Communist society
Encyclopedia
The communist society or communist utopia is the society
postulated by the ideology of communism
: a society which is classless and stateless, based upon
common ownership
of the means of production
with free access to articles of consumption, the end of economic exploitation.
The term "communist society" should be distinguished from "communist state
", the latter referring to a state ruled by a party which professes the communist ideology.
In Marxist theory
, 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, allowing for distribution based on need
and social relations based on freely-associated individuals
.
In a communist utopia, economic relations no longer would determine the society. Scarcity
would no longer be a factor. Alienated labor would cease, as people would be free to pursue their individual goals. This kind of society is identified by the slogan put forth by Karl Marx
: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need
s!"
Marx never clearly said whether communist society would be just
; others have speculated that he thought communism would transcend justice and create society without conflicts, thus, without the needs for rules of justice. It would be a democratic society, enfranchising the entire population.
Marx also wrote that between capitalist and communist society, there would be a transitory period known as the dictatorship of the proletariat
.
A communist society would also have no need for a state, whose purpose was to enforce hierarchical economic relations (thus Marx wrote of "the withering of the state").
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
postulated by the ideology of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
: a society which is classless and stateless, based upon
Base and superstructure
In Marxist theory, human society consists of two parts: the base and superstructure; the base comprehends the forces and relations of production — employer-employee work conditions, the technical division of labour, and property relations — into which people enter to produce the necessities and...
common ownership
Common ownership
Common ownership is a principle according to which the assets of an enterprise or other organization are held indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or by a public institution such as a governmental body. It is therefore in contrast to public ownership...
of the means of production
Means of production
Means of production refers to physical, non-human inputs used in production—the factories, machines, and tools used to produce wealth — along with both infrastructural capital and natural capital. This includes the classical factors of production minus financial capital and minus human capital...
with free access to articles of consumption, the end of economic exploitation.
The term "communist society" should be distinguished from "communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
", the latter referring to a state ruled by a party which professes the communist ideology.
In Marxist theory
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, communism is a specific stage of historical development that inevitably emerges from the development of the productive forces
Productive forces
Productive forces, "productive powers" or "forces of production" [in German, Produktivkräfte] is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism....
that leads to a superabundance of material wealth, allowing for distribution based on need
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a slogan popularised by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program. In German, "Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!"...
and social relations based on freely-associated individuals
Free association (communism and anarchism)
In the anarchist, Marxist and socialist sense, free association is a kind of relation between individuals where there is no state, social class or authority, in a society that had abolished the private property of means of production...
.
In a communist utopia, economic relations no longer would determine the society. Scarcity
Scarcity
Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...
would no longer be a factor. Alienated labor would cease, as people would be free to pursue their individual goals. This kind of society is identified by the slogan put forth by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a slogan popularised by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program. In German, "Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!"...
s!"
Marx never clearly said whether communist society would be just
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
; others have speculated that he thought communism would transcend justice and create society without conflicts, thus, without the needs for rules of justice. It would be a democratic society, enfranchising the entire population.
Marx also wrote that between capitalist and communist society, there would be a transitory period known as the dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
.
A communist society would also have no need for a state, whose purpose was to enforce hierarchical economic relations (thus Marx wrote of "the withering of the state").