Communism

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.

Principles of Communism
1. Abolition of private property in land and application of all rents of land to public purpose 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. 3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly

Principles of Communism
6 Centralization of the means of communication and transportation in the hands of the state. 7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. 8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of Industrial armies, especially for agriculture. 9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. 10. Free education for all children in government schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc

History of Communism
Early Development (1840-1916)
Pre-Marxist Communism
Early Development of Marxism

The Early Communist States (1917-1947) Spreading Communism (1948-1957) The Cold War and Revisionism (1957-1979)
Maoism and the Cultural Revolution in China The Cuban Revolution

Contemporary Communism (1993-Present)

Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" Theory

Karl Marx wrote his Communist Manifesto in the middle of the 19th century, which was a heady time in human history. The Industrial Revolution was radically and rapidly changing society. New technologies were coming out all the time, and many spoke of huge, sweeping changes to come. The idea of "social engineering" became popular; people believed that, armed with advancing technology and an enlightened world view, they would be able to tear down the rotten and dysfunctional society that thousands of years of human civilization had slowly constructed, and replace it with a new, improved version.