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Communism And Communism

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The economic and social system of communism is derived from the writings of Karl Marx, who defined it as “the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution” (Marx & Engels, 1848). However, many economists would simply describe it as the elimination of private property. Essentially, in the ideal communist system, the government owns everything and distributes the resources to the people. Though a large group of philosophers and economists have theorized many systems that can be considered communist, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s Communist Manifesto is usually considered the basis for the economic system. Engels was not a deeply religious man, nor an atheist; however, he considered himself a Pantheist (one who believes that God is the entire universe, that he is one with nature). Karl Marx in contrast, was a staunch atheist, stating “The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion” (Marx, A Criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Law , 1844). But even with different religious beliefs, both men believed that the natural state of man is one of virtue, a belief that shaped communism.
Communism is based on the belief that man is inherently good, and when given the option he will work for the betterment of his neighbour. This layout is helped along when all men are economically equal, and the only way to ensure that is to rid society of private property and monetary exchange, thus, the government controls all of the

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