Communism

Explanation

Communism, as developed by Marx and Engels and implemented in various forms in the 20th century, holds that capitalism exploits workers and must be replaced by collective ownership of production. In Marxist theory, communism is the final stage of historical development — a classless, stateless society — reached through a transitional "dictatorship of the proletariat." In practice, communist states (Soviet Union, China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea) developed as one-party states with state ownership of the economy, suppression of political opposition, and often authoritarian governance. China today combines Communist Party rule with a market economy. Cuba and North Korea maintain more traditional communist economic structures.