What Is Communism?

Sam L. (age 12) asked,

“What is communism?”

Thanks for your question, Sam!

Communism is a way of running society. Communism has hurt millions of people in the countries that tried it because it’s based on wrong ideas. To understand what communism is, we’ll first need to look at some ideas from the man who made communism popular: Karl Marx.

Marx lived in the 1800s, when many factory owners made a lot of money by forcing people to work under harsh conditions for very little pay. These factory owners’ hearts needed to change, like Zacchaeus’ heart changed after meeting Jesus in Luke 19:1–10. But instead of seeing the real need for hearts to change, Marx thought the workers should take away the factories from the owners (even by using violence) and create a new communist society.

In a communist society, nobody would be allowed to own factories, farms, or tools for producing things like food and clothes. Nobody would be richer than anyone else. Marx thought that eventually, people would not even own things, live in families, have governments, or worship God. They would share everything and get along as one group called “The People.” The People would be their own “god” and enjoy a sort of heaven on earth.

These ideas have sounded good to many people. But in countries that have tried communism, millions of people have ended up starving, going to prison, or being killed for obeying God instead of The People.

Why did things turn out so badly? One reason is that Marx had wrong ideas about how history works. Another reason is that people don’t usually feel like doing their jobs well if everybody ends up the same no matter how hard they work. It’d be like going to a school where everybody gets the same grade no matter how hard they study. Nobody would want to study if it didn’t change their grade! But then nobody would benefit from learning. In the same way, if people don’t feel like they have a good reason to do their jobs well, society suffers.

The ideas behind communism go against God’s Word.

But there’s an even bigger reason why Marx’s ideas cannot work, no matter how people try to make them happen. The ideas behind communism go against God’s Word. God’s Word reveals that our main problem is sin, not society. Sin is what makes people greedy, selfish, and mean. Only Jesus can save us from sin, change our hearts, and make a new heaven and earth. Sinful people cannot build heaven on earth and will only hurt themselves by trying.

One day, Jesus will make a new creation where sin is no longer a problem. Meanwhile, God’s Word offers a plan for society where people can own things (Exodus 20:15) and should work hard to worship God (Colossians 3:23–24). The Bible reminds us that God gives us the ability to earn money and that he is really the owner of those riches. God’s Word teaches us how to use that money well by choosing to share with others and to not sin by being greedy or coveting (desiring) what someone else has. The Bible also explains that we must not hurt others to get riches, like factory owners in Marx’s day often did.

In the end, the Bible offers a much different (and much better!) plan for humanity than communism does. The more a society follows God’s plan, the better people can enjoy the life our Creator meant for us.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!