Communism

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Communism A political ideology which has as its central principle the communal ownership of all property, and thereby the abolition of private property. Modern communism is specifically associated with the theories of Karl Marx, who saw the emergence of a communist society as being the final stage in a historical process that was rooted in human material needs, preceded by feudalism, capitalism, and (a transitional stage) socialism. Communism, according to Marx, would abolish class distinctions and end the exploitation of the masses inherent in the capitalism system. The working class, or proletariat, would be the instrument of a revolution that would overthrow the capitalist system and liberate human potential. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), first of all under Lenin's leadership and followed by Stalin, reinterpreted Marxist ideology as Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism, the major feature of which is democratic centralism. The CPSU provided the ideological lead for European communist parties. During the latter part of the 20th-c, however, its compulsory leadership was questioned. In 1989, the establishment of a non-communist Government in Poland, popular uprisings in Eastern Europe, and the decision by the Soviet Union not to intervene saw the dominant position of the Communist Party overturned and an immediate reduction in the status and influence of other communist parties. This change was symbolized best by the demolition of the Berlin Wall, a structure which had stood for the division of Europe into two ideologically opposed camps. There remain a number of countries in which communist parties continue to rule, notably the People's Republic of China, North Korea, and Cuba. However, even in these the system is showing signs of strain, and in China the aging rulers (adherents to the variant of communism known as Maoism) had to resort to force to crush demands for reform in the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1992. Only in North Korea does a full-blown totalitarian democratic centralist regime continue in power.

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