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| This article is part of the Communism series of entries. Communist ideologies Leninism Trotskyism Stalinism Maoism Left communism Anarcho-Communism Past and present states (main article) Soviet Union China Cuba Vietnam Yugoslavia Some Communist parties CP of China CP of Italy CP of France CP of the USA CP of Vietnam CP of Cuba CP of Nepal(M) Other Articles Communist PartyComintern Cominform Warsaw Pact Comecon List of Communist Parties October Revolution Socialism Planned Economics Anti-Communism |
Taken literally, the term "communist state" is an oxymoron. Communism, as a social system, involves the abolition of the state (along with the abolition of private property and social classes). In Marxist political theory, capitalism is to be replaced by socialism (not communism), and socialism is to be replaced at some point in the future with communism. Therefore, the so-called "communist states" actually claimed to be socialist (and democratic) states, working towards the final goal of replacing socialism with communism. However, their opponents held that those states were neither socialist nor democratic, so another term had to be invented to define them. Hence the phrase "communist state" was coined, based on the fact that their ruling parties called themselves Communist Parties.
Alternative terms for a "communist state" include "Communist Party-ruled state", "Marxist-Leninist state", " Stalinist state" (derived from the fact that all these states were governed by communist parties that were either clearly Stalinist themselves or could trace their roots back to Stalinism) or " Deformed workers state" (a term commonly used by Trotskyists).
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