Origins Of Communism

Throughout the history of the modern world, man has sought out the perfect government. An invincible system of order. And in our search for this ideal system, the idea of holding property in common has been a reoccurring thought. From early Christian communities to modern Marxist states, socialism and more specifically, communism has had an important role in the development of this ideal system.

After the Great French Revolution of 1789-1794, the roots of modern-day communism can be clearly seen. In 1795, Gracchus Babeuf wrote the “Plebeians’ Manifesto” which stated, for full social and economical equality:

“...to establish a common administration; to suppress individual property; to attach each man to the employment or occupation with which he is acquainted; to oblige him to place the fruits of his labor in kind into a common store; and to establish a simple administration for food supplies, which will take note of all individuals and all provisions, and will have the latter divided according to the most scrupulous equality.” - “Plebeians’ Manifesto”1

Because of this and other acts considered to be threatening to the Directory, Babeuf was executed in May of 1797. Babeuf was not forgotten though, others followed in his footsteps. Another 19th century French reformer, Charles Fourier, shared many of Babeuf’s ideas, but where Babeuf favored immediate political change, Fourier was for longer-term social reform. The Comte de Saint-Simon, another political thinker of that time, was similar to Fourier in many respects, although he valued a mixed society of capitalist thinkers and socialist workers which he believed would triumph in future French communities.

Meanwhile in England, Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist, was developing his own brand of Socialism. Unlike many philosophers of his time, Owen based his ideas on experience rather than speculation. He managed a factory and realized that labor was the essential “factor of production”. He looked to the workers rather than government for solutions to economic problems. He proposed “cooperative societies”, or self-contained communities of producers and consumers which he hoped would prove his theories. But his socialist experiment never took place because adequate funding was denied.

In the mid-1830’s, the term “Communism” was introduced to the world of French politics. First used to describe Saint-Simon and Fourier’s egalitarian slant on socialist ideas, Louis Blanc built on the ideals of Fourier to establish an important point of modern-day communism. He stated the principle, “...from each according to his capacities, to each according to his needs”, where as the old principle stated, “.