How Would You Answer This Question?

[Eddie999]

How would you answer the question, 'What is communism?'. A few people have been asking it me lately and I can't think of suitable way to answer them in a few sentences without using lots of communist terms & phrases.

The people who ask obvioulsy have a genuine curiousity so any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Bolshevist]

communism is a stateless and classless society is rather accurate and short.

[Subversive Pessimist]

Communism is a stateless and classlesss society, based on sharing and equality.

[redstar2000]

What is Communism? A Brief Definition (http://redstar2000papers.fightcapitalism.net/theory.php?subaction=showfull&id=1082898978&archive=&cnshow=headlines&start_from=&ucat=&)

:redstar2000:

The Redstar2000 Papers (http://www.redstar2000papers.fightcapitalism.net)
A site about communist ideas

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by [email protected] 16 2004, 12:41 PM
How would you answer the question, 'What is communism?'. A few people have been asking it me lately and I can't think of suitable way to answer them in a few sentences without using lots of communist terms & phrases.

The people who ask obvioulsy have a genuine curiousity so any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Sayin communism represents a classless and statless society is not a good answer to those who have no idea what communism is. If you say that you have to explain what me mean by class and what we mean by state. These things arent defined outside political circles and you will find you get into swamp of words and terms and meanings that you will probably wish you hadn't started and end up confusing the people your talking to. What is class? what is a state?

The best way, in my opinion, to answer this kind of question is to say that communism is a form of society without capitalism, based on collective responsability and equality.

Alot of basic questions will follow...this (http://www.che-lives.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=25500) may help you.

Also have a list of book titles you can give out to people, or better still have them in your pocket.

[king Royale]

People ask the same to me, and I find it nearly impossible to answer them without using longwinded jargon that confuses. Before I can finish they say things like. Doesn't it have to be a dictatorship? or Doesn't communism mean I can't choose my job? I don't know where these ideas come from but it makes it very hard to explain it in brief, understandable terms.