Communism

   "Imagine no possession" --John Lennon

   Communism (from communis -- common, shared) is a very wide term which most
   generally stands for the idea that sharing and equality should be the
   basic values and principles of a society; as such it is a [1]leftist idea
   which falls under [2]socialism (i.e. basically focusing on people at
   large). There are very many branches, theories, political ideologies and
   schools of thought somewhat based on communism, for example [3]Marxism,
   [4]Leninism, [5]anarcho communism, primitive communism, Christian
   communism, Buddhist communism etc. -- of course, some of these are good
   while others are evil and only abuse the word communism as a kind of brand
   (as also happens e.g. with [6]anarchism). Sadly after the disastrous
   failure of the violent pseudocommunist revolutions of the 20th century,
   most people came to equate the word communism with oppressive militant
   regimes, however we have to stress that communism is NOT equal to [7]USSR,
   Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism or any other form of pseudocommunism, on the
   contrary such regimes were rather hierarchical, nonegalitarian and
   violent, we might even say downright [8]fascist. We ourselves embrace true
   communism and build our [9]LRS and [10]less retarded society on ideas of
   unconditional sharing. Yes, large communist societies have existed and
   worked, for example the [11]Inca empire worked without [12]money and
   provided FREE food, clothes, houses, health care, education and other
   products of collective work to everyone, according to his needs. Many
   other communities also work on more or less communist principles, see e.g.
   Jewish kibbutz, Sikhist [13]langar, [14]free software, or even just most
   families for that matter. Of course, no one says the mentioned societies
   and groups are or were [15]ideal, just that the principles of communism DO
   work, that communism should be considered a necessary attribute of an
   ideal society and that ideal society is not impossible due to
   impossibility of communism because as we see, it is indeed possible. The
   color [16]red is usually associated with communism and the "hammer and
   sickle" (U+262D) is taken as its symbol, though that's mostly associated
   with the evil communist regimes and so its usage by LRS supporters is
   probably better be avoided.

   Common ideas usually associated with communism are (please keep in mind
   that this may differ depending on the specific flavor of communism):

     * Ending [17]capitalism and similar rightist oppressive hierarchical
       systems which are the polar opposite of communism and are incompatible
       with it. Along with these also things like [18]consumerism, worker
       exploitation, crime and poverty will disappear.
     * Abolishment of private property, establishing common ownership, for
       example a factory shouldn't have a single owner who makes profit off
       of it, it should rather be collectively managed by those who work in
       the factory and they should collectively share what they make there.
     * Sharing and collaboration as opposed to [19]competition.
     * Equality, seizing of division of people into social classes (such as
       workers, [20]bourgeoisie, rich, poor, aristocracy, ...).
     * Eventual abolishment of [21]state, as again in a good society that
       benefits people there shouldn't be any crime, theft, abuse of workers
       etc. However some "communists" see state and its control of economy as
       a necessary intermediate step towards this goal.
     * Abolishment of [22]money as that is a means of dividing people into
       classes (rich and poor), means of abuse (wage slavery) and a tool of
       systems such as capitalism. In a good society money is unnecessary,
       everyone gets what he needs.
     * Sometimes [23]revolution (and even [24]war, temporary dictatorship
       etc.) is seen by some "communists" as a necessary way of achieving a
       change, however many others oppose this as revolution means violence,
       dominating man by another man (inequality) etc. -- peaceful voluntary
       evolutionary approach is also an option of achieving communism.
     * Focus on workers and common people.
     * Intellectual endeavor and idealism -- many communists are
       intellectuals, scientifically examining society and seeking models of
       an ideal society, a "[25]utopia" as opposed to accepting life in a
       [26]dystopia.
     * ...

   TODO

See Also

     * [27]less retarded society
     * [28]socialism
     * More’s [29]Utopia
     * [30]capitalism

Links:
1. left_right.md
2. socialism.md
3. marxism.md
4. leninism.md
5. ancom.md
6. anarchism.md
7. ussr.md
8. fascism.md
9. lrs.md
10. less_retarded_society.md
11. inca.md
12. money.md
13. langar.md
14. free_software.md
15. less_retarded_society.md
16. red.md
17. capitalism.md
18. consumerism.md
19. competition.md
20. bourgeoisie.md
21. state.md
22. money.md
23. revolution.md
24. war.md
25. utopia.md
26. dystopia.md
27. less_retarded_society.md
28. socialism.md
29. utopia.md
30. capitalism.md