Communism Definition

kŏmyə-nĭzəm

noun

Any theory or system characterized by the ownership or sharing of all property by the community as a whole.

Webster's New World

A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

American Heritage

As envisioned by Marx, a future condition of mankind achieved after the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and a transitional stage of socialism, and characterized by a largely self-regulating society whose members have renounced private property and personal wealth, national identity, social-class differences, etc.

Webster's New World

A political system that advances revolutionary principles for achieving this condition, either as formulated by Marx or as modified by Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, etc., characterized by a single ruling party, centralized economic planning, the curtailment of individual liberties, etc.

Webster's New World

The Marxist-Leninist doctrine advocating revolution to overthrow the capitalist system and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat that will eventually evolve into a perfectly egalitarian and communal society.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Communism

Noun

Singular:

communism

Plural:

communisms

Origin of Communism

A calque of the German word Kommunismus (from Marx and Engels's Manifesto of the German Communist Party), in turn a calque of the French word communisme, which was formed from commun (“common”), from Latin communis, and the suffix -isme (“-ism”).

From Wiktionary
French communisme from commun common from Old French from Latin commūnis commune²

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition