Communism vs Democracy – Difference and Comparison | Diffen
Ideology
Communism is a socialist movement that aims to create a society without class or money. As an ideology, it imagines a free society without any division, free from oppression and scarcity. The proletariat (working class) overthrow the capitalist system in a social revolution, usually via an armed rebellion.
Democracy is a form of government that gives all eligible citizens an equal say in decisions that affect their lives. All people can participate equally, either directly or through elected representatives, in the creation of laws.
Communism is traced back to 16th century English writer Thomas More, who described a society based on common ownership of property in his book Utopia. It first emerged as a political doctrine after the French Revolution, when Francois Noel Babeuf talked of the desirability of common ownership of land and total equality among citizens. Modern communism emerged from the industrial revolution, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto.
Democracy originated in Athens in ancient Greece. The first democracy was established in 508-7 BC. Athenians were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and the legislative assembly was made up of all Athenian citizens, who had a right to speak and vote. However, this excluded women, slaves, foreigners and anyone under the age of 20.
In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia. They changed their name to the Communist Party and created a single party regime devoted to implementing a specific type of communism known as Leninism. They nationalized all property and put all factories and railways under government control. After World War II, Communism spread throughout central and eastern Europe, and in 1949, the Communist Party of China established the Peoples Republic of China. Communism also emerged in Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique and other countries. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the worlds population lived in Communist states.
The first nation to become democratic in modern history was the Corsican Republic in 1755. However, it was short-lived, and the first modern nation to establish an official democratic system was France, which established universal male suffrage in 1848. The founding fathers of the United States did not describe their new nation as a democracy, but they also espoused principles of national freedom and equality. All men in the US were nominally given the right to vote in the late 1860s, and full enfranchisement of citizens was secured when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Democracy was a popular government system after World War I, but the Great Depression led to dictatorships throughout much of Europe and Asia. After World War II, the American, British and French sectors of Germany, Austria, Italy and Japan became democracies. By 1960, the majority of countries were nominally democracies, although many had sham elections or were, in reality, communist states. Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile all became democracies in the 1970s to 1990s.
In its ideological form, communism has no governments. However, it considers a dictatorship to be a necessary intermediate stage between capitalism and communism. In practice, communist governments take many different forms, but usually involve an absolute dictator.
Democratic governments take many forms, but in modern democracy, they usually involve elections, where citizens vote for individuals and parties to represent their concerns in government.
There are a wide range of interpretations of communism, usually named after the dictator who created them. They include Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Titoism and Eurocommunism.
There are many forms of democracy. They include representative, parliamentary, presidential, constitutional, and direct democracy, as well as constitutional monarchies.
Current communist states are the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Some people also consider North Korea to be a communist state.
According to Freedom House, there are currently 123 electoral democracies in the world. The World Forum on Democracy claims 58.2% of the worlds population live in democracies.
Communism has been criticized as an ideology because it leads to slow technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity. It has also been criticized as unfeasible. Communist states have been criticized for poor human rights records, with the belief that Communist governments have been responsible for famines, purges and war. Stephane Courtois argues that communism was responsible for the deaths of almost 100 million people in the 20th century.
Democracy has been criticized as inefficient and a creator of wealth disparity. It is criticized as a system that allows the uninformed to make decisions with equal weight as the informed, and one which allows for oppression of minorities by the majority.
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Communism vs Democracy - Difference and Comparison | Diffen
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- CIA is looking for regime insiders in Cuba who want to break away from communism - Miami Herald - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- WATCH: Why Students Must Learn About Communism - Minding The Campus - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- MAGA voters cant define communism after saying theyre voting red to stop it - LGBTQ Nation - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- AI could come up with ideas like communism: we meet 'Klara and the Sun' author Kazuo Ishiguro - Harper's BAZAAR - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- Labour has an ugly tradition of flirting with Soviet communism - The Telegraph - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- Communism Has a Problem with the Truth - American Family Association - October 26th, 2026 [October 26th, 2026]
- What is communism? Is it the same as socialism? Election buzzwords, explained - USA Today - October 22nd, 2026 [October 22nd, 2026]
- Stephen A. Smith reportedly agreed with Donald Trump that socialism and communism have no place in government - Yahoo - October 17th, 2026 [October 17th, 2026]
- London Film Festival 2026: AI friends, capitalism and communism and the Hollywood celebrity machine - The Arts Desk - October 17th, 2026 [October 17th, 2026]
- Hamas in its own words: Jew-hatred, genocide and anti-communism - The Militant - October 17th, 2026 [October 17th, 2026]
- The Steaua Rosie Museum of Communism to open on 21 October, with former President Emil Constantinescu attending - Agerpres - October 17th, 2026 [October 17th, 2026]
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- Commentary: Cold War may be over, but anti-communism is hot again and Latter-day Saints are in the thick of it - The Salt Lake Tribune - October 4th, 2026 [October 4th, 2026]
- To the editor: Perils of communism mocked but shouldnt be - Toledo Blade - October 4th, 2026 [October 4th, 2026]
- 'He sold his anti-communism to communists': Former Rep. David Rivera gets 10 years in prison - Fortune - October 4th, 2026 [October 4th, 2026]
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- President Trumps U.S. Department of Education Calls on Schools to Strengthen Education on the History and Dangers of Communism and Socialism - Sierra... - October 4th, 2026 [October 4th, 2026]
- Blessed Fulton J. Sheen and the fundamental error of communism - Catholic World Report - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- Melania Trump Says She Had A 'Very Beautiful Childhood' Living 'Under Communism': 'I Didn't Miss Anything' - Yahoo - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- Artificial Intelligence and Chinese Communism: Innovation, Information and Security as a Recurring Stress-Test of Party Control - tovima.com - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- Fox News hosts happy to hang with Xi after railing against communism in US - The Independent - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- For Warhorse's 15th birthday, we chatted with its co-founder about the demand for 'grown-up' RPGs, AI, why games are too cheap, and his role in the... - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- A CNN panelist says Fox News hosts spent years warning about communism, then every one of them got dressed up for dinner with Xi Jinping - The Mary... - September 29th, 2026 [September 29th, 2026]
- Trump Hates Communism But Likes Hanging Out With Communists - New York Magazine - September 24th, 2026 [September 24th, 2026]
- Wisdom Conversations Marks 10th Event with Timely Discussion on Communism, Freedom and the Future of America - Cornerstone University - September 24th, 2026 [September 24th, 2026]
- Heights reader warns of danger of resurgence of communism in U.S. - The Killeen Daily Herald - September 24th, 2026 [September 24th, 2026]
- 'Communism will never come to America, freedom will be coming to failed state Cuba': Donald Trump - Deccan Herald - September 24th, 2026 [September 24th, 2026]
- Office of the President: Farmland Survey as Communism? Nonsense Claims of Low-Price Sales Are Excessive Incitement - - September 22nd, 2026 [September 22nd, 2026]
- I fled communism. Are Gen Z drawn to it? - Fortune - September 22nd, 2026 [September 22nd, 2026]
- Talk of Trump-style communism reaches Capitol Hill ahead of the midterms - MS NOW - September 22nd, 2026 [September 22nd, 2026]
- Covid Masks, a Gay Communism Hat, and Hasan Piker: Inside the Socialism 2026 Conference - City Journal - September 11th, 2026 [September 11th, 2026]
- The truth about communism: Heres what kids are learning in Floridas new required coursework - WKMG - September 11th, 2026 [September 11th, 2026]
- Florida begins first full school year with expanded anti-communism curriculum - Floridas Voice - September 11th, 2026 [September 11th, 2026]
- Bertrand Russell Explains Why Karl Marx's Philosophy Produced the Disaster of Communism - Open Culture - September 11th, 2026 [September 11th, 2026]
- Trump Says His Base Should Vote in Midterms to Fight 'Communism' - WSJ - September 11th, 2026 [September 11th, 2026]
- Communism, Shariah and executions: Georgia GOP push politics of the past. - AJC.com - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Johnson launches website to teach young voters about socialism and communism ahead of midterm elections - Washington Examiner - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Joe Rogan, Shane Gillis Agree Communism Is The Gayest Sh*t Ever But Free Healthcare Is Cool - The Daily Wire - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Trump decries communism but greets Putin with open arms - thegazette.com - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Op-ed | Trumps hypocritical rhetoric on socialism and communism - amNewYork - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Letter: Communism, socialism can never be the answer - Grand Forks Herald - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- WATCH: Socialism? Nope, its communism and it can be fought - Washington Times - August 16th, 2026 [August 16th, 2026]
- Ted Cruz Issues Communism Warning In Billionaire Rant - Newsweek - August 1st, 2026 [August 1st, 2026]
- Bill Mahers latest bit: Communism, the DSA, and the Democrats - Why Evolution Is True - August 1st, 2026 [August 1st, 2026]
- Scoot: Should you be worried about communism in America? - Audacy - August 1st, 2026 [August 1st, 2026]
- Ted Cruz bashes communism but theres 1 problem: Crazy that he cant see the irony - AL.com - August 1st, 2026 [August 1st, 2026]
- PolitiFact: Asking people to voluntarily lower their energy consumption is not communism - Buffalo News - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Corruption, not communism, is the real threat to economy - The South Dakota Standard - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- AOC Says Trump Raising the Alarm About Communism Is Very Silly: We Cant Even Raise the Minimum Wage - People.com - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- 'Jesse Watters Primetime': Are the people cool with communism? - Fox News - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Trump Claims Communism Is 'Greatest Threat to Our Country in History' - Yahoo - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- The specter of AI communism: Chinese open-weight models and the crisis of the American AI bubble - World Socialist Web Site - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Why the GOP loves to use communism as an attack - Daily Kos - July 20th, 2026 [July 20th, 2026]
- An OpenAI Exec Thinks Kimi K3 And Other Open-Weight Models Are Bringing On AI Communism - Wccftech - July 20th, 2026 [July 20th, 2026]
- When some Christians made Common Cause with Fascism Against Communism - The Times of Israel - July 20th, 2026 [July 20th, 2026]
- Communism Is Back! Say Republicans Who Cant Understand Why People Want Better Health Care or Affordable Housing - Esquire - July 20th, 2026 [July 20th, 2026]
- Trump lauds killer ICE agents, and GOP keeps trying to make communism happen - Daily Kos - July 20th, 2026 [July 20th, 2026]
- Steve Forbes backs Trump's Mt. Rushmore warning on communism: 'He's right' - Fox News - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Joseph Wyatt: Slaying the dragon of communism (Opinion) - Charleston Gazette-Mail - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Net zero isnt conservatism. It has more in common with communism - The Telegraph - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- The power of ideas: how you can prepare for the World School of Communism - In Defence of Marxism - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Trumps warnings on creeping communism have a familiar ring, given abuses by his own administration - Cleveland.com - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Trump wrongly equates the Democratic Party with communism - PolitiFact - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Communism, the Bible, and Personal Financial Literacy to Be Taught in Texas Schools - Daily Signal - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Trump warns communism is forming in America: Id be the greatest communist in history - NJ.com - July 13th, 2026 [July 13th, 2026]
- Trump Says Communism Is Cancer Days After Saying He'd Be the Greatest Communist' - People.com - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]
- Socialism, communism, and Marxism: A guide to the ideologies behind the blue scare - Washington Examiner - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]
- Trump Condemns Communism as Cancer at U.S. 250th Anniversary - - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]
- Trump hails US as 'light and the glory' of the world on 4th of July, condemns 'cancer' of communism - New York Post - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]
- Trump focuses America's 250th anniversary speech on Communism and unity - NBC News - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]
- Trump extols America and rails at communism in U.S. 250th celebration - The Japan Times - July 6th, 2026 [July 6th, 2026]