Communism Communism is a revolutionary socialist movement to create a classless, moneyless, and stateless social order structured upon common

ownership of production, as well as a social, political and economic beliefs that aims at the establishment of this social order. This movement, in its Marxist interpretations, significantly influenced the history of the 20th century, which saw intense rivalry between the "socialist world" (socialist states ruled by communist parties) and the "western world" (countries with market economies). Communism is the idea of a free society with no division or alienation, where mankind is free from oppression and scarcity. A communist society would have no governments or class divisions. For Marx, early hunters and gatherers formed primitive communist societies and a system by which people commonly own and equally share the food and other things they produce. Its aim is to establish a classless society in which class divisions are abolished. If everyone does the same work, there is a little chance of social conflict. Technological advances cause social inequality because the elite people have more wealth than those of the others who are just simply laborers. It was unfair because the wealthy and the noble ones hold the power over the poor people. In Marxist theory, pure communism is a specific stage of historical development that inevitably emerges from the development of the productive forces that leads to a superabundance of material wealth. The exact definition of communism varies, and it is often mistakenly, in general political discourse, used interchangeably with socialism; however, Marxist theory contends that socialism is just a transitional stage on the road to communism. The classless, stateless society that is meant to characterize this communism is one where decisions on what to produce and what policies to pursue are made in the best interests of the whole of societya sort of 'of, by, and for the working class', rather than a rich class controlling the wealth and everyone else working for them on a wage basis. In this communism, the interests of every member of society are given equal weight to the next in the practical decision-making process in both the political and economic spheres of life. According to communist theory, the only way to abolish capitalist inequalities is to have the proletariat (working class), who collectively constitute the main producer of wealth in society, and who are perpetually exploited and marginalized by the bourgeoisie (wealthy class), to overthrow the capitalist system in a wide-ranging social revolution. Karl Marx saw primitive communism as the original, hunter-gatherer state of humankind from which it arose. For Marx, only after humanity was capable of producing surplus, did private property develop. The idea of a classless society first emerged in Ancient Greece. Plato in his The Republic described it as a state where people shared all their property, wives, and children: "The private and individual is altogether banished from life and things which are by nature private, such as eyes and ears and hands, have become common, and in some way see and hear and act in common, and all men express praise and feel joy and sorrow on the same occasions."

In China, the state took control of all farms, factories and other productive properties. The Communist party declared that all types of work should be equally important and so, social classes were immediately abolished. It reduced economic inequality because everyone was considered important. However, the communist goal has not yet been fully achieved in any society because for one thing, there are social differences in power and wealth. Due to economic change, it was inevitable that the elite class or the business owners would rule over. A gap between the rich and the poor has grown and living standards fell for those who are poor which made them experience hard times. Due to the emerging of social inequality, social stratification is vital wherein there is a hierarchical division of society according to rank or class. Communism has ten essential planks. (1) Abolition of Private Property, (2) Heavy Progressive Income Tax, (3) Abolition of Rights of Inheritance, (4) Confiscation of Property Rights, (5) Central Bank, (6) Government Ownership of Communication and Transportation, (7) Government Ownership of Factories and Agriculture, (8) Government Control of Labor, (9) Corporate Farms and Regional Planning, and (10) Government Control of Education. The practical results of Communism have been horror and atrocity for those under communist rule. So much so, advocates of the Marxist Worldview have made every attempt to point out where communist leaders have strayed from the fundamental teachings of Karl Marx, in an attempt to absolve Communism. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Marxist influence brought about many of these horrors. The irony is, Marxism renounces religion, not because of religious doctrine, but because of the actions of "religious" men. No one could accuse a religion such as Christianity of evil doctrine. However, it seems that men are intrinsically evil and need only an opportunity to express this inherent reality. One must look at the overall outcome of a philosophical doctrine on society, both good and bad, not specific instances of abuse. Christianity, for example, has been used by wicked men to do much evil, but its underlying doctrine has been the cause of much good in the world. Communism, on the other hand, has brought only atrocity into the world. Communism has not brought relief to the majority as promised, nor has it ended oppression as purposed. Communism has only served to remove Morality from the masses -- a dangerous and costly experiment.