Definition of Communism


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com·mu·nism thinsp.pngspeaker.gif /ˈkɒmthinsp.pngyəˌnɪzthinsp.pngəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kom-yuh-niz-uhthinsp.pngm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1.a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. 2.(often initial capital letterthinsp.png) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party. 3.(initial capital letterthinsp.png) the principles and practices of the Communist party. 4.communalism.

[Origin: 1835–45; < F communisme. See common, -ismthinsp.png]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This com·mu·nism speaker.gif (kŏm'yə-nĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key

n.

  1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.
  2. Communism

    1. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.
    2. The Marxist-Leninist version of Communist doctrine that advocates the overthrow of capitalism by the revolution of the proletariat.

[French communisme, from commun, common, from Old French, from Latin commūnis; see commune2.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

communism

1843, from Fr. communisme (c.1840) from commun (O.Fr. comun; see common) + -isme. Originally a theory of society; as name of a political system, 1850, a translation of Ger. Kommunismus, in Marx and Engels' "Manifesto of the German Communist Party." The first use of communist (n.) is by Goodwyn Barmby, who founded the London Communist Propaganda Society in 1841. Shortened form Commie attested from 1940.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This communism

noun1. a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership 2. a political theory favoring collectivism in a classless society

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This

communism

An economic and social system envisioned by the nineteenth-century German scholar Karl Marx. In theory, under communism, all means of production are owned in common, rather than by individuals (see Marxism and Marxism-Leninism). In practice, a single authoritarian party controls both the political and economic systems. In the twentieth century, communism was associated with the economic and political systems of China and the Soviet Union and of the satellites of the Soviet Union. (Compare capitalism and socialism.)

[Chapter:] World Politics

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition

Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This Communism

Com"mu*nism\, n. [F. communisme, fr. commun common.] A scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life; specifically, a scheme which contemplates the abolition of inequalities in the possession of property, as by distributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding all wealth in common for the equal use and advantage of all. Note: At different times, and in different countries, various schemes pertaining to socialism in government and the conditions of domestic life, as well as in the distribution of wealth, have been called communism.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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