But even among people who are all communists, there are many disagreements about communism. One of them is about what communism is: How is the word ‘communism’ defined?
There are a number of definitions of ‘communism’ — some focus on economics, others focus on politics, and some include both. Even though people use this word often, they may not be entirely clear about what it means.
If even major communist leaders can’t agree on what communism is, then how can people decide if they want communism or not? As historian Gary Allen writes:
In keeping with the fact that almost everybody seems to have his own definition of Communism, we are going to give you ours.
Economic definitions of communism usually mention communal ownership of the means of production and the abolition of any form of inheritance. “Communal ownership” means that everyone owns it together, and that means that the government owns and controls it. The “means of production” refers to factories, offices, and workshops — where the real work of the economy occurs.
Political definitions of communism often describe a command economy: an economy in which the government determines who produces which products, in which quantity, the price of those products, and how much people are paid to produce those products. There are no choices for people in a command economy. Communism calls for a form of government called the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ — the end of free debate and discussion, the end of freely elected representatives.
Gary Allen defines communism as a relentless drive to obtain and maintain power:
Communism: an international, conspiratorial drive for power on the part of men in high places willing to use any means to bring about their desired aim — global conquest.You will notice that we did not mention Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, bourgeois, proletariat or dialectical materialism. We said nothing of the pseudo-economics or political philosophy of the Communists. These are the techniques of Communism and should not be confused with the Communist conspiracy itself. We did call it an international conspiratorial drive for power. Unless we understand the conspiratorial nature of Communism, we don’t understand it at all. We will be eternally fixated at the Gus Hall level of Communism. And that’s not where it’s at, baby!
Gary Allen’s definition points out that the economic hypotheses of communism simply provide a cover or facade for a small group of people to control government and nations.
While some followers of communism sincerely believe that the communism system would make a more fair and equitable world, the leaders of communist revolutions and political parties simply use communist ideologies as a way to get people to obey them.
