well-known of these and have been a driving force in [[international relations]] during most of the 20th century.

Communists believe that the working class, also called the [[proletariat]], would have to start a revolution in order to change from a [[Competition (economics)|competitive]] capitalist society to a co-operative communist society.<ref>"Socialism." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 03 Feb. 2008. <Reference.com
http://www.reference.com/browse/columbia/socialis>.</ref> [[Karl Marx]] held that society could not be transformed from the [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[mode of production]] to the advanced communist mode of production all at once, but required a transitional period which Marx described as the [[Communist revolution|revolutionary]] [[dictatorship of the proletariat]], the first stage of communism. This government would represent the proletariat and suppress the [[Bourgeoisie|Bourgeoisie's]] resistance to the revolution. <ref> "dictatorship of the proletariat." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 21 Jan. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030348>.</ref>The communist society Marx envisioned emerging from this intermediate phase has never been implemented, and it remains theoretical; Marx, in fact, commented very little on what communist society would actually look like. However, the term "Communism", especially when it is [[capitalization|capitalized]], is often used to refer to the political and economic [[Communist regime|regime]]s under [[communist party|Communist parties]] that claimed to embody the dictatorship of the [[proletariat]].

In the late 19th century, Marxist theories motivated [[Socialist Party|socialist parties]] across [[Europe]], although their policies later developed along the lines of "[[reformism|reforming]]" capitalism, rather than overthrowing it. One exception was the [[Bolshevik]] faction of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] headed by [[Vladimir Lenin]], succeeded in taking control of the country after the toppling of the [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]] in the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]]. In 1918, this party changed its name to the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]], thus establishing the contemporary distinction between Communism and other trends of socialism.

After the success of the [[October Revolution]] in [[Russian Empire|Russia]], many socialist parties in other countries became Communist parties, signaling varying degrees of allegiance to the new Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After [[World War II]], Communists consolidated power in [[Eastern Europe]], and in 1949, the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC) led by [[Mao Zedong]] established the [[People's Republic of China]], which would later follow its own ideological path of Communist development. Among the other countries in the [[Third World]] that adopted a pro-Communist government at some point were [[Cuba]], [[North Korea]], [[North Vietnam]], [[Laos]], [[Angola]], and [[Mozambique]]. By the early 1980s almost one-third of the world's population lived in [[Communist state]]s.

Communists themselves repudiate the usage of the term "communist state", as a communist society by their definition is a state-less society. The terms used by the communist movement to describe these states are either socialist states or 'people's democracies'.

Since the early 1970s, the term ''[[Eurocommunism]]'' was used to refer to the policies of reformist Communist parties in western Europe, break with the tradition of uncritical and unconditional support of the Soviet Union. Such parties were politically active and electorally significant in [[Italy]] ([[Italian Communist Party|PCI]]), [[France]] ([[French Communist Party|PCF]]), and [[Spain]] ([[Communist Party of Spain|PCE]]).

There is a history of [[anti-communism]] [[Anti-communism#Anti-communism in the United States and Cold War|in the United States]], which manifested itself in the [[Sedition Act of 1918]], the subsequent [[Palmer Raids]], and the later period of [[McCarthyism]].

With the decline of the Communist governments in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s and the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)|breakup of the Soviet Union]] on [[December 9]], [[1991]], Communism's influence has decreased dramatically in Europe. However, around a quarter of the world's population still lives in Communist states, mostly in the [[People's Republic of China]]. There are also communist movements in [[Latin America]] and [[South Asia]] that have significant popular support. However, even single-party Communist states like China and Vietnam have adopted capitalist economic mechanisms in certain limited ways, which some observers say is at odds with the original socialist ideals of communism.

==Early communism==
{{Main|History of communism}}
{{see|Primitive communism|Religious communism}}

Karl Marx saw [[primitive communism]] as the original, [[hunter-gatherer]] state of humankind from which it arose. For Marx, only after humanity was capable of producing [[surplus]], did private property develop.

In the history of Western thought, certain elements of the idea of a society based on common ownership of property can be traced back to ancient times .<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref> Examples include the [[Spartacus]] slave revolt in Rome.<ref>[http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/spartacus.html Historical Background for Spartacus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

At one time or another, various small communist communities existed, generally under the inspiration of [[Scripture]].<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> In the [[medieval]] Christian church, for example, some [[monastic]] communities and religious orders shared their land and other property. (See [[religious communism]] and [[Christian communism]]) These groups often believed that concern with [[private property]] was a distraction from religious service to God and neighbor.<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref>

Communist thought has also been traced back to the work of 16th century English writer [[Thomas More]]. In his treatise ''[[Utopia (book)|Utopia]]'' (1516), More portrayed a society based on [[common ownership]] of property, whose rulers administered it through the application of reason.<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref> In the 17th century, communist thought arguably surfaced again in England. In 17th century England, a [[Puritan]] religious group known as the [[Diggers]] advocated the abolition of private ownership of land.<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref> [[Eduard Bernstein]], in his 1895 ''Cromwell and Communism''<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bernstein/works/1895/cromwell/ Eduard Bernstein: Cromwell and Communism (1895)]</ref> argued that several groupings in the [[English Civil War]], especially the [[Diggers]] espoused clear communistic, agrarian ideals, and that [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s attitude to these groups was at best ambivalent and often hostile.<ref>Eduard Bernstein, (1895). ''Kommunistische und demokratisch-sozialistische Strömungen während der englischen Revolution'', J.H.W. Dietz, Stuttgart. {{OCLC|36367345}} Sources available at [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bernstein/works/1895/cromwell/]</ref>

Criticism of the idea of private property continued into the [[Age of Enlightenment]] of the 18th century, through such thinkers as [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] in France.<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref> Later, following the upheaval of the [[French Revolution]], communism emerged as a political doctrine.<ref> "Communism" ''A Dictionary of Sociology''. John Scott and Gordon Marshall. Oxford University Press 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.</ref> [[François Noël Babeuf]], in particular, espoused the goals of common ownership of land and total economic and political equality among citizens.<ref>"Communism." ''Encarta Online''. 2006.</ref>

Various [[social reformers]] in the early 19th century founded communities based on common ownership. But unlike many previous communist communities, they replaced the religious emphasis with a rational and philanthropic basis.<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> Notable among them were [[Robert Owen]], who founded [[New Harmony]] in Indiana (1825), and [[Charles Fourier]], whose followers organized other settlements in the United States such as [[Brook Farm]] (1841–47).<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> Later in the 19th century, Karl Marx described these social reformers as "[[Utopian socialism|utopian socialists]]" to contrast them with his program of "[[scientific socialism]]" (a term coined by [[Friedrich Engels]]). Other writers described by Marx as "utopian socialists" included [[Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]].

In its modern form, communism grew out of the socialist movement of 19th century Europe. (Encarta) As the [[Industrial Revolution]] advanced, socialist critics blamed capitalism for the misery of the [[proletariat]] — a new class of urban factory workers who labored under often-hazardous conditions.<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> Foremost among these critics were the German philosopher Karl Marx and his associate Friedrich Engels.<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> In 1848 Marx and Engels offered a new definition of communism and popularized the term in their famous pamphlet ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]''.<ref>"Communism." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> Engels, who lived in [[Manchester]], observed the organization of the [[Chartist]] movement (''see [[History of British socialism]]''), while Marx departed from his university comrades to meet the proletariat in France and Germany.

==Emergence of modern communism==
[[Image:Karl Marx.jpg|thumb|[[Karl Marx]]]]
{{main|Marxism}}

===Marxism===
Like other socialists, Marx and Engels sought an end to capitalism and the systems which they perceived to be responsible for the exploitation of workers. But whereas earlier socialists often favored longer-term social reform, Marx and Engels believed that popular revolution was all but inevitable, and the only path to socialism.

According to the Marxist argument for communism, the main characteristic of human life in class society is [[Marx's theory of alienation|alienation]]; and communism is desirable because it entails the full realization of human freedom.<ref>Stephen Whitefield. "Communism." ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics''. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, 2003.</ref> Marx here follows [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] in conceiving freedom not merely as an absence of restraints but as action with content. (McLean and McMillan, 2003) They believed that communism allowed people to do what they want, but also put humans in such conditions and such relations with one another that they would not wish to exploit, or have any need to. Whereas for Hegel the unfolding of this ethical life in history is mainly driven by the realm of ideas, for Marx, communism emerged from material forces, particularly the development of the [[means of production]]. (McLean and McMillan, 2003)

Marxism holds that a process of [[class conflict]] and revolutionary struggle will result in victory for the [[proletariat]] and the establishment of a [[communist society]] in which private ownership is abolished over time and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community. Marx himself wrote little about life under communism, giving only the most general indication as to what constituted a communist society. It is clear that it entails abundance in which there is little limit to the projects that humans may undertake. In the popular slogan that was adopted by the communist movement, communism was a world in which each gave according to their abilities, and received according to their needs.' ''[[The German Ideology]]'' (1845) was one of Marx's few writings to elaborate on the communist future: <br> <br>
<blockquote>"In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic."<ref>Karl Marx, (1845). ''[[The German Ideology]]'', Marx-Engels Institute, Moscow. ISBN 978-1-57392-258-6. Sources available at [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm]</ref>
</blockquote>

Marx's lasting vision was to add this vision to a theory of how society was moving in a law-governed way toward communism, and, with some tension, a political theory that explained why revolutionary activity was required to bring it about. (McLean and McMillan, 2003)

In the late 19th century the terms "socialism" and "communism" were often used interchangeably. (Encarta) However, Marx and Engels argued that communism would not emerge from capitalism in a fully developed state, but would pass through a "first phase" in which most productive property was owned in common, but with some class differences remaining. The "first phase" would eventually give way to a "higher phase" in which class differences were eliminated, and a state was no longer needed.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Lenin frequently used the term "socialism" to refer to Marx and Engels' supposed "first phase" of communism and used the term "communism" interchangeably with Marx and Engels' "higher phase" of communism.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}

These later aspects, particularly as developed by Lenin, provided the underpinning for the mobilizing features of 20th century Communist parties. Later writers such as [[Louis Althusser]] and [[Nicos Poulantzas]] modified Marx's vision by allotting a central place to the state in the development of such societies, by arguing for a prolonged transition period of socialism prior to the attainment of full communism.

===Other currents===
Some of Marx's contemporaries espoused similar ideas, but differed in their views of how to reach to a classless society. Following the split between those associated with Marx and [[Mikhail Bakunin]] at the [[First International]], the anarchists formed the [[International Workers Association]].<ref>Marshall, Peter. "Demanding the Impossible - A History of Anarchism" p. 9. Fontana Press, London, 1993 ISBN 978-0-00-686245-1</ref> Anarchists argued that capitalism and the state were inseparable and that one could not be abolished without the other. [[Anarchist communism|Anarchist-communists]] such as [[Peter Kropotkin]] theorized an immediate transition to one society with no classes. [[Anarcho-syndicalism]] became one of the dominant forms of anarchist organization, arguing that labor unions, as opposed to Communist parties, are the organizations that can change society. Consequently, many anarchists have been in opposition to Marxist communism to this day.

==Growth of modern communism==
{{main|Leninism}}

[[Image:Soviet Union, Lenin (55).jpg|thumb|left|[[Vladimir Lenin]] following his return to [[Petrograd]]]]

In the late 19th century Russian Marxism developed a distinct character. The first major figure of Russian Marxism was [[Georgi Plekhanov]]. Underlying the work of Plekhanov was the assumption that Russia, less urbanized and industrialized than Western Europe, had many years to go before society would be ready for proletarian revolution could occur, and a transitional period of a bourgeois democratic regime would be required to replace [[Tsar]]ism with a socialist and later communist society. (EB)

In Russia, the 1917 October Revolution was the first time any party with an avowedly Marxist orientation, in this case the [[Bolshevik Party]], seized state power. The assumption of state power by the Bolsheviks generated a great deal of practical and theoretical debate within the Marxist movement. Marx predicted that socialism and communism would be built upon foundations laid by the most advanced capitalist development. Russia, however, was one of the poorest countries in Europe with an enormous, largely illiterate [[peasantry]] and a minority of industrial workers. Marx had explicitly stated that Russia might be able to skip the stage of bourgeois capitalism. <ref>Marc Edelman, "Late Marx and the Russian road: Marx and the 'Peripheries of Capitalism'" - book reviews. ''Monthly Review'', Dec., 1984. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1132/is_v36/ai_3537723]</ref> Other socialists also believed that a Russian revolution could be the precursor of workers' revolutions in the West.

The moderate [[Menshevik]]s opposed Lenin's Bolshevik plan for socialist revolution before capitalism was more fully developed. The Bolsheviks' successful rise to power was based upon the slogans "peace, bread, and land" and "All power to the Soviets", slogans which tapped the massive public desire for an end to Russian involvement in the [[World War I|First World War]], the peasants' demand for [[land reform]], and popular support for the [[Soviet (council)|Soviets]].

The usage of the terms "communism" and "socialism" shifted after 1917, when the Bolsheviks changed their name to the Communist Party and installed a [[single party state|single party]] regime devoted to the implementation of socialist policies under [[Leninism]]. The [[Second International]] had dissolved in 1916 over national divisions, as the separate national parties that composed it did not maintain a unified front against the [[World War I|war]], instead generally supporting their respective nation's role. Lenin thus created the [[Third International]] (Comintern) in 1919 and sent the [[Twenty-one Conditions]], which included [[democratic centralism]], to all European socialist parties willing to adhere. In France, for example, the majority of the [[SFIO]] socialist party split in 1921 to form the [[French Communist Party|SFIC]] (French Section of the Communist International). Henceforth, the term "Communism" was applied to the objective of the parties founded under the umbrella of the Comintern. Their program called for the uniting of workers of the world for revolution, which would be followed by the establishment of a [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] as well as the development of a socialist economy. Ultimately, if their program held, there would develop a harmonious classless society, with the [[withering away of the state]].

During the [[Russian Civil War]] (1918-1922), the Bolsheviks [[nationalization|nationalized]] all productive property and imposed a policy of ''[[war communism]]'', which put factories and railroads under strict government control, collected and rationed food, and introduced some bourgeois management of industry. After three years of war and the 1921 [[Kronstadt rebellion]], Lenin declared the [[New Economic Policy]] (NEP) in 1921, which was to give a "limited place for a limited time to capitalism." The NEP lasted until 1928, when [[Joseph Stalin]] achieved party leadership, and the introduction of the first Five Year Plan spelled the end of it. Following the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks formed in 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or [[Soviet Union]], from the former [[Russian Empire]].

Following Lenin's democratic centralism, the Communist parties were organized on a hierarchical basis, with active cells of members as the broad base; they were made up only of elite [[cadre]]s approved by higher members of the party as being reliable and completely subject to [[party discipline]].<ref>[[Norman Davies]]. "Communism" ''The Oxford Companion to World War II''. Ed. I. C. B. Dear and M. R. D. Foot. Oxford University Press, 2001.</ref>

The Soviet Union and other countries ruled by Communist parties are often described as [[Communist state]]s with [[state socialism|state socialist]] economic bases.<ref>Scott and Marshall, 2005</ref> This usage indicates that they proclaim that they have realized part of the socialist program by abolishing the private control of the means of production and establishing state control over the economy; however, they do not declare themselves truly communist, as they have not established communal ownership of property.

===Marxism-Leninism===
{{main|Marxism-Leninism}}

Marxist-Leninism is a version of socialism, with some important modifications, adopted by the Soviet Union under Stalin. It shaped the Soviet Union and influenced Communist Parties worldwide. It was heralded as a possibility of building communism via a massive program of [[industrialization]] and [[collectivization in the USSR|collectivization]]. The rapid development of industry, and above all the victory of the Soviet Union in the Second World War, maintained that vision throughout the world, even around a decade following Stalin's death, when the party adopted a program in which it promised the establishment of communism within thirty years.

However, under Stalin's leadership, some{{Who|date=January 2008}} claimed that evidence emerged that dented faith in the possibility of achieving communism within the framework of the Soviet model. Later, growth declined, and [[rent-seeking]] and [[political corruption|corruption]] by state officials increased.

Under Stalin, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union adopted the theory of "[[socialism in one country]]" and claimed that, due to the "[[aggravation of class struggle under socialism]]", it was possible, even necessary, to build socialism alone in one country, the USSR.

====Maoism====
{{main|Maoism}}

Maoism is the Marxist Leninist trend associated with [[Mao Zedong]]. After the death of Stalin in 1953, the Soviet Union's new leader, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], denounced Stalin's crimes and his [[cult of personality]]. He called for a return to the principles of Lenin, thus presaging some change in Communist methods. However, Khrushchev's reforms heightened ideological differences between the [[People's Republic of China]] and the Soviet Union, which became increasingly apparent in the 1960s. As the [[Sino-Soviet Split]] in the international Communist movement turned toward open hostility, China portrayed itself as a leader of the underdeveloped world against the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Parties and groups that supported the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC) in their criticism against the new Soviet leadership proclaimed themselves as 'anti-revisionist' and denounced the CPSU and the parties aligned with it as [[Marxist revisionism|revisionist]] "capitalist-roaders." The Sino-Soviet Split resulted in divisions amongst communist parties around the world. Notably, the [[Party of Labour of Albania]] sided with the People's Republic of China. Effectively, the CPC under Mao's leadership became the rallying forces of a parallel international Communist tendency. The ideology of CPC, Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought (generally referred to as 'Maoism'), was adopted by many of these groups.

After the death of Mao and the takeover of [[Deng Xiaoping]], the international Maoist movement diverged. One sector accepted the new leadership in China, a second renounced the new leadership and reaffirmed their commitment to Mao's legacy, and a third renounced Maoism altogether and aligned with the [[Albanian Party of Labour]].

====Pro-Albanian Marxism-Leninism====
Another variant of Marxism Leninism appeared after the ideological row between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labour of Albania in 1978. The Albanians rallied a new separate international tendency. This tendency would demarcate itself by a strict defense of the legacy of Joseph Stalin and fierce criticism of virtually all other Communist groupings. The Albanians were able to win over a large share of the Maoists in [[Latin America]], most notably the [[Communist Party of Brazil]]. This tendency has occasionally been labeled as 'Hoxhaism' after the Albanian Communist leader [[Enver Hoxha]].

After the fall of the Communist government in Albania, the pro-Albanian parties are grouped around an [[ICMLPO|international conference]] and the publication 'Unity and Struggle'. Another important institution for them is the biannual [[International Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist Youth Camp]], which was initiated in 1970s.

===Trotskyism===
{{main|Trotskyism}}
[[Image:Trotsky militant.jpg|thumb|right|200px|right|[[Trotsky]] reading ''[[The Militant]]''.]]
Trotsky and his supporters organized into the ''[[Left Opposition]]'', and their platform became known as ''[[Trotskyism]]''. Stalin eventually succeeded in gaining control of the Soviet regime, and their attempts to remove Stalin from power resulted in Trotsky's exile from the Soviet Union in 1929. During Trotsky's exile, world communism fractured into two distinct branches: [[Marxism-Leninism]] and [[Trotskyism]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Trotsky later founded the [[Fourth International]], a Trotskyist rival to the [[Comintern]], in 1938.

Trotskyist ideas have continually found a modest echo among political movements in some countries in [[Latin America]] and [[Asia]], especially in [[Argentina]], [[Brazil]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. Many Trotskyist organizations are also active in more stable, developed countries in [[North America]] and [[Western Europe]]. Today, Trotskyists are organized in various international organizations and tendencies.

However, as a whole, Trotsky's theories and attitudes were never accepted in worldwide mainstream Communist circles after Trotsky's expulsion, either within or outside of the [[Eastern bloc|Soviet bloc]]. This remained the case even after the [[Secret Speech]] and subsequent events critics claim exposed the fallibility of [[Stalin]]. Today there are areas of the world where Trotskyist movements are rather large. However, Trotskyist movements have never coalesced in a mass movement that has seized state power.

Some criticize Trotskyism as incapable of using concrete analysis on its theories, rather resorting to phrases and abstract notions. <ref>[http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/OT73NB.html On Trotskyism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://home.flash.net/~comvoice/32cTrotskyism.html Swedish FRP on anti-Marxist-Leninist dogmas of Trotskyism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/wim/wyl/ What's Your Line?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Cold War years==
[[Image:Zaliasis Tiltas Statues.JPG|thumb|right|200px|The construction and industry statue on the Green Bridge, [[Vilnius]], a classic example of Cold War [[socialist realism]].]]
By virtue of the Soviet Union's victory in the [[World War II|Second World War]] in 1945, the [[Red Army|Soviet Army]] had occupied nations in both [[Eastern Europe]] and [[East Asia]]; as a result, communism as a movement spread to many new countries. This expansion of communism both in Europe and Asia gave rise to a few different branches of its own, such as [[Maoism]].

Communism had been vastly strengthened by the winning of many new nations into the sphere of Soviet influence and strength in Eastern Europe. Governments modeled on Soviet Communism took power with Soviet assistance in [[Bulgaria]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[East Germany]], [[Poland]], [[Hungary]] and [[Romania]]. A Communist government was also created under [[Joseph Tito|Marshal Tito]] in [[Yugoslavia]], but Tito's independent policies led to the expulsion of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] from the [[Cominform]], which had replaced the [[Comintern]]. [[Titoism]], a new branch in the world communist movement, was labeled ''[[deviationism|deviationist]]''. [[Albania]] also became an independent Communist nation after World War II.

By 1950 the [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communists]] held all of [[Mainland China]], thus controlling the most populous nation in the world. Other areas where rising Communist strength provoked dissension and in some cases led to actual fighting include the [[Korean Peninsula]], [[Laos]], many nations of the [[Middle East]] and [[Africa]], and, especially, [[Vietnam]] (''see'' [[Vietnam War]]). With varying degrees of success, Communists attempted to unite with [[Nationalism|nationalist]] and [[Socialism|socialist]] forces against what they saw as [[Western world|Western]] [[imperialism]] in these poor countries.

==After the collapse of the Soviet Union==
[[Image:Cocos 480330193 e9b31f465b o d.jpg|thumb|Communists marching in France on May 1, 2007]]
In 1985, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became leader of the Soviet Union and relaxed central control, in accordance with reform policies of [[glasnost]] (openness) and [[perestroika]] (restructuring). The Soviet Union did not intervene as [[Poland]], [[East Germany]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], and [[Hungary]] all abandoned Communist rule by 1990. In 1991, the Soviet Union itself dissolved.

By the beginning of the 21st century, states controlled by Communist parties under a single-party system include the [[People's Republic of China]], [[Cuba]], [[Laos]], [[North Korea]], and [[Vietnam]]. Communist parties, or their descendant parties, remain politically important in many countries. President [[Vladimir Voronin]] of [[Moldova]] is a member of the [[Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova]], but the country is not run under single-party rule. In [[South Africa]], the [[SACP|Communist Party]] is a partner in the [[ANC]]-led government. In [[India]], [[as of 2007]], the national government relies on outside support from the communist parties and communists lead the governments of three [[states and territories of India|states]], with a combined population of more than 115 million. In [[Nepal]], communists hold a majority in the [[interim legislature of Nepal|interim parliament]].

The People's Republic of China has reassessed many aspects of the Maoist legacy; and the People's Republic of China, Laos, Vietnam, and, to a far lesser degree, Cuba have reduced state control of the economy in order to stimulate growth. The People's Republic of China runs [[Special Economic Zone]]s dedicated to market-oriented enterprise, free from central government control. Several other communist states have also attempted to implement market-based reforms, including Vietnam. Officially, the leadership of the People's Republic of China refers to its policies as "[[Socialism with Chinese characteristics]]."

Theories within Marxism as to why communism in Eastern Europe was not achieved after socialist revolutions pointed to such elements as the pressure of external capitalist states, the relative backwardness of the societies in which the revolutions occurred, and the emergence of a bureaucratic stratum or class that arrested or diverted the transition press in its own interests. (Scott and Marshall, 2005) Marxist critics of the Soviet Union, most notably Trotsky, referred to the Soviet system, along with other Communist states, as "[[degenerated workers' state|degenerated]]" or "[[deformed workers' state]]s," arguing that the Soviet system fell far short of Marx's communist ideal and he claimed [[working class]] was politically dispossessed. The ruling stratum of the Soviet Union was held to be a bureaucratic [[caste]], but not a new ruling class, despite their political control. They called for a [[political revolution]] in the USSR and defended the country against [[capitalism|capitalist]] restoration. Others, like [[Tony Cliff]], advocated the theory of [[state capitalism]], which asserts that the bureaucratic elite acted as a surrogate capitalist class in the heavily centralized and repressive political apparatus.

Non-Marxists, in contrast, have often applied the term to any society ruled by a Communist Party and to any party aspiring to create a society similar to such existing nation-states. In the social sciences, societies ruled by Communist Parties are distinct for their single party control and their socialist economic bases. While [[anticommunism|anticommunists]] applied the concept of "[[totalitarianism]]" to these societies, many social scientists identified possibilities for independent political activity within them, and stressed their continued evolution up to the point of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe during the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=H. Gordon Skilling|date=April 1966|title=Interest Groups and Communist Politics|journal=World Politics|volume=18|issue=3|pages=435-451}}�UNIQ3ab34e171166e61b-HTMLCommentStrip7c7dfbc41ccbeb7000000002</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[J. Arch Getty]]|year=1985|title=Origins of the Great Purges: The Soviet Communist Party Reconsidered: 1933-1938|publisher=Cambridge University Press|id=ISBN 978-0-521-33570-6}}</ref>

Today, Marxist revolutionaries are conducting armed insurgencies in [[India]], [[Philippines]], [[Iran]], [[Turkey]], and [[Colombia]].

==Criticism of communism==
{{Main|Criticisms of communism}}
A diverse array of writers and political activists have published criticism of communism, such as:
* Soviet bloc dissidents [[Lech Wałęsa]], [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]] and [[Václav Havel]];
* Social theorists [[Hannah Arendt]], [[Raymond Aron]], [[Ralf Dahrendorf]], [[Seymour Martin Lipset]], and [[Karl Wittfogel]];
* Economists [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[Friedrich Hayek]], and [[Milton Friedman]];
* Historians and social scientists [[Robert Conquest]], [[Stéphane Courtois]], [[Richard Pipes]], and [[R. J. Rummel]];
* [[anti-Stalinist left|Anti-Stalinist leftists]] [[Ignazio Silone]], [[George Orwell]], [[Saul Alinsky]], [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]], [[Arthur Koestler]], and [[Bernard-Henri Levy]];
* Novelist and Philosopher [[Ayn Rand]]; and
* Philosophers [[Leszek Kołakowski]] and [[Karl Popper]].

Part of this criticism is on the policies adopted by one-party states ruled by Communist parties (known as "[[Communist state]]s"). Critics are specially focused on their economic performance and [[The Black Book of Communism|human rights records]]. Some writers, such as Courtois, argue that the actions of Communist states were the inevitable (though sometimes unintentional) result of Marxist principles;<ref>[[Nicolas Werth]], [[Karel Bartošek]], [[Jean-Louis Panne]], [[Jean-Louis Margolin]], [[Andrzej Paczkowski]], [[Stéphane Courtois]], ''[[Black Book of Communism|The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]]'', [[Harvard University Press]], 1999, hardcover, 858 pages, ISBN 978-0-674-07608-2</ref> thus, these authors present the events occurring in those countries, particularly under Stalin and Mao, as an argument against Marxism itself. Some critics were former Marxists, such as Wittfogel, who applied Marx's concept of "[[Oriental despotism]]" to Communist states such as the [[Soviet Union]], and Silone, Wright, Koestler (among other writers) who contributed essays to the book ''[[The God that Failed]]'' (the title refers not to the Christian God but to Marxism).

There have also been more direct [[criticisms of Marxism]], such as criticisms of the [[labor theory of value]] or [[criticisms of Marxism#Marx's predictions|Marx's predictions]]. Nevertheless, Communist parties outside of the [[Warsaw Pact]], such as the Communist parties in Western Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, differed greatly. Thus a criticism that is applicable to one such party is not necessarily applicable to another.

Economic criticisms of communal and or government property are described under [[criticisms of socialism]].

==Comparing ''Communism'' to ''communism''==
According to the 1996 third edition of ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage]]'', ''communism'' and derived words are written with the [[minuscule|lower case]] ''c'' except when they refer to a political party of that name, a member of that party, or a government led by such a party, in which case the word is written "Communist" (with an [[capital letters|upper case]] ''C''). Thus, one may be a communist (an advocate of communism) without being a Communist (a member of a Communist Party or another similar organization).

==See also==
*[[:Category:Communism by country|Communism by country]]
*[[Communist state]]
*[[Anti-communism]]
*[[Criticisms of communism]]
*[[Post-Communism]]
*[[Communization]]
*[[The Communist Manifesto]]
*[[Ideology]]
*[[Economic ideology]]
*[[Dekulakization]]
*[[Human rights in the Soviet Union]]

===Schools of communism===
*[[Anarchist communism]]
*[[Council communism]]
*[[De Leonism]]
*[[Eurocommunism]]
*[[Left communism]]
*[[Luxemburgism]]
*[[Marxism]]
*[[Leninism]]
*[[Marxism-Leninism]]
*[[Maoism]]
*[[Religious communism]]
*[[Stalinism]]
*[[Titoism]]
*[[Trotskyism]]

===Organizations and people===
* [[Communist party]]
* [[List of Communist parties]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[http://www.marxist.com/rircontents-5.htm Reason in Revolt: Marxism and Modern Science By Alan Woods and Ted Grant]
*Forman, James D., "Communism from Marx's Manifesto to 20th Century Reality", New York, Watts. 1972. ISBN 978-0-531-02571-0
*[http://www.marxist.com/marxist-books.htm Books on Communism, Socialism and Trotskyism]
*[[Francois Furet|Furet, Francois]], Furet, Deborah Kan (Translator), "The Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century", University of Chicago Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-226-27341-9
*Daniels, Robert Vincent, "A Documentary History of Communism and the World: From Revolution to Collapse", University Press of New England, 1994, ISBN 978-0-87451-678-4
*[[Karl Marx|Marx, Karl]] and [[Friedrich Engels|Friedrich Engels]], "Communist Manifesto", (Mass Market Paperback - REPRINT), Signet Classics, 1998, ISBN 978-0-451-52710-3
*Dirlik, Arif, "Origins of Chinese Communism", Oxford University Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-19-505454-5
*Beer, Max, "The General History of Socialism and Social Struggles Volumes 1 & 2", New York, Russel and Russel, Inc. 1957
*Adami, Stefano, 'Communism', in Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies, ed. Gaetana Marrone - P.Puppa, Routledge, New York- London, 2006

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Communism}}
{{wiktionarypar|communism}}
*[http://www.marxist.com In Defense of Marxism]
* http://www.broadleft.org/ - Comprehensive list of the leftist parties of the world
* [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/index.html Anarchy Archives] Includes the works of anarchist communists.
* [http://www.libcom.org/library Libertarian Communist Library]
* [http://www.marxists.org Marxists Internet Archive]
* [http://www.marxist.net Marxist.net]
* [http://www.communistleague.org The Communist League]
* [http://www.wumingfoundation.com/english/outtakes/communism.htm The Mu Particle in "Communism"], a short etymological essay by [[Wu Ming]].

{{Ideologies}}

[[Category:Communism|*]]
[[Category:Economic ideologies]]
[[Category:Political ideologies]]

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Revision as of 19:23, 21 February 2008

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