communism

Noun (1)

communism (countable and uncountable, plural communisms)

1. Any far-left political ideology or philosophy advocating holding the production of resources collectively, especially by seizing it through revolution.
   • I want to gather together about twenty souls and sail away from this world of war and squalor and found a little colony where there shall be no money but a sort of communism as far as necessaries of life go, and some real decency.1932, D. H. Lawrence, The Letters of D.H. Lawrence, Edited by A. Huxley, page 219
   • Engels observes in one of his early writings that the Hegelian Left was the natural approach to communism, and that Hegelian communists such as Hess, Ruge, and Herwegh were a proof that the Germans must adopt communism if they were to remain faithful to their philosophical tradition from Kant to...1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in...

   Synonyms:

   aspheterism

2. Any political social system that implements a communist political philosophy.
3. The international socialist society where classes, money, and the state no longer exist.
4. (Western, colloquial, derogatory, often) Any left-wing ideology, government regulations, or policies promoting a welfare state, nationalisation, etc.
   • This tax plan is communism!
5. (rare) Readiness to share scientific findings (the first of the Mertonian norms).
   • A recent survey of 633 South Korean scientists found not only that communism was the Mertonian norm they thought most respected in practice (Kim and Kim 2018, 9), but also that younger scientists’ replies showed evidence of ‘mounting tension between the commercialisation of academic science and the...2022 January 26, Liam Kofi Bright, Remco Heesen, “To Be Scientific Is To Be Communist”, in Social Epistemology, volume 37, number 3, →DOI
6. (rare) communality, sharedness.
   • Rational expectations econometrics extends a communism of statistical models to include a “sharing with nature” that is an essential input into making maximum likelihood or generalized method of moments be good estimators.2025 November, Thomas Sargent, “Macroeconomics after Lucas”, in Journal of Political Economy, volume 133, number 11, →DOI

Noun (2) capitalized: Communism

IPA/kɒ.mjə.nɪ.zəm/

Communism (uncountable)

1. The ideology of political parties that use the term Communist in their names, usually Marxist and Leninist.
2. The socio-economic system based on such parties' ideologies.
3. (US, informal) A state of affairs perceived as oppressive, overly arbitrary, or totalitarian.
   • .
     ..he shouldn't...just...[say]..."I -- I am responsible for prosperity,"...that's Communism, Sir, you see.1953 (pub. 1997), Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy ed., Hinge of Generations-1953 Transcripts http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN091214825X&id=faq3Bng7IeYC&pg=RA1-PA24-IA44&lpg=RA1-PA24-IA44&dq=%22that%27s+...
   • Although her elder daughter, Jane, complains, “that's Communism,” Mrs. Hilton rents her own bedroom to a retired colonel.1992, Sylvia Whitman, V Is for Victory: The American Home Front During World War II