Wikipedia: Communism

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In common usage, communism refers to totalitarian socialism (as distinct from [democratic socialism]?). Regimes described as communistic have, according to most Western observers, generally been despotic and extremely abusive of human rights. Examples are the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China and Cuba.

In Marxist theory, communism refers to the final stage of social development. The term and ideology has a history that predates Marx, however, closely associated with (socialist) anarchism.

There are various kinds of communism or socialism; some kinds of communism are varieties of ideology?, while others are terms for practices or styles of governance. Marxism holds--among other things--that human history has had and will have a developmental structure, alternating between slow development of technology/economy (and the according philosophy/religion) and a rapidly changing short period of technology/economy. Bolshevism? and Menchevism? were two early forms of communism-in-practice advocated by Russian (mainly ex-patriate) communists in the late 19th and early 20th century; the Mencheviks favored peaceful change, while Bolsheviks called for, and eventually organised, a revolution, putting power in the hands of the soviets of workers and peasants. Leninism? is the name given to Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin's system of thought, which emphasises the need to spread the revolution to other countries, and to exclude any compromise with the bourgeoisie?. Lenin's rule gave way to Joseph Stalin's and Stalin's style of communist dictatorship is known as Stalinism; Stalin's government was violently repressive of individual liberties and of [political dissidents]? and featured more [[five-year plans]] as well as massive industrialization?, under the un-Marxist pretext of constructing "socialism in one country". The practices of [Mao Tse Tung]? are known as Maoism?.