Since the time ofKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels,^[1] a variety of developments have been made in communist theory and attempts to build acommunist society,^[2] leading to a variety of different communist ideologies.^[3] These spanphilosophical,social,political andeconomic ideologies andmovements,^[4] and can be split into three broad categories: Marxist-based ideologies, Leninist-based ideologies, and Non-Marxist ideologies, though influence between the different ideologies is found throughout and key theorists may be described as belonging to one or important to multiple ideologies.

Communist ideologies notable enough in thehistory of communism includephilosophical,social,political andeconomic ideologies andmovements whose ultimate goal is the establishment of acommunist society,^[4] asocioeconomic order structured upon the ideas ofcommon ownership of themeans of production and the absence ofsocial classes,^[5]money^[6][7] and thestate.^[8][9]

Self-identified communists hold a variety of views, includinglibertarian communism (anarcho-communism andcouncil communism),Marxist communism (left communism,libertarian Marxism,Maoism,Leninism,Marxism–Leninism, andTrotskyism),non-Marxist communism, andreligious communism (Christian communism,Islamic communism andJewish communism).^[10][11] While it originates from the works of 19th century German philosophersKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels,^[1] Marxist communism has developed into many different branches and schools of thought, with the result that there is now no single definitive Marxist theory.^[3]

Different communist schools of thought place a greater emphasis on certain aspects ofclassical Marxism while rejecting or modifying other aspects. Many communist schools of thought have sought to combine Marxian concepts and non-Marxian concepts which has then led to contradictory conclusions.^[12] However, there is a movement toward the recognition thathistorical materialism anddialectical materialism remains the fundamental aspect of all Marxist communist schools of thought.^[13] The offshoots of Marxism–Leninism are the most well-known of these and have been a driving force ininternational relations during most of the 20th century.^[14][2]

Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis that views class relations and social conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development and takes a dialectical view of social transformation.^[15][16][17] It originates from the works of 19th century German philosophersKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels.^[18][1]Classical Marxism is the economic, philosophical and sociological theories expounded by Marx and Engels as contrasted with later developments in Marxism, especiallyLeninism andMarxism–Leninism.^[19]

Under thecapitalist mode of production, this struggle materializes between the minority (thebourgeoisie), who own themeans of production, and the vast majority of the population (theproletariat), who produce goods and services.^[20] Starting with the concept thatsocial change occurs because of the struggle between differentclasses^[21] within society who are under contradiction against each other, a Marxist would conclude thatcapitalism exploits and oppresses the proletariat, therefore capitalism will inevitably lead to aproletarian revolution.^[22] In a socialist society,private property—in the form of the means of production—would be replaced by co-operative ownership.^[23][24] A socialist economy would not base production on the creation of private profits, but on the criteria of satisfying human needs—that is,production would be carried out directly for use. As Friedrich Engels said: "Then the capitalist mode of appropriation, in which the product enslaves first the producer, and then the appropriator, is replaced by the mode of appropriation of the product that is based upon the nature of the modern means of production; upon the one hand, direct social appropriation, as means to the maintenance and extension of production - on the other, direct individual appropriation, as means of subsistence and of enjoyment".^[25]

Marxian economics and its proponents view capitalism as economically unsustainable and incapable of improving the living standards of the population due to its need to compensate forfalling rates of profit by cutting employee's wages, social benefits and pursuing military aggression. Thesocialist system would succeed capitalism as humanity's mode of production through workers'revolution. According to Marxiancrisis theory,socialism is not an inevitability, but an economic necessity.^[26]

Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought that emerged after the death of Marx and which became the official philosophy of the socialist movement as represented in theSecond International untilWorld War I in 1914. Orthodox Marxism aims to simplify, codify and systematize Marxist method and theory by clarifying the perceived ambiguities and contradictions of classical Marxism. The philosophy of orthodox Marxism includes the understanding that material development (advances in technology in theproductive forces) is the primary agent of change in the structure of society and of human social relations, and that social systems and their relations (e.g.feudalism, capitalism and so on) become contradictory and inefficient as the productive forces develop, which results in some form of social revolution arising in response to the mounting contradictions. This revolutionary change is the vehicle for fundamental society-wide changes and ultimately leads to the emergence of neweconomic systems.^{[27][page needed]}

As a term, orthodox Marxism refers to the methods of historical materialism and of dialectical materialism and not the normative aspects inherent to classical Marxism, without implying dogmatic adherence to the results of Marx's investigations.^[28] One of the most important historical proponents of Orthodox Marxism was the Czech-Austrian theoristKarl Kautsky.^{[29][page needed]}

Neo-Marxism is aMarxist school of thought originating from 20th-century approaches^[30][31][32] to amend or extend^[33] Marxism andMarxist theory, typically by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions such ascritical theory,psychoanalysis, orexistentialism. TheFrankfurt School is often described as neo-Marxist.^[34][35]

Leninism is a political theory for the organisation of a revolutionaryvanguard party^[36] and the achievement of adictatorship of the proletariat as political prelude to the establishment of socialism.^[37] Developed by and named for the Russian revolutionaryVladimir Lenin, from theBolshevik faction of the Bolshevik-Menshevik split in theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party, Leninism comprises political and economic theories developed from orthodox Marxism and Lenin's interpretations of Marxist theories, including his original theoretical contributions such as hisanalysis ofimperialism,^[38][36] principles ofparty organization and the implementation of socialism throughrevolution andNew Economic Policy reform thereafter, for practical application to the socio-political conditions of theRussian Empire of the early 20th century.^[37]

Marxism–Leninism is a political ideology developed byJoseph Stalin in the late 1920s. Based on Stalin's understanding and synthesis of both Marxism and Leninism,^[39][40] it was the officialstate ideology of theSoviet Union and the parties of theCommunist International afterBolshevisation. After the death of Lenin in 1924, Stalin established universal ideological orthodoxy among theRussian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the Soviet Union and the Communist International to establish universal Marxist–Leninistpraxis.^[41][39] In the late 1930s, Stalin's official textbookThe History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) (1938), made the term Marxism–Leninism common political-science usage among communists and non-communists.^[42]

The purpose of Marxism–Leninism is the revolutionary transformation of a capitalist state into a socialist state by way oftwo-stage revolution led by a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries,^[36] drawn from the proletariat.^[43] To realise the two-stage transformation of the state, the vanguard party establishes the dictatorship of the proletariat and determines policy through democratic centralism. The Marxist–Leninistcommunist party is the vanguard for the political, economic and social transformation of a capitalist society into a socialist society which is the lower stage of socio-economic development and progress towards the upper-stagecommunist society which isstateless andclassless, yet it features public ownership of the means of production, acceleratedindustrialisation, pro-active development of society's productive forces (research and development) andnationalised natural resources.^[44][45][46]

As the official ideology of the Soviet Union, Marxism–Leninism was adopted by communist parties worldwide with variation in local application. Parties with a Marxist–Leninist understanding of the historical development of socialism advocate for the nationalisation of natural resources andmonopolist industries of capitalism and for their internal democratization as part of the transition toworkers' control. The economy under such a government is primarily coordinated through a universaleconomic plan with varying degrees ofmarket distribution.^[47][48] Since the fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, many communist parties of the world today continue to use Marxism–Leninism as their method of understanding the conditions of their respective countries.^[49][50] A variety of currents developed from Marxism-Leninism have gained prominence in various countries, includingBolshevism andMariáteguism.

Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from1927 to 1953 by Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas that were developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialisation, the theory ofsocialism in one country,collectivisation of agriculture,intensification of the class struggle under socialism, acult of personality,^[51][52] and subordination of the interests of foreigncommunist parties to those of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party ofcommunist revolution at the time.^[53]

As a political term, it has a variety of uses, but most commonly it is used as apejorative shorthand for Marxism–Leninism by a variety of competing political tendencies such as capitalism andTrotskyism.^[54] Although Stalin himself repudiated any qualitatively original contribution to Marxism, the communist movement usually credits him with systematizing and expanding the ideas of Lenin into the ideology of Marxism–Leninism as a distinct body of work.^[39][40] In this sense, Stalinism can be thought of as being roughly equivalent to Marxism–Leninism, although this is not universally agreed upon.^[55] At other times, the term is used as a general umbrella term—again pejoratively—to describe a wide variety of political systems and governments.^[55] In this sense, it can be seen as being roughly equivalent toactually existing socialism,^[56] although sometimes it is used to describe totalitarian governments that are not socialist.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the contributions to communist theory that Stalin is particularly known for are the following:

• The theoretical work concerning nationalities as seen inMarxism and the National Question.^[57]
• The notion of socialism in one country.^[58]
• Marxism and Problems of Linguistics.^[59]
• The theory ofaggravation of class struggle under socialism, a theoretical base supporting the repression of political opponents as necessary.^[60]

Leon Trotsky and his supporters organized into theLeft Opposition^[61] and their platform became known as Trotskyism.^[62] Stalin eventually succeeded in gaining control of the Soviet regime and Trotskyist attempts to remove Stalin from power resulted in Trotsky's exile from the Soviet Union in 1929. During Trotsky's exile, mainstream communism fractured into two distinct branches, i.e. Trotskyism and Stalinism.^[14] Trotskyism supports the theory ofpermanent revolution andworld revolution instead of the two-stage theory and socialism in one country. It supportedproletarian internationalism^[63] and another communist revolution in the Soviet Union which Trotsky claimed had become adegenerated worker's state under the leadership of Stalin in which class relations had re-emerged in a new form,^[64][65] rather than the dictatorship of the proletariat. In 1938, Trotsky founded theFourth International, a Trotskyist rival to the Stalinist Communist International.^[66][67][68]

Trotskyist ideas became more prominent through the 1960s,^[69] having found echo among political movements in some countries in Asia and Latin America, especially in Argentina,^[70][71] Brazil,^[72][73] Bolivia,^[74] and Sri Lanka.^[75] Many Trotskyist organizations are also active in more stable, developed countries in North America and Western Europe.^[76][77] Trotsky's politics differed sharply from those of Stalin and Mao, most importantly in declaring the need for an international proletarian revolution (rather than socialism in one country)^[78] and unwavering support for a true dictatorship of the proletariat-based on democratic principles. As a whole, Trotsky's theories and attitudes were never accepted in Marxist–Leninist circles after Trotsky's expulsion, either within or outside of the Soviet Bloc. This remained the case even after the "Secret Speech" and subsequent events critics claim exposed the fallibility of Stalin.^[79]

Trotsky's followers claim to be the heirs of Lenin in the same way that mainstream Marxist–Leninists do. There are several distinguishing characteristics of this school of thought—foremost is the theory of permanent revolution,^[80] contrasted to the theory of socialism in one country. This stated that in less-developed countries the bourgeoisie were too weak to lead their ownbourgeois-democratic revolutions.^[81] Due to this weakness, it fell to the proletariat to carry out the bourgeois revolution. With power in its hands, the proletariat would then continue this revolution permanently, transforming it from a national bourgeois revolution to a socialist international revolution.^[82] Another shared characteristic between Trotskyists is a variety of theoretical justifications for their negative appraisal of the post-Lenin Soviet Union after Trotsky was expelled^[83] by a majority vote from theAll-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)^[84] and subsequently from the Soviet Union. As a consequence, Trotsky defined the Soviet Union under Stalin as a planned economy ruled over by a bureaucratic caste. Trotsky advocated overthrowing the government of the Soviet Union after he was expelled from it.^[85] Trotskyist currents includeorthodox Trotskyism,third camp,Posadism,Pabloism, andMorenism.^[86][87][88]

Maoism is the Marxist–Leninist trend of communism associated withMao Zedong and was mostly practised within thePeople's Republic of China.^[38] Khrushchev's reforms heightened ideological differences between China and the Soviet Union, which became increasingly apparent in the 1960s. As theSino-Soviet split in the international communist movement turned toward open hostility, China portrayed itself as a leader of the underdeveloped world against the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.^[89][90]

Parties and groups that supported theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in their criticism against the new Soviet leadership proclaimed themselves asanti-revisionist and denounced the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the parties aligned with it asrevisionist "capitalist roaders". The Sino-Soviet split resulted in divisions amongst communist parties around the world. Notably, theParty of Labour of Albania sided with the People's Republic of China.^[91][92] Effectively, the CCP under Mao Zedong became the rallying forces of a parallel international communist tendency. The ideology of the Chinese communist party, Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought, was adopted by many of these groups.^[93]

After Mao's death and his replacement byDeng Xiaoping, the international Maoist movement diverged. One sector accepted the new leadership in China whereas a second renounced the new leadership and reaffirmed their commitment to Mao's legacy and a third renounced Maoism altogether and aligned withAlbania.^[94]

Drawing inspiration from Lenin's New Economic Policy,^[95]Deng Xiaoping Theory is a political and economic ideology first developed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.^[38] The theory does not claim to reject Marxism–Leninism or Mao Zedong Thought, but instead it seeks to adapt them to the existing socio-economic conditions of China. Deng also stressedopening China to the outside world, the implementation ofone country, two systems and through the phrase "seek truth from facts"^[38] an advocate of political and economicpragmatism.^[96]

As reformist communism and a branch of Maoism, Dengism is often criticized by traditional Maoists. Dengists believe that isolated in our current international order and with an extremely underdeveloped economy it is first and foremost necessary to bridge the gap between China and Western capitalism as quickly as possible in order for socialism to be successful (see the theory ofprimary stage of socialism). In order to encourage and promote the advancement of productivity by creating competition and innovation, Dengist thought promotes the idea that the PRC needs to introduce certain market elements in a socialist country. Dengists still believe that China needs public ownership of land, banks, raw materials and strategic central industries so a democratically elected government can make decisions on how to use them for the benefit of the country as a whole instead of the land owners, but at the same time private ownership is allowed and encouraged in industries of finished goods and services.^{[97][98][99][non-primary source needed]} According to Deng Xiaoping Theory, private owners in those industries are not a bourgeoisie. Because in accordance with Marxist theory, bourgeois owns land and raw materials. Private company owners are called civil run enterprises.^[100]

The People's Republic of China was the first country that adopted this belief. It boosted its economy and achieved the Chinese economic miracle.^[101] It has increased the Chinese GDP growth rate to over 8% per year for thirty years and China now has the second highest GDP in the world.^{[needs update]} Due to the influence of Dengism, Vietnam and Laos have also adopted similar beliefs and policies, allowing Laos to increase its real GDP growth rate to 8.3%.^[102] Cuba is also starting to embrace such ideas. Dengists take a very strong position against any form of personality cults which appeared in the Soviet Union during Stalin's rule and the current North Korea.^[103][104]

Marxism–Leninism–Maoism is a political philosophy that builds upon Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. It was first formalised by the Peruvian communist partyShining Path in 1988.^[105]

The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist, or which upheld Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought, were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao. Maoism as a unified, coherent stage of Marxism was not synthesized until the late 1980s through the experience of the people's war waged by the Shining Path. This led the Shining Path to posit Maoism as the newest development of Marxism in 1988.^[105]

Since then, it has grown and developed significantly and has served as an animating force of revolutionary movements in countries such as Brazil,^[106] Colombia, Ecuador, India,^[107] Nepal^[108] and the Philippines and has also led to efforts being undertaken towards the constitution or reconstitution of communist parties in countries such as Austria, France, Germany, Sweden and the United States.^[109][110]

Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Prachanda Path is the ideological line of theCommunist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). It is considered to be a further development of Marxism–Leninism and Maoism. It is named after the leader of the CPN(M), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, commonly known asPrachanda.^[111] Prachanda Path was proclaimed in 2001 and its formulation was partially inspired by the Shining Path which refers to its ideological line asMarxism–Leninism–Maoism–Gonzalo Thought.^[112] Prachanda Path does not make an ideological break with Marxism–Leninism or Maoism, but rather it is an extension of these ideologies based on the political situation of Nepal. The doctrine came into existence after it was realized that the ideology of Marxism–Leninism and Maoism could not be practiced as done in the past, therefore Prachanda Path based on the circumstances of Nepalese politics was adopted by the party.^[111] Prachanda's positions are seen by some Marxist–Leninist–Maoists around the world as "revisionist".^[113]

Other Maoist-based tendencies includeMaoism–Third Worldism,^[114]National Democracy in the Philippines,^[115] andNaxalism, an ongoing Maoist-based insurgency in India.^[116]

People's Multiparty Democracy (Nepali:जनताको बहुदलिय जनबाद, abbreviatedजबज, also called Marxism-Leninism-Madanism (मार्क्सवाद–लेनिनवाद–मदानवाद)) refers to the ideological line of theCommunist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) andNepal Communist Party.^[117][118] This thought abandons the traditional Leninist idea of a revolutionary communistvanguard party in favor of ademocraticmulti-party system.^[119] It is considered an extension of Marxism–Leninism byMadan Bhandari, the CPN-UML leader who developed it, and is based on the localpolitics of Nepal.^{[120][121][122]}

Xi Jinping Thought^[123][124] is an ideological doctrine based on the writings, speeches and policies ofChinese Communist Party general secretaryXi Jinping.^[125][126] According to the CCP, Xi Jinping Thought "builds on and further enriches" previous party ideologies and has also been called as the "Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century".^[127] It consists of 14-point fundamental principles, which were announced together with Xi Jinping Thought.^[128][129]

Hoxhaism is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist variant that appeared after theideological row between the CCP and the Party of Labour of Albania in 1978.^[130] The Albanians rallied a new separate international tendency. This tendency would demarcate itself by a strict defense of the legacy of Stalin and fierce criticism of virtually all other communist groupings as revisionist.^[130]

Critical of the United States, Soviet Union and China,Enver Hoxha declared the latter two to besocial-imperialist and condemned theSoviet invasion of Czechoslovakia by withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact in response.^[131] Hoxhaism asserts the right of nations to pursue socialism by different paths, dictated by the conditions in those countries.^[132] Hoxha declared Albania to be the world's only state legitimately adhering to Marxism–Leninism after 1978. The Albanians were able to win over a large share of the Maoists, mainly in Latin America such as thePopular Liberation Army and theMarxist–Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador, but it also had a significantinternational following in general.^[93]

After the fall of the communist government in Albania, the pro-Albanian parties are grouped around an international conference and the publicationUnity and Struggle.^[133][134]

Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated withJosip Broz Tito during the Cold War,^[135] characterized by anopposition to the Soviet Union.^[136]

Elements of Titoism are characterized by policies and practices based on the principle that in each country, the means of attaining ultimate communist goals must be dictated by the conditions of that particular country rather than by a pattern set in another country.^[137] During Josip Broz Tito's era, this specifically meant that the communist goal should be pursued independently of and often in opposition to the policies of the Soviet Union.^[138][139] The term was originally meant as a pejorative and was labeled by Moscow as a heresy during the period of tensions between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia known as theInformbiro period from 1948 to 1955. The implementation ofsocialist self-management which to move the managing of companies into the hands of workers and to separate the management from the state.^{[140][141][139]} It was also meant to demonstrate the viability of a third way between the capitalistUnited States and the socialistSoviet Union.^[142] From 1949 the central government began to cede power to communal local governments, seeking to decentralise the government^[139] and work towards awithering away of the state.^[142][143]Rankovićism disagreed with this decentralisation, viewing it as a threat to the stability of Yugoslavia.^[144]

Unlike the rest of Eastern Bloc which fell under Stalin's influence post-World War II,Yugoslavia remained independent from Moscow^[145] due to the strong leadership of Tito^[146] and the fact that theYugoslav Partisans liberated Yugoslavia with only limited help from theRed Army.^{[147][148][149]}

It became the only country in the Balkans to resist pressure from Moscow to join the Warsaw Pact and remained "socialist, but independent" right up until the collapse of Soviet socialism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Throughout his time in office, Josip Broz Tito and party leadership took pride in Yugoslavia's independence from the Soviet Bloc,^[150] with Yugoslavia never accepting full membership of theComecon and his open rejection of many aspects of Stalinism as the most obvious manifestations of this.^[151]

Although himself not a communist,Muammar Gaddafi'sThird International Theory was heavily influenced by Titoism.^[152]

Ho Chi Minh Thought (Vietnamese:Tư tưởng Hồ Chí Minh) is apolitical philosophy that builds upon Marxism–Leninism and the ideology ofHo Chi Minh. It was developed and codified by theCommunist Party of Vietnam and formalised in 1991.^[153][154] The term is used to cover political theories and policies considered as representing a form of Marxism–Leninism that has been adapted toVietnamese circumstances and history.^[155] Whilst the ideology is named after the Vietnamese revolutionary and President, it does not necessarily reflect the personal ideologies of Ho Chi Minh but rather the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam.^{[156][157][158]}

As with Maoism, the core of Ho Chi Minh Thought is the belief that the peasantry is the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than the proletariat.^[159] Ho Chi Minh Thought is rooted in:^[160]

• Marxism-Leninism^[161]
• Traditional Vietnamese ideology and culture^[162]
• Eastern cultural thought:Confucianism andBuddhism^[163][164]
• Western ideologies, specifically French and American political philosophy^[164]
• Ho Chi Minh's personal morality

Castroism refers to the politics followed and enacted by theCommunist Party of Cuba under the leadership ofFidel Castro, following a Marxist and a Leninist stance.^[165] Castro's political thought was influenced by the Cuban anti-imperialist revolutionaryJosé Martí, Marx, andHispanidad, a movement that criticized Anglo-Saxon material values and admired the moral values of Spanish and Spanish American culture.^{[166][167][168]} Besides Castro's personal thought, the theory ofChe Guevara andJules Régis Debray have also been important influences on Castroism.^[169] TheSocialist Workers Party in the United States follows a Castroist position.^[170]

Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and amilitary strategy ofguerrilla warfare associated withErnesto "Che" Guevara, who believed in the idea of Marxism–Leninism and embraced its principles.^[171] From his own experience he developed thefoco theory ofguerrilla warfare, that took inspiration from the Maoist notion of a "protracted people's war", combined with Guevara's experiences in theCuban Revolution. When there were "objective conditions" for a revolution in a country, a small "focus" guerrilla as a vanguard could create the "subjective conditions" and unleash a general popular uprising.^[172] Guevara provided the details of the guerilla warfare used in Cuba with discussion in his bookGuerilla Warfare.^[173] Guevara explained that in certain contexts the armed struggle had no place so it was necessary to use peaceful mechanisms such as participation withinrepresentative democracy. Although Che stated that this line should be peaceful but "very combative, very brave" and that it could only be abandoned if its orientation in favor of representative democracy was undermined within the population.^[174] It was once such means have been exhausted that guerilla warfare should be considered and prepared.^[175]

Nkrumaism is a pan-African socialist theory which aims to adapt Marxist–Leninist theory to the social context of theAfrican continent. Nkrumah defined his belief system as "the ideology of a New Africa, independent and absolutely free fromimperialism, organized on a continental scale, founded upon the conception ofone and united Africa, drawing its strength from modern science and technology and from the traditional African belief that the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all."^[176] Important influences on Nkrumah's work were different sources from within Africa, thecanon of Western philosophy, the works of Marx, Lenin, and black intellectuals in North America and Europe, likeMarcus Garvey,George Padmore,C. L. R. James,W. E. B. Du Bois andFather Divine.^[177] Aside from the Marxist–Leninist framework, this blending of ideas largely only took bits and pieces of other philosophical systems and even its use of traditional African cultural concepts were often stretched to fit into the larger theory.^[178][179] While a major focus of the ideology was ending colonial relationships on the African continent, many of the ideas wereutopian, diverting the scientific nature of the Marxist political analysis which it claims to support.^[178]

Like other African political ideologies at the time, the central focus of Nkrumaism was ondecolonization across Africa. Nkrumah rejected the idealized view of pre-colonial African societies that were classless or non-hierarchical, but accepted that Africa had a spirit of communalism and humanism. Nkrumaism then argued that a return to these values through socialist political structures would both heal the disruption caused by colonial structures and allow further development of African societies.^[180] The pan-African aspects of Nkrumah's ideology were justified by a claim that all African societies had a community of economic life and that in contradiction to theneocolonial structures that replaced formal colonies, only African unity would create real autonomy.^[181][182] While Nkrumah believed in the materialism and economic determinism of Marxism, he argued that focusing on the economic system was only appropriate after achieving independence throughout Africa and that the political struggle was the first order in colonial and neocolonial contexts.^[183]

Sankarism is a description of the policies enacted and positions held by the government ofThomas Sankara inBurkina Faso.^[184] Ideologically, Sankara was apan-Africanist,anti-imperialist and a communist who studied the works of Marx and Lenin, who sought to reclaim the African identity of his nation and opposedneocolonialism.^[185] During his time in power he attempted to bring about what he called the "Democratic and Popular Revolution" (French:Révolution démocratique et populaire), a radical transformation of society with a focus onself-sufficiency.^[186] A number of organizations were formed to implement this revolution, among them theCommittees for the Defense of the Revolution, thePopular Revolutionary Tribunals and thePioneers of the Revolution. A vast number of reforms were enacted in Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987, including mass vaccination programs,^{[187][188][189]} reforestation,^[190] elimination ofslums through new housing developments,^[191] and the development of national infrastructure such as railway networks.^[189]

There is a strong political dissonance between the movements in modernBurkina Faso which ascribe to Sankara's political legacy and ideals, a fact which the Burkinabé opposition politicianBénéwendé Stanislas Sankara (no relation) described in 2001 as being "due to a lack of definition of the concept."^[192] The "Sankarists" range from communists and socialists^[193] tonationalists andpopulists.^[194] TheEconomic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ofSouth Africa, founded in 2013 byJulius Malema, claim to take significant inspiration from Sankara in terms of both style and ideology.^[194]

Khrushchevism was a form of Marxism–Leninism which consisted of the theories and policies ofNikita Khrushchev and his administration in the Soviet Union,^{[195][196][197]} throughde-Stalinisation,^[198] liberal tolerance of some cultural dissent and deviance, and a more welcoming international relations policy and attitude towards foreigners.^[199]

Kadarism (Hungarian:kádárizmus), also commonly calledGoulash Communism or theHungarian Thaw, is the variety ofsocialism inHungary following theHungarian Revolution of 1956.János Kádár and theHungarian People's Republic imposed policies with the goal to create high-qualityliving standards for the people of Hungary coupled with economic reforms.^[201] These reforms fostered a sense of well-being and relative cultural freedom in Hungary with the reputation of being "the happiest barracks"^[202] of theEastern Bloc during the 1960s to the 1970s. With elements ofregulated market economics as well as an improved human rights record, it represented a quiet reform and deviation from the Stalinist principles applied to Hungary in the previous decade. This period of "pseudo-consumerism" saw an increase of foreign affairs and consumption of consumer goods as well.^[202]

Kadarism came from a background ofImre Nagy's "Reform Communism" (1955–1956), where he argues that Marxism is a "science that cannot remain static but must develop and become more perfect".^[203] Official policy employed different methods of administering the collectives in Hungarian society, leaving the pace ofmechanization up to each separately.^[204] Additionally, rather than enforcing the system of compulsory crop deliveries and of workdays credit the collectivizers used monthly cash wages.^[204] Later in the 1960s, cooperatives were permitted to enter into related and then general auxiliary businesses such as food processing, light industry and service industry.^[204]

Husakism (Czech:husákismus;Slovak:husákizmus) is an ideology connected with the politicianGustáv Husák ofCommunist Czechoslovakia which describes his policies of"normalization"^[205] andfederalism,^[206] while following aneo-Stalinist line.^[207] This was the state ideology of Czechoslovakia from about 1969 to about 1989, formulated by Husák,Vasil Biľak and others.^[208]

Kaysone Phomvihane Thought (Lao:ແນວຄິດ ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ) builds upon Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought with the political philosophy developed byKaysone Phomvihane, the first leader of the CommunistLao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). It was formalised by the LPRP at its10th National Congress in 2016.^[209]

Libertarian Marxism is a broad scope ofeconomic and political philosophies that emphasize theanti-authoritarian andlibertarian aspects ofMarxism.^[211] Early currents of libertarian Marxism such asleft communism^[212] emerged in opposition to Marxism–Leninism.^[213] Libertarian Marxism is often critical ofreformist positions such as those held bysocial democrats.^[214] Libertarian Marxist currents often draw from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' later works, specifically theGrundrisse andThe Civil War in France;^[215] emphasizing the Marxist belief in the ability of theworking class to forge its own destiny without the need forstate or vanguard party to mediate or aid its liberation.^[216] Along withanarchism, libertarian Marxism is one of the main currents oflibertarian socialism.^[217]

Libertarian Marxism includes currents such asautonomism,council communism,De Leonism,Lettrism, parts of theNew Left,Situationism,Freudo-Marxism (a form ofpsychoanalysis),^[218]Socialisme ou Barbarie^[219] andworkerism.^[220] Libertarian Marxism has often had an influence on bothpost-left andsocial anarchists.^[221][212] Notable theorists of libertarian Marxism have includedMaurice Brinton,^[222]Cornelius Castoriadis,^[210]Guy Debord,Raya Dunayevskaya,^[223]Daniel Guérin,^[224][225]C. L. R. James,^[223]Rosa Luxemburg,William Morris,^[226]Antonio Negri,Antonie Pannekoek,Fredy Perlman,Ernesto Screpanti,^[227]E. P. Thompson,^[228]Raoul Vaneigem, andYanis Varoufakis,^[229] the latter claiming that Marx himself was a libertarian Marxist.^[230]

Austro-Marxism was a school of Marxist thought centered inVienna that existed from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1930s. Its most eminent proponents wereMax Adler,Otto Bauer,Rudolf Hilferding andKarl Renner.^[231] It was influenced by contemporaneous intellectual trends, including the prominence ofneo-Kantianism andpositivism in philosophy and the emergence ofmarginalism in economics.^[232] The group confronted issues such as the problem of theNational Question within theAustro-Hungarian Empire,^[233][234] the rise of the interventionist state and the changing class-structure of early 20th century capitalist societies.^[235]

Amadeo Bordiga

Antonie Pannekoek

Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by theleft-wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats.^[236] Left communists assert positions which they regard as more authentically Marxist than the views of Marxism–Leninism espoused by the Communist International after itsBolshevisation by Joseph Stalin and during itssecond congress.^{[213][237][238]}

In general, there are two currents of left communism, namely the Italian and Dutch–German left. The communist left in Italy was formed duringWorld War I in organizations like theItalian Socialist Party and theCommunist Party of Italy. The Italian left considers itself to be Leninist in nature, but denounces Marxism–Leninism as a form of bourgeoisopportunism materialized in theSoviet Union under Stalin. The Italian left is currently embodied in organizations such as theInternationalist Communist Party and theInternational Communist Party. The Dutch–German left split from Lenin prior to Stalin's rule and supports a firmly council communist and libertarian Marxist viewpoint as opposed to the Italian left which emphasised the need for an international revolutionary party.^[239]

Although she lived before left communism became a distinct tendency, Luxemburg has been heavily influential for most left communists, both politically and theoretically. Proponents of left communism have includedHerman Gorter, Antonie Pannekoek,Otto Rühle,Karl Korsch,Amadeo Bordiga andPaul Mattick.^[213] Later prominent theorists are shared with other tendencies such as Antonio Negri, a founding theorist of the autonomist tendency.^[240] Prominent left communist groups existing today include theInternational Communist Current and the Internationalist Communist Tendency.^[241] Specific currents that can be labelled part of left communism includeBordigism,Luxemburgism, andCommunization.^[242]

The term ultra-leftism in English, when used among Marxist groups, is often a pejorative for certain types of positions on thefar-left that are extreme or uncompromising,^[243] such as a particular current of Marxist communism, where theComintern rejected social democratic parties and all other progressive groupings outside of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.^[244]

The Frenchultra-gauche, has a stronger meaning in that language and is used to define a movement that still exists today: a branch of left communism developed from theorists such as Bordiga, Rühle, Pannekoek, Gorter, and Mattick, and continuing with more recent writers, such asJacques Camatte andGilles Dauvé. This standpoint includes two main traditions, a Dutch-German tradition including Rühle, Pannekoek, Gorter, and Mattick, and an Italian tradition following Bordiga. These traditions came together in the 1960s Frenchultra-gauche.^[245][246]

Autonomism is a Marxist-basedanti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory.^{[247][248][249]} As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (operaismo). Later,post-Marxist andanarchist tendencies became significant after influence from theSituationists, the failure of Italianfar-left movements in the 1970s, and the emergence of a number of important theorists including Antonio Negri,^[240] who had contributed to the 1969 founding ofPotere Operaio as well asMario Tronti,Paolo Virno,Sergio Bologna andFranco "Bifo" Berardi. These early theorists developed notions of "immaterial" and "social labour", which broaden the definition of theworking-class to include salaried and unpaid labour, such as skilled professions and housework, this extended the Marxist concept of labour to all society. They suggested that modern society's wealth was produced by unaccountablecollective work, which in advanced capitalist states as the primary force of change in the construct of capital, and that only a little of this was redistributed to the workers in the form of wages. Other theorists includingMariarosa Dalla Costa andSilvia Federici emphasised the importance offeminism and the value of unpaid female labour to capitalist society, adding these to the theory of Autonomism.^[250][251] Negri andMichael Hardt argue that network power constructs are the most effective methods of organization against the neoliberal regime of accumulation and predict a massive shift in the dynamics of capital into a21st century empire.^[252]Harry Cleaver is an autonomist andMarxist theoretician, who authoredReading Capital Politically, an autonomist reading of Marx'sCapital.^[253]

Western Marxism is a current ofMarxist theory that arose fromWestern andCentral Europe in the aftermath of the 1917October Revolution inRussia and the ascent of Leninism.^[254][255] The term denotes a loose collection of Marxist theorists who emphasize culture, philosophy, and art, in contrast to the Marxism of the Soviet Union.^[256] Notable figures in this tradition includeGyörgy Lukács,^[257][258] Karl Korsch,^[259][258]Antonio Gramsci,^[258]Herbert Marcuse,Jean-Paul Sartre,^[260]Louis Althusser,^[261] and the members of the Frankfurt School.^{[262][263][258]}

Eurocommunism was a revisionist trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various western European communist parties^[145] which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more relevant for western Europe. During the Cold War, they sought to undermine the influence of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in western Europe. It was especially prominent in France, Italy and Spain.^[264][145]

Since the early 1970s, the term Eurocommunism was used to refer to the ideology of moderate, reformist communist parties in western Europe, where they emphasised the importance of democracy and personal freedoms.^[145] These parties did not support the Soviet Union and denounced its policies. Such parties were politically active and electorally significant inFrance,Italy andSpain.^[265]

Luxemburgism is a specific revolutionary theory within Marxism and communism-based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg.^[266][267] Luxemburg was critical of undemocratic tendencies present in the Leninist schools of thought^[268] as well as being critical of the reformist Marxism that emerged from the work ofEduard Bernstein's informal faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. According to Rosa Luxemburg, under reformism "[capitalism] is not overthrown, but is on the contrary strengthened by the development of social reforms".^[269] Luxemburgism seesspontaneism as a natural and important force, where organisation is not a product of scientific-theoretic insight to historical imperatives, but is product of the working classes' struggles, which emerges as a response to mounting contradictions between the productive forces and social relations of society. This was built from Luxemburg's analysis ofmass strikes seen in Germany and Russia in the early 20th century.^[270][271] Though she also wrote of the failings in trade unionism at the time due to the conservative function of trade-union bureaucracy hampering the socialist potential of trade-unionism.^[272]Ernest Mandel, a Marxian economist, has been characterised asLuxemburgist due to his commitment tosocialist democracy.^[273]

Council communism is a movement originating from Germany and the Netherlands in the 1920s.^[274] TheCommunist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) was the primary organization that espoused council communism. Council communism continues today as a theoretical and activist position within both Marxism and libertarian socialism, through a few groups in Europe and North America.^[275] As such, it is referred to as anti-authoritarian andanti-Leninist Marxism.^[276]

In contrast to reformist social democracy and to Leninism, the central argument of council communism is that democraticworkers councils arising in factories and municipalities are the natural form of working class organisation and governmental power.^[277][274] The government and the economy should be managed by workers' councils^[278] composed of delegates elected at workplaces and recallable at any moment. As such, council communists opposeauthoritarian socialism, andcommand economies such asstate socialism andstate capitalism. They also oppose the idea of a revolutionary party since council communists believe that a party-led revolution will necessarily produce a party dictatorship. This view is also opposed to the social democratic and Marxist–Leninist ideologies, with their stress on parliaments and institutional government (i.e. by applying social reforms) on the one hand^[279] and vanguard parties and participative democratic centralism on the other.^[277][280] Council communists see the mass strike and new yet to emerge forms of mass action as revolutionary means to achieve a communist society.^{[281][282][283]} Where the network of worker councils would be the main vehicle for revolution, acting as the apparatus by which the dictatorship of the proletariat forms and operates.^[284] Council communism and other types of libertarian Marxism such as autonomism are often viewed as being similar to anarchism due to similar criticisms of Leninist ideologies for being authoritarian and the rejection of the idea of a vanguard party.^[277][285]

De Leonism is a form of Marxism developed by the American activistDaniel De Leon.^[286] De Leon was an early leader of the first socialist political party in the United States, theSocialist Labor Party of America.^[287] De Leon combined the rising theories ofsyndicalism in his time with orthodox Marxism.^{[288][289][290]}

De Leonism lies outside the Leninist tradition of communism. The highly decentralized and democratic nature of the proposed De Leonist government is in contrast to the democratic centralism of Marxism–Leninism and what they see as the dictatorial nature of the Soviet Union.^[291] The success of the De Leonist plan depends on achieving majority support among the people both in the workplaces and at the polls,^[292][293] in contrast to the Leninist notion that a small vanguard party should lead the working class to carry out the revolution. De Leonism believes that the revolution will be brought about through revolutionary industrial action, organised throughindustrial unionism, and that the political efforts of a workers party should be subservient to the industrial action of the union.^[293] De Leon and other De Leonist writers have issued frequent polemics againstdemocratic socialist movements—especially theSocialist Party of America—and consider them to be reformist orbourgeois socialist. De Leonism spread with the idea of industrial unionism to various countries including Ireland (viaJames Connolly), the UK, and South Africa.^[294][295]

De Leonists have traditionally refrained from any activity or alliances viewed by them as trying to reform capitalism,^[293] though the Socialist Labor Party in De Leon's time was active during strikes.^{[citation needed]}

The Situationist International was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up ofavant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution in 1972.^[296] The intellectual foundations of the Situationist International were derived primarily fromlibertarian Marxism and the avant-gardeart movements of the early 20th century, particularlyDada andSurrealism.^[296][297] Guy Debord was a key theorist in the development of situationism.^[298] Overall, situationist theory represented an attempt to synthesize this diverse field of theoretical disciplines into a modern and comprehensive critique of mid-20th centuryadvanced capitalism.^[296][299]

Essential to situationist theory was the concept ofthe spectacle,^[298][300] a unified critique of advanced capitalism of which a primary concern was the progressively increasing tendency towards the expression and mediation ofsocial relations throughobjects.^[296][301] The situationists believed that the shift from individual expression through directly lived experiences, or the first-hand fulfillment of authentic desires, to individual expression by proxy through the exchange orconsumption ofcommodities, or passive second-hand alienation,^[301] inflicted significant and far-reaching damage to the quality of human life for both individuals and society.^[296] Another important concept of situationist theory was the primary means of counteracting the spectacle; the construction of situations, moments of life deliberately constructed for the purpose of reawakening and pursuing authentic desires, experiencing the feeling of life and adventure, and the liberation of everyday life.^[296][302]

The situationists recognized that capitalism had changed since Marx's formative writings, but maintained that his analysis of the capitalist mode of production remained fundamentally correct; they rearticulated and expanded upon several classical Marxist concepts, such as histheory of alienation.^[296] In their expanded interpretation of Marxist theory, the situationists asserted that the misery of social alienation andcommodity fetishism were no longer limited to the fundamental components of capitalist society,^[301][303] but had now in advanced capitalism spread themselves to every aspect of life and culture.^[296] They rejected the idea that advanced capitalism's apparent successes—such as technological advancement, increased productive capacity, and a raised general quality of life when compared to previous systems, such as feudalism—could ever outweigh the social dysfunction and degradation of everyday life that it simultaneously inflicted.^[296]

Impossibilism is a Marxist theory that stresses the limited value of political, economic, and social reforms under capitalism. As a doctrine, impossibilism views the pursuit of such reforms as counterproductive to the goal of achieving socialism as they stabilize, and therefore strengthen, support for capitalism. Impossibilism holds that reforms to capitalism are irrelevant or outright counter-productive to the goal of achieving socialism and should not be a major focus of socialist politics.^[304]

Impossibilists insist that socialists should primarily or solely focus on structural changes (sometimes termed "revolutionary changes") to society as opposed to advancing social reforms. Impossibilists argue that spontaneous revolutionary action is the only viable method of instituting the structural changes necessary for the construction of socialism; impossibilism is thus held in contrast to reformist socialist parties that aim to rally support for socialism through the implementation of popular social reforms (such as awelfare state).^[305][306] It is also held in contrast to those who believe that socialism can emerge through gradual economic reforms implemented by an electedsocial democratic political party, as well as being held in contrast to possibilism, where socialists who followed possibilism sounded and acted little different from non-socialist reformers in practice.^[307][305]

Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxist theory, focusing on the dismantling of capitalism as a way to liberate women. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property,^[308] stating that these give rise toeconomic inequality as well as dependence, political confusion and ultimately unhealthy social relations between men and women, which are the root of women's oppression. According to Marxist feminists,women's liberation can only be achieved by dismantling the capitalist systems in which they contend much of women's labor is uncompensated.^[309] Marxist feminists extend traditional Marxist analysis by applying it to unpaid domestic labor and sex relations.^[310]

According to Marxist theory, in capitalist societies the individual is shaped by class relations^[311]—that is people's capacities, needs and interests are seen to be determined by the mode of production that characterises the society they inhabit.^[312] Marxist feminists seegender inequality as determined ultimately by the capitalist mode of production, with gender oppression and women's subordination seen asclass oppression^[313] which is maintained (likeracism) because it serves the interests of capital and theruling class.^[309] Because of its foundation in historical materialism, Marxist feminism is similar tosocialist feminism and, to a greater degree,materialist feminism. The latter two place greater emphasis on what they consider the "reductionist limitations"^[314] of Marxist theory but, asMartha E. Gimenez notes in her exploration of the differences between Marxist and materialist feminism, "clear lines of theoretical demarcation between and within these two umbrella terms are somewhat difficult to establish."^[314]

Marxist humanism is an international body of thought and political action rooted in an interpretation of Marx's earlier writings. It is an investigation into "what human nature consists of and what sort of society would be most conducive to human thriving"^[315] from a critical perspective rooted inMarxist philosophy. Marxist humanists argue that Marx himself was concerned with investigating similar questions.^[316]

Marxist humanism was born in 1932 with the publication of Marx'sEconomic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 and reached a degree of prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Marxist humanists contend that there is continuity between the early philosophical writings of Marx, in which he develops histheory of alienation, and the structural description of capitalist society found in his later works such asDas Kapital.^[317][318] They hold that it is necessary to grasp Marx's philosophical foundations to understand his later works properly.^[319] Marxist humanism was opposed by Louis Althusser's "antihumanism", who qualified it as a revisionist movement.^[320]

The most widely held forms of communist theory are derived from Marxism, but non-Marxist versions of communism also exist.^[321]

Primitive communism is a way of describing thegift economies of hunter-gatherers throughout history, where resources and property hunted and gathered are shared with all members of a group, in accordance with individual needs. Inpolitical sociology andanthropology, it is also a concept often credited to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels for originating, who wrote thathunter-gatherer societies were traditionally based on egalitarian social relations and common ownership.^{[322][323][324]} A primary inspiration for both Marx and Engels wereMorgan's descriptions of "communism in living" as practised by theHaudenosaunee of North America.^[325] In Marx's model of socioeconomic structures, societies with primitive communism had no hierarchical social class structures orcapital accumulation.^[326]

Some of Marx's contemporaries espoused similar ideas, but differed in their views of how to reach to a classless society. Following the split between those associated with Marx andMikhail Bakunin at theFirst International, the anarchists formed theInternational Workers Association.^[327] Anarchists argued that capitalism and the state were inseparable and that one could not be abolished without the other. Anarcho-communists such asPeter Kropotkin theorized an immediate transition to one society with no classes.^[328]Anarcho-syndicalism, similar to anarcho-communism, became one of the dominant forms of anarchist organization, arguing that labor unions are the organizations that can change society as opposed to communist parties.^[329] Consequently, many anarchists have been in opposition to Marxist communism to this day.^{[330][331][332]} Important theorists to anarcho-communism includeAlexander Berkman,^[333]Murray Bookchin,Noam Chomsky,Errico Malatesta,^[334]Emma Goldman,Ricardo Flores Magón, andNestor Makhno.^[335] Three prominent organizational forms seen in anarcho-communism areinsurrectionary anarchism,platformism,^[336][337] andsynthesis federations.^[338]

Bundism was a secularJewish socialist movement whose organizational manifestation was theGeneral Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (Yiddish:אַלגעמײַנער ײדישער אַרבעטער בּונד אין ליטע פוילין און רוסלאַנד,romanized: Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Liteh, Poyln un Rusland), founded in the Russian Empire in 1897.^[339] The Jewish Labour Bund was an important component of the social democratic movement in the Russian Empire until the 1917Russian Revolution;^[339] the Bundists initially opposed the October Revolution, but ended up supporting it due topogroms committed by theVolunteer Army of the anti-communistWhite movement during theRussian Civil War. Split along communist and social democratic lines throughout the Civil War, where the communist faction supported theBolsheviks^{[340][341][342]} and eventually was absorbed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Similar splits occurred in the Bundist organisations of other eastern European countries, where the revolutionary communist factions formed theKombund,^[343][344] and supported organising with other communist groups.^[343]

Bundism opposedZionism,^[345] arguing that emigration toPalestine was a form ofescapism. Bundism focused on culture, rather than a state or a place, as the glue ofJewish "nationalism."^[346] In this they borrowed extensively from theAustro-Marxist school.^[347] It also promoted the use ofYiddish as a Jewish national language and to some extent opposed the Zionist project of revivingHebrew.^[348][349] Bundism was an influential strain that found a place in the socialist and communist movements of other countries as far away as South Africa.^[350]

Religious communism is a form of communism that incorporates religious principles. Scholars have used the term to describe a variety of social or religious movements throughout history that have favored the common ownership of property.^[351][352]

Christian communism is a form of religious communism centered on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ urge Christians to support communism as the ideal social system.^{[353][354][355]} Christian communists trace the origins of their practice to teachings in theNew Testament, such as this one fromActs of the Apostles at chapter 2 and verses 42, 44 and 45:^{[356][357][358]}

42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship [...] 44. And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; 45. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (King James Version)

Christian communism can be seen as a radical form ofChristian socialism and because many Christian communists have formed independent stateless communes in the past, there is also a link between Christian communism andChristian anarchism. Christian communists may or may not agree with various parts of Marxism.^[359] Christian communists also share some of the political goals of Marxists, for example replacing capitalism with socialism, which should in turn be followed by communism at a later point in the future. However, Christian communists sometimes disagree with Marxists (and particularly with Leninists) on the way a socialist or communist society should be organized.^[360]

Various communistic Christian communities and movements have included theDulcinians led byFra Dolcino,^[361] theAnabaptist communist movement led byThomas Müntzer during theGerman Peasants' War,^{[362][363][364]} theDiggers^[365] and theLevellers of the English Civil War,^[366] and theShakers of the 18th century.^[367]

Researchers have commented on the communistic nature of the society built by theQarmatians^[368] aroundAl-Ahsa from the 9th to 10th centuries.^{[369][370][371]}

Islamic Marxism attempts to apply Marxist economic, political, and social teachings within anIslamic framework. An affinity between Marxist and Islamic ideals of social justice has led some Muslims to embrace their own forms of Marxism since the 1940s. Islamic Marxists believe that Islam meets the needs of society and can accommodate or guide the social changes Marxism hopes to accomplish. Islamic Marxists are also dismissive of traditional Marxist views on materialism and religion.^[372]

Neozapatismo is generally held to be based on anarchism,Mayan tradition, Marxism, the thoughts ofEmiliano Zapata, and the thoughts ofSubcomandante Insurgente Galeano.^{[373][374][page needed]} Neozapatismo has been influenced by libertarian socialism, libertarian Marxism (including autonomism), social-anarchism, anarcho-communism,anarcho-collectivism, anarcho-syndicalism,communalism,direct democracy, andradical democracy.^[375]

Subcomandante Marcos has offered some clues as to the origins of neozapatismo. For example, he states:

Zapatismo was not Marxist-Leninist, but it was also Marxist-Leninist. It was not university Marxism, it was not the Marxism of concrete analysis, it was not the history of Mexico, it was not the fundamentalist and millenarian indigenous thought and it was not the indigenous resistance. It was a mixture of all of this, a cocktail which was mixed in the mountain and crystallized in the combat force of theEZLN…^[376]

In 1998,Michael Löwy identified five "threads" of what he referred to as the Zapatismo "carpet":^[377]

1. Guevarism
2. The legacy of Emiliano Zapata
3. Liberation theology
4. The Mayan culture
5. The democratic demands made by Mexican civil society.

In 1992,Juche replaced Marxism-Leninism in the revised North Korean constitution as the official state ideology.Juche is claimed to be developed from dialectical materialism, withKim Jong Il stating that "the world outlook of the materialistic dialectics is the premise for theJuche philosophy" and that the "Juche view of history" overcomes the limitations of those developed from dialectical materialism and historical materialism.^[378] Many critics point out the lack of Marxist-Leninist theory within the writings and practice ofJuche in North Korea.^[379] After thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 (North Korea's greatest economic benefactor), all reference to Marxism-Leninism was dropped in the revised 1992 constitution.^[380] The establishment of theSongun doctrine in the mid-1990s then formally designated themilitary, not the proletariat or working class, as the main revolutionary force in North Korea.^[381]

In the 1965 speech "On Socialist Construction in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the South Korean Revolution" given on 14 April 1965,Kim Il Sung outlined the three fundamental principles ofJuche:^{[382][page needed]}

1. Political independence (Korean: 자주;RR: jaju;MR: chaju)
2. Economic self-sufficiency (Korean: 자립;RR: jarip;MR: charip)
3. Military self-reliance (Korean: 자위;RR: jawi;MR: chawi)

According to Kim Jong Il'sOn the Juche Idea, the application ofJuche in state policy entails the following:^[383]

1. The people must have independence (chajusong) in thought and politics, economicself-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.
2. Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.
3. Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.
4. The most important work of revolution and construction is moulding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.

The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in theWestern world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such ascivil and political rights,environmentalism, feminism,gay rights,abortion rights,gender roles, anddrug policy reforms.^[384] Some see the New Left as an oppositional reaction to earlier Marxist andlabor union movements forsocial justice that focused on dialectical materialism and social class, while others who used the term see the movement as a continuation and revitalization of traditionalleftist goals.^{[385][386][387]}

Some who self-identified asNew Left^[388] rejected involvement with thelabor movement and Marxism's historical theory ofclass struggle,^[389] although others gravitated to their own takes on established forms of Marxism and Marxism-Leninism,^[76] such as theNew Communist movement (which drew fromMaoism) in the United States or theK-Gruppen^[a] in theGerman-speaking world.

According to the political theoristAlan Johnson, there has been a revival of serious interest in communism in the 21st century led bySlavoj Žižek andAlain Badiou.^[390] Other leading theorists are Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri,Gianni Vattimo,Alessandro Russo,Judith Balso,Jodi Dean,Michael A. Lebowitz, andPaul Cockshott, as well asAlberto Toscano, translator of Alain Badiou,Terry Eagleton,Eduard Limonov,Bruno Bosteels andPeter Hallward.^[391] In 2009, many of these advocates contributed to the three-day conference "The Idea of Communism" in London that drew a substantial paying audience.

Theoretical publications, some published byVerso Books, includeThe Idea of Communism, edited byCostas Douzinas and Žižek;^[392] Badiou'sThe Communist Hypothesis; and Bosteels'sThe Actuality of Communism.^[391] The defining common ground is the contention that "the crises of contemporary liberal capitalist societies—ecological degradation, financial turmoil, the loss of trust in the political class, exploding inequality—are systemic, interlinked, not amenable to legislative reform, and require "revolutionary" solutions".^[390][392]

Other non-communist thinkers and theorists have also had an effect on communist theory and the new generation of communists in the 21st century, such as the economistGuy Standing and the anthropologist and anarchistDavid Graeber.^[391]