Communism - Capitalism Definitions American Heritage Dictionary

com·mu·nism

  (kŏm′yə-nĭz′əm)

n.

1. A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members.

2. Communism

a. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

b. The Marxist-Leninist doctrine advocating revolution to overthrow the capitalist system and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat that will eventually evolve into a perfectly egalitarian and communal society.

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[French communisme, from commun, common, from Old French, from Latin commūnis; see commune².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cap·i·tal·ism

  (kăp′ĭ-tl-ĭz′əm)

n.

An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned anddevelopment occurs through the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.