Introduction
Communism is an economic and political ideology, which is based on a classless system and ownership of all the means of production by the community. The ideology is based on the concept of sharing of resources and benefits by all. Communism is opposed to capitalism, where resources are owned by private individuals or enterprises.
Understanding Communism
The modern idea is traced by Victor d'Hupay, a French aristocrat, dating back to the 18th-century who propagated the theory of community ownership and sharing of resources for the benefit of all workers. According to the Book of Acts, the first-century Christian communities held property in common under a system known as koinonia.
The modern communist ideology dates back to the 19th century. Karl Marx was the advocate of modern communist ideology. The 'Communist Manifesto' of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels was published in 1848. The modern theory of communism is based on a scientific analysis of history and future of human society.
The modern communist ideology was part of the French revolution, at a time when the merchants were consolidating control over the resources of production. The French revolution had the working class in competition with the merchant class.
In the 'Communist Manifesto' and in the subsequent works, Marx and Engels advocated a labour class-oriented approach to bring in an era of socialism and later communism.
The modern theory also forecasted that the final stage of human development would mark the end of the struggle between the working class and the merchant class. A stage of equilibrium would be reached without any difference between various social classes, religious classes, or based on money/resources ownership.
Conclusion
The communist form of government is followed by one of the largest economies, China. In the communist form of government, all factors of production are owned by the government to create economic equality. However, most governments of the world have adopted a democratic form of government encouraging private enterprise and ownership of resources.
