Origin

  • Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
  • “The Communist Manifesto” (1848)

Theory

  • Class struggle: proletariat vs bourgeoisie
  • Abolition of private property
  • Collective ownership of means of production
  • Stateless, classless society

Historical Implementations

  • Soviet Union (Lenin ? Stalin)
  • Maoist China
  • Eastern Bloc
  • Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam

Criticism

  • Repression
  • Economic inefficiency
  • Famine and mass death
  • Corruption and stagnation

Variants

  • Marxism-Leninism
  • Maoism
  • Trotskyism
  • Eurocommunism