communism
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.
(often initial capital letter) 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.
(initial capital letter) the principles and practices of the Communist Party.
Origin of communism
1Other words from communism
- an·ti·com·mu·nism, noun
- pro·com·mun·ism, noun, adjective
Words Nearby communism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use communism in a sentence
President Andrzej Duda in the lead up to the Polish presidential election said LGBTQ “ideology” is more harmful than communism.
Top 10 international news stories of 2020 | Michael K. Lavers | December 31, 2020 | Washington BladeSachs has also advised governments around the world, especially as they tried to climb out of poverty or, after the Cold War, to shift from communism to a market economy.
Does Anyone Really Know What Socialism Is? (Ep. 408 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 17, 2020 | FreakonomicsDuda in June said LGBTQ “ideology” is more harmful than communism.
Bachelet highlights LGBTQ rights abuses in U.N. Human Rights Council speech | Michael K. Lavers | September 16, 2020 | Washington BladeThey were Cold War adversaries, the global icons of capitalism and communism.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | August 6, 2020 | FreakonomicsSachs has also advised governments around over the world, especially as they tried to climb out of poverty or, after the Cold War, to shift from communism to a market economy.
Does Anyone Really Know What Socialism Is? (Ep. 408) | Stephen J. Dubner | March 5, 2020 | Freakonomics
When communism was a threat, it was construed as a communist plot.
He defied the atheism of communism and the empty religious practices of Putinism.
Remembering the Russian Priest Who Fought the Orthodox Church | Cathy Young | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSoon enough, Castro turned his back on those ideals, embracing Soviet style communism.
They were, if you believed the Soviet propaganda machine, a shining example of communism at work.
Putin’s Hockey Pal Tells All: Slava Fetisov on ‘Red Army,’ Soviet Nostalgia, and What Drives Putin | Marlow Stern | October 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe utter lack of beds provides a vivid commentary on the extreme nature of communism.
The Secret Soviet Power Bunker—in Latvia, a Hiding Place for the Elite | Brandon Presser | September 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe collectivist state advocated by the socialist of to-day has scarcely anything in common with the communism of the middle ages.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockAs is well-known, his lectures and writings on the subject have earned him the title, "Father of Anarchist-communism."
Comrade Kropotkin | Victor RobinsonThe basis of this sex equality under primitive communism is easy to understand.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton SinclairThis primitive communism generally disappears as the tribe progresses.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton SinclairThis formula is: "communism in material production, Anarchism in intellectual production."
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for communism
/ (ˈkɒmjʊˌnɪzəm) /
advocacy of a classless society in which private ownership has been abolished and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community
any social, economic, or political movement or doctrine aimed at achieving such a society
(usually capital) a political movement based upon the writings of Marx that considers history in terms of class conflict and revolutionary struggle, resulting eventually in the victory of the proletariat and the establishment of a socialist order based on public ownership of the means of production: See also Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, socialism
(usually capital) a social order or system of government established by a ruling Communist Party, esp in the former Soviet Union
(often capital) mainly US any leftist political activity or thought, esp when considered to be subversive
communal living; communalism
Origin of communism
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for communism
An economic and social system envisioned by the nineteenth-century German scholar Karl Marx (see also 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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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