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Communism

Communism is a political and economic system that at one time was one of the most powerful forces in the world. Communism shaped a lot of history from the early 1900's to the 1990's. Some people have considered Communism the greatest threat to world peace; others have looked on it as the world's greatest hope. The term Communism has a couple meanings. Communism can be interpreted as a form of government, an economic system, a revolutionary movement, a way of life, or a goal.
Also, Communism is a set of ideas about how and why history moves, and where it is headed. The ideas about Communism were developed mainly by V. I. Lenin from the writings of Karl Marx. Lenin was a Russian revolutionary leader of the early 1900's, and Karl Marx was a German philosopher in the 1800's.
The word communism comes from the Latin word communis, which means common or belonging to all. We can trace back the idea of communal property all the way to the time of the early Greeks. In the 300's B.C., Plato discussed communal ideas in his book The Republic. Plato proposition suggested that a ruling class own everything in common, but the welfare of the state should be above all personal desires. A number of early Christian groups had some form of community that had communal ownership of property. Over the time, many philosophers supported such communist ideals as community ownership and equality of work and profit. And so in the 1800's, Marx transformed Communism into a revolution.
Communists said their long-range goal is a society that provides equality and economic security for all of the people living under its rule. Traditionally Communists have called for government ownership of land, factories, and other economic resources, rather than private. Communists have also called for government control of economic activity, and for strict rule by the Communist Party.
Marx, Karl (1818-1883), was thought to be among the most important thinkers of the 1800's. Few writers in all of history can...