Question

what does Communism mean

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GPT-4o mini
Communism is a political and economic ideology that aims to establish a classless society in which all property and means of production are communally owned, rather than individually owned. In a communist system, the idea is that goods and services are distributed according to need, rather than through market mechanisms or private profit.

The term is often associated with the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who outlined their vision in "The Communist Manifesto" (1848) and later in "Das Kapital." Marx argued that capitalism, characterized by private ownership and class struggle, would inevitably be replaced by socialism and ultimately communism through revolutionary struggle.

In practice, various attempts to implement communism in different countries have often taken the form of a one-party state, where the government controls the economy and suppresses political dissent. Notable historical examples include the Soviet Union, China under Mao Zedong, and Cuba under Fidel Castro. Each of these examples has shown significant deviations from the theoretical ideals of communism, often resulting in authoritarian regimes.