com·mu·nism
Audio Help [kom-yuh-niz-uh
m] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [kom-yuh-niz-uh
m] Pronunciation Key –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 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. |
| 3. | (initial capital letter ) the principles and practices of the Communist party. |
| 4. | communalism. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
communism
To learn more about communism visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| com·mu·nism
Audio Help (kŏm'yə-nĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.
[French communisme, from commun, common, from Old French, from Latin commūnis; see commune2.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
| communism | |
noun | |
| 1. | 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. |
communism [ˈkomjunizəm] noun
(often with capital) a system of government under which there is no private industry and (in some forms) no private property, most things being state-owned
See also: communist
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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. |
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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