ˈkämyəˌnizəm, chiefly in substand speech -məˌn- noun
( -s )
Etymology: French communisme, from commun common + -isme -ism — more at common
1.
a. : a theory advocating elimination of private ownership of property or capital
b. : a system or condition real or imagined in which goods are owned commonly rather than privately and are available as needed to each one in a unified group sometimes limited, sometimes inclusive, and often composed of members living and working together : a similar system preventing amassing of privately owned goods and assuring equalitarian returns to those working
Plato's aristocratic communism
the communism of the early church groups
the communism obtaining among the early colonists
2. often capitalized
[Russian & German; Russian kommunizm, from German kommunismus, from French communisme ]
a. : a social and political doctrine or movement based upon revolutionary Marxian socialism that interprets history as a relentless class war eventually to result everywhere in the victory of the proletariat and the social ownership of the means of production with relative social and economic equality for all and ultimately to lead to a classless society
b. : bolshevism
c. : a totalitarian system of government in which the state as owner of the major industries and acting through the medium of a single authoritarian party controls in large measure the economic, social, and cultural life of the society
3. often capitalized : strong left-wing activity or inclination that is subversive or revolutionary
4. biology : commensalism