Table of Contents
Communism
Communism is a political and economic theory holding that the means of production should be held in common - typically by the state or by workers collectively - and that class distinctions and private ownership of capital should be abolished, ultimately yielding a classless, stateless society in which goods are distributed according to need. The term encompasses a range of ideological traditions, including Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism, and libertarian communism, which differ substantially in their theories of how such a society would be achieved and organized. In practice, communist governance has most often taken the form of single-party states led by vanguard parties claiming to act in the interests of the working class.
Background
The theoretical foundations of modern communism were laid primarily by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the nineteenth century, most notably in The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Marx's later Capital (1867-1894). Their framework - historical materialism - holds that social and political structures are shaped by underlying economic relations, and that capitalism contains internal contradictions that will ultimately produce its own collapse and replacement by socialism, and then communism. The first large-scale attempt to implement a communist state followed the Russian Revolution of 1917, leading to the formation of the Soviet Union. Over the course of the twentieth century, communist governments came to power in China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and much of Eastern Europe, among other states. Most communist regimes of the Soviet model collapsed between 1989 and 1991. The People's Republic of China retains Communist Party rule while operating a heavily market-integrated economy. See Communism - History for a full account.
Current State of Debate
Communism remains one of the most contested subjects in political theory, history, and economics. Empirical disputes center on the causes and extent of famine, political repression, and economic underperformance in communist states, and on how much of this record should be attributed to Marxist theory itself versus contingent historical factors such as foreign intervention, war, or the failures of specific leaders. Interpretive disputes turn on whether the Soviet Union, Maoist China, or similar regimes constituted genuine attempts at communism or were distortions of it. Theoretical disputes concern whether the economic calculation problem identified by Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek is a fundamental barrier to central planning, and whether alternatives such as market socialism or decentralized planning could resolve it. Historians and political scientists also debate the death tolls attributable to communist regimes, with estimates varying widely depending on methodology and scope.1)2)
Consensus Status
There is broad consensus among economists in the liberal and neoclassical traditions that centrally planned economies have performed poorly relative to market economies in generating living standards and technological innovation. This consensus is not universal; heterodox economists and some political scientists dispute its scope and framing. See Communism - Economics Consensus.
There is also broad consensus among historians that communist regimes of the twentieth century were responsible for large-scale political violence and repression, though the precise figures and causal interpretations remain contested. See Communism - History Consensus.
Viewpoints
Marxist and communist - Holds that communism represents the logical and necessary resolution of capitalism's contradictions, that historical failures resulted from external pressures or ideological deviation, and that the emancipatory promise of the theory remains valid. See Communism - Marxist Viewpoint.
Social democratic - Accepts some Marxist critique of capitalism but rejects revolutionary politics and the abolition of markets, arguing instead for regulated capitalism and robust welfare states as a realistic path to social equality. See Communism - Social Democratic Viewpoint.
Liberal and classical liberal - Argues that communism is incompatible with individual liberty, that central planning is economically irrational, and that the historical record of communist states demonstrates the theory's practical dangers. See Communism - Liberal Viewpoint.
Conservative and traditionalist - Opposes communism primarily on grounds of its hostility to religion, family structure, and inherited social institutions, and emphasizes its record of cultural and moral destruction alongside its political violence. See Communism - Conservative Viewpoint.
Libertarian and anarchist - Libertarians oppose communism as a form of statism incompatible with individual rights and economic freedom. Anarcho-communists, by contrast, embrace the communal ownership of production while rejecting the state entirely, distinguishing themselves from Leninist vanguardism. See Communism - Libertarian Viewpoint and Communism - Anarchist Viewpoint.