Communism came from the Latin word, “communis” which means “common.” It refers to a socio-political, philosophical, and economic ideology and movement which supports common ownership and absence of social classes. As a political theory, its tenets are attributed to Karl Marx who advocated a revolution which will lead to the absence of classes, public ownership of properties, and the individual assignment of work and his or her payment according to his or her abilities and needs. In fact, one of Marx’s quotes is “The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property.”
For instance,Communism in the former Soviet Union arose after a revolution with the slogan “Peace, bread, and land”. It appealed to the lower class’ demand for agrarian reform, public desire to end involvement with WWI, and popular support for unity among the soviets. In North Korea, agriculture and food distribution are controlled by the government. In China, in the 1950s, the government ended private ownership of land, took the farmers’ land and forced them to work for the state. In the past century many third-world nations have experimented with communism with varying degrees of success.