History glossary
Communism
a political and economic ideology aiming for shared ownership and a classless society.
- Category
- Ideology
What it means
Communism has meant different things in theory and practice. In modern history it often refers to movements inspired by Karl Marx that opposed capitalism and sought collective ownership, usually through revolutionary parties and state planning.
Related terms
Stories using this term
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
Apartheid South Africa
From white minority rule to mass resistance, Mandela's release and the first democratic election, apartheid reshaped South Africa and the world.
The Holocaust
From legal discrimination to genocide, the Holocaust traces twelve years of escalating persecution that killed six million Jews and millions of others across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Nazi Germany
From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.
Operation Barbarossa
From Hitler's ideological war in the east to Soviet survival before Moscow, Barbarossa turned expected blitzkrieg into prolonged attritional catastrophe.
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The Kim Dynasty
North Korea’s Kim dynasty built a nuclear-armed regime, maintaining power through crises and control.
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain and spread globally, transforming economies, societies and everyday life through machines, factories and new energy sources.
