Knowra Scientific communism Scientific communism Scientific communism is the Marxist-Leninist theory that interprets history through class struggle and describes a transition from capitalism through socialism to a classless communist society.
Historical materialism : A theory that explains social change through material conditions, production, and conflict between social classes. It supplies the theory of historical development underlying scientific communism.
Capitalism : An economic system characterized by private ownership of capital, wage labor, and production for profit. Scientific communism identifies capitalism as the system whose contradictions prepare its transformation.
Karl Marx : A nineteenth-century German philosopher and political economist whose critique of capitalism shaped communist theory. His analysis of class, capital, and historical change forms the theory's foundation.
Social democracy : A political tradition seeking social equality through democratic institutions, welfare policies, and regulated markets. It pursues socialist aims through reforms rather than the revolutionary transition prescribed here.
Class struggle : Conflict between social classes over economic interests, power, and control of production. Scientific communism treats class conflict as a driving force of social change.
Surplus value : In Marxist theory, the value created by workers beyond the value of their wages and appropriated by capitalists. It explains the exploitation that Marxist analysis locates at the center of capitalism.
Friedrich Engels : A German philosopher and political writer who collaborated with Karl Marx and helped develop Marxism. He helped formulate and popularize the materialist account adopted by the doctrine.
Anarchism : A family of political philosophies opposing hierarchical authority and advocating voluntary forms of social organization. Its rejection of transitional state power conflicts with the Marxist-Leninist account.
Mode of production : The organization of productive forces and social relations through which a society produces its material needs. This framework links economic organization to political and social structures.
Proletarian revolution : A revolution in which the working class seeks to overthrow capitalist political and economic power. It is the predicted rupture through which workers take political power.
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