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Communism describes a classless society in which the means of production are commonly owned. Like most political systems, there is significant debate among its proponents about how exactly this should take place, and several different streams of communist theory have been developed. The most common variants derive from Marxism, developed by [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]], in [[The Communist Manifesto]] which asserts that the overthrow of the existing order by a revolution of the proletariat, the social group which does not control the means of production (or in layman's terms, the working class) is inevitable. The political philosophies of [[Vladimir Ilyich Lenin| Vladimir Lenin]], [[Joseph Stalin]], and [[Mao Zedong]] are are derived from Marxism.  Other schools of communist thought apart from Marxism also exist such as [[Anarcho-communism]] and [[Christian Communism]] which draws its inspiration from scripture, particularly Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2:

Communism describes a classless society in which the means of production are commonly owned. Like most political systems, there is significant debate among its proponents about how exactly this should take place, and several different streams of communist theory have been developed. The most common variants derive from Marxism, developed by [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]], in [[The Communist Manifesto]] which asserts that the overthrow of the existing order by a revolution of the proletariat, the social group which does not control the means of production (or in layman's terms, the working class) is inevitable. The political philosophies of [[Vladimir Ilyich Lenin| Vladimir Lenin]], [[Joseph Stalin]], and [[Mao Zedong]] are are derived from Marxism.  Other schools of communist thought apart from Marxism also exist such as [[Anarcho-communism]] and [[Christian Communism]] which draws its inspiration from scripture, particularly Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2:

     42: And they continued stedfastly 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.

     42: And they continued stedfastly 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.

The nation most commonly thought of as "communist" is the former [[USSR]] or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the Communist Party controlled its government from 1922 to 1991, although constitutionally, the USSR was a socialist federation seeking to build communism in the future<ref>[http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/r100000_.html Constitution of the Soviet Union]</ref> and in practice took the form of totalitarianism. This government was officially [[atheist]] and attempted to suppress all religion. Like many authoritarian regimes, it tried to cultivate reverence for the state as a psychological substitute for religion. Left-wing critics of the USSR charged that it was communist in name only, and had betrayed the revolution which founded it. George Orwell expressed this viewpoint eloquently in his 1945 fable ''[[Animal Farm]]''.  

The nation most commonly thought of as "communist" is the former [[USSR]] or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the Communist Party controlled its government from 1922 to 1991, although constitutionally, the USSR was a socialist federation seeking to build communism in the future<ref>[http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/r100000_.html Constitution of the Soviet Union]</ref> and in practice took the form of totalitarianism. This government was officially [[atheist]] and attempted to suppress all religion. Like many authoritarian regimes, it tried to cultivate reverence for the state as a psychological substitute for religion. Left-wing critics of the USSR charged that it was communist in name only, and had betrayed the revolution which founded it. George Orwell expressed this viewpoint eloquently in his 1945 fable ''[[Animal Farm]]''.