What Is Communism?

2. Early Roots of Communism

Many people believe that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed the idea of communism. However, these two 19th century thinkers developed its modern form. French writer Victor d’Hupay first coined the term communism in 1777. In his writings, ‘d’Hupay discussed the idea of a commune whereby all inhabitants shared economic and material products. Others have noted that the concept of a classless and egalitarian society harkens back to Greek civilization. Indeed, Marx and Engels drew upon historic ideas when refining their philosophy regarding communism and how it could benefit people in their time.

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