The Rise of Socialism and Communism

The concepts of Socialism and Communism began to spread during the 19th century, almost at the same time when the Industrial Revolution was spreading across Europe. One of the greatest philosophers of that time, Karl Marx, along with his friend, Friedrich Engels, developed the philosophy of Communism, and in 1848 published the Communist Manifesto, which became “Bible” for communists. In Karl Marx’s words, Communism is: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Thus, Communism is a type of society that is based on equality and no competition. Marx and Engels saw that the working class, the Proletariat, was being taken advantage of by the upper class, the Bourgeoisie. Noticing this they ‘called’ upon the Proletariat to overthrow the social order and create a classless society. They wanted the Proletariat to create a new world: a Communist world! An intermediate form of Communism, called Socialism, was based on the principle “From each according to his ability, to each according to his work.”
To summarize, in a pure Communist world the government would control everything and everyone would get what he or she needed. But, in a Socialist world the government would own most of the “businesses,” some are still privately owned, and those who commit to the society will earn based on that commitment.