communism

communism Political outlook based on the principle of communal ownership of property. The theory derives from the interpretation of the course of human history defined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As outlined in the Communist Manifesto (1848), Capital (vol. 1, 1867), and other writings, Marx asserted that social and political relations depend ultimately upon relations of economic production. All value (and so wealth) is produced by labour, yet, in a capitalist system, workers' salaries do not represent the full value of their labour. Thus, the working class (proletariat) and the class that is in control of capital and production (bourgeoisie) have conflicting interests. Capitalism, it is asserted, is merely one stage in the progress of human institutions. As the forces of production (technology and capital stock) increase, the relations of production must change in order to accommodate them. Marx postulated that the bourgeoisie (by the nature of its operations) brought into being the urban proletariat. Conflicting interests within capitalism would inevitably lead to the overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat and so the collapse of the system itself. This would be replaced, first by socialism and eventually by a communist society in which production and distribution would be democratically controlled, summarized in the slogan “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need”. A socialist experiment was attempted by Lenin in Russia following the Russian Revolution (1917). Stalin turned communism into an ideology to justify the use of dictatorial state power to drive rapid economic development. This process was used as a model for other communist countries, such as China and Cuba.