communist state
Red-flag country
A communist state is a country governed by a single party that officially espouses communist ideology, typically featuring state ownership of major industries, centralized economic planning, and one-party rule.
The term is somewhat paradoxical since communist theory envisions the eventual withering away of the state.
Historical examples include the Soviet Union, Maoist China, and Cuba: North Korea remains one of the few communist states.
Class-based revolutionary philosophy
- LeninismVanguard-led revolutionary doctrine
- class struggleConflict between economic groups
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
dictatorship of the proletariat · revolution · Das Kapital · Karl Marx · Engels · means of production · alienation · exploitation
Governance by one faction
- PolitburoCommunist party's governing body
- central committeeExecutive governing body
- party congressFormal political gathering
- cadreCore of trained personnel
political commissar · central planning · five-year plan · nationalization · quota system · planned economy · collectivization · collective farming
Caribbean island country
- CastroProminent Cuban surname
- HavanaCuba's largest city
- North KoreaIsolated East Asian state
- PyongyangNorth Korean capital
Vietnam · Ho Chi Minh · Hanoi · Yugoslavia · Tito · Khmer Rouge · Pol Pot · East Germany
Indicator of danger
- hammer and sickleCommunist movement's insignia
- red starCool-burning celestial body
- comradeFellow member, shared cause
- May DayEmergency radio cry
agitprop · propaganda · slogans · posters · censorship · indoctrination · personality cult · reeducation
Joint holding by many
- command economyState-controlled economic system
- kibbutzIsraeli communal farm
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
- black marketIllicit trading system
- CCPChina's sole political power
- Cultural RevolutionMaoist mass political campaign
- Great Leap ForwardFailed rapid industrialization campaign
- People's RepublicCommunist state's formal name
Deng Xiaoping · Tiananmen · reeducation · Little Red Book · Gang of Four · self-criticism
Marxism
Class-based revolutionary philosophy
- LeninismVanguard-led revolutionary doctrine
- class struggleConflict between economic groups
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
bourgeoisie · dictatorship of the proletariat · revolution · Das Kapital · Karl Marx · Engels · means of production · alienation · exploitation · superstructure
one-party rule
Governance by one faction
- PolitburoCommunist party's governing body
- central committeeExecutive governing body
- party congressFormal political gathering
cadre · political commissar · central planning · five-year plan · nationalization · quota system · planned economy · collectivization · collective farming · workers' council
Cuba
Caribbean island country
- CastroProminent Cuban surname
- HavanaCuba's largest city
- North KoreaIsolated East Asian state
Pyongyang · Vietnam · Ho Chi Minh · Hanoi · Yugoslavia · Tito · Khmer Rouge · Pol Pot · East Germany · Stasi
red flag
Indicator of danger
- hammer and sickleCommunist movement's insignia
- red starCool-burning celestial body
- comradeFellow member, shared cause
May Day · agitprop · propaganda · slogans · posters · censorship · indoctrination · personality cult · reeducation · newspeak
collective ownership
Joint holding by many
- command economyState-controlled economic system
- kibbutzIsraeli communal farm
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
Mao Zedong
- CCPChina's sole political power
- Cultural RevolutionMaoist mass political campaign
- Great Leap ForwardFailed rapid industrialization campaign
Deng Xiaoping · People's Republic · Tiananmen · reeducation · Little Red Book · Gang of Four · self-criticism
USSR
Former communist superpower
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- KhrushchevCold War Soviet premier
Brezhnev · Gorbachev · KGB · Red Army · Pravda · Sputnik · Iron Curtain · Cold War · Moscow · Siberia
- governmentsdemocracy, monarchy, autocracy, oligarchy, republic
- political entitiesnation, country, kingdom, republic, dominion
- LaosVientiane, sticky rice, Mekong River, landlocked, almsgiving
- Totalitarianismtotalitarianism, one-party rule, dictatorship, authoritarianism, single-party rule
communist statefree market economy
market economy · mixed economy · plutocracy · corporatocracy
communist stateliberal democracy
Rights-based elected governance
democratic state · democracy · constitutional democracy · parliamentary democracy · free state
communist, communists, communism, commune, communes, communal, communally, community, communities