In more historical terms communism has attempted to overthrow and change the dominance of capitalism in the world through social and people's revolution. A case in point was the Maoist Cultural Revolution in China. It is also clear that the two central modes of political and economic organization are, in terms of their fundamental vision, very different and in opposition to one another. While on the one hand capitalism stresses the importance of individuality, private wealth and the development of 'natural' economic inequality in the society; communism stresses the sharing and equal use of resource and tends, in theory, to downplay the importance of the individual. The issue of individual freedom and independence was one of the central issues that created the climate for the "cold war' between the communism world and capitalism in the 20th century.

The most well-known face of communism in the last century was when Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia as the head of the Bolshevik party in 1917. This was to result in an autocratic regime which promulgated socialist and communist strategies. Lenin created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). One of his central aims was to begin a social revolution intended to overthrow the capitalist world view. The communist USSR became even more oppressive and dictatorial under Joseph Stalin, which succeeded Lenin. Under his leadership the state assumed total control of the economy and other state institutions. By 1980...

These countries were all characterized by laws and systems of governance that rejected private ownership of property and the domination of economic and other areas of society by the state. In most countries at this time all criticism of the government was restricted and the media was run by the state
In theoretical terms communism seems to make some valid and important points about sharing and the equal distribution of wealth in a society. However in more practical terms mainstream communism could not live up to these ideals - this was particularly true with regard to the economic collapse of the communist system in Russia in the latter part of the twentieth century. In reality many communist countries and regimes have been shown to be overly autocratic and even despotic and, despite idealism and theory; there have also often been the emergence of privileged elite in many communist counties.

Some commentators have pointed doubt out that the flaw in the communistic theory is that it deprives the individual of the motivation to achieve. They argue that when there are no obvious personal or economic advantages, there is no individual incentive to perform at one's best.

However communism still persists in many countries today and despite its critics there are many societies, such as China, which seem to thrive in many respects under communistic governments.