Communist glossary

{{communism}}
{{TOC right}}
{{cquote|
'''Quiz show presenter''': Now Karl has elected to answer questions on the workers' control of factories so here we go with question number one. Are you nervous? The development of the industrial {{sl|proletariat}} is conditioned by what other development?<BR>
'''[[Karl Marx]]''': The development of the industrial {{sl|bourgeoisie}}.<BR>
'''Presenter''': Yes, yes, it is indeed. You're on your way to the lounge suite, Karl. Question number two. The {{sl|Class struggle|struggle of class against class}} is a what struggle? A what struggle?<BR>
'''Karl''': A political struggle.<BR>
'''Presenter''': Yes, yes! One final question Karl and the beautiful lounge suite will be yours... Are you going to have a go? (Karl nods) You're a brave man. Karl Marx, your final question, who won the Cup Final in 1949?<BR>
'''Karl''': {{sl|Collectivism|The workers' control of the means of production}}? The struggle of the urban proletariat?<BR>
'''Presenter''': No. It was in fact, Wolverhampton Wanderers who beat Leicester 3-1.|||[[Monty Python]]<ref>[https://montypython.net/scripts/com-quiz.php Communist Quiz (World Forum)] ''MontyPython.net''.</ref>}}

This is a glossary of the main concepts, terms, and neologisms used by [[Communists|communists]] and their [[leftist]] ilk. This is not an endorsement of the ideology, but rather a page rendering the basic definitions of the various theories, historical terms, [[ideologies]], and slang associated with the [[political]] and [[economic]] movement of [[communism]].

==A-C==

===Absolute surplus value===
'''Absolute surplus value''' refers to the taking of more profits via extending the workday, such as extending it from 8 to 12 hours.<ref name=deville>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/deville/1883/peoples-marx/ch16.htm ''The People's Marx'', Chapter 16] by Gabriel Pierre Deville (1893) via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Agitprop===
'''Agitprop''' refers to communist propaganda promoting communist ideas, and might evoke an emotional response (to literally ''agitate'' the viewer, thus making it '''agit'''ative '''prop'''aganda).

<gallery>
File:Drive to the Collective Farm.jpg|Soviet poster promoting collectivized agriculture 
File:Soviet Poster 4.jpg|Soviet poster promoting study
File:Dyadya lenin.jpg|Soviet poster depicting Lenin "sweeping away" (eradicating) the bourgeoisie from the planet
File:A-propaganda-poster-from-the-Soviet-Union-in-the-1920s-391853265017.jpg|The unity of the working people and the communist party is indestructible!
File:KruglikovaLikbez.jpg|Soviet poster promoting female literacy
File:Ты записался добровольцем (Д. Моор, 1920).jpg|Signed up to volunteer?
File:Klinom Krasnim by El Lisitskiy (1920).jpg|Soviet art promoting the defeat of the whites and the victory of the reds (the Bolsheviks) during the Russian civil war. 
File:Soviet Poster 1.jpg|Proletarians of all countries unite!
</gallery>

===Alienation===
'''Alienation''' is the process by which {{sl|proletarian}}s become alienated from the commodities they make with their labor-power; rather than see commodities as objects created by {{sl|labor-power}}, by themselves, as workers, they see {{sl|commodities}} as something completely detached from the worker who produced it. This is thought to be a major consequence of the privatization of the means of production, exploitation (via the extraction of {{sl|surplus value}}), and competition forced between the workers.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/a/l.htm#alienation Alienation] ''Encyclopedia of Marxism''.</ref>

===Anarchy of production===
'''Anarchy of production''', a [[Marxist]] theory, is essentially overproduction of commodities. The {{sl|bourgeoisie}} force {{sl|Proletariat|proletarians}} to make an absurd amount of commodities for a market that suddenly collapses and rebounds continuously. It is a [[Chaos|chaotic]] relationship, thus, a state of anarchy (no, not [[Anarchism|that]] kind of anarchy).

===Antagonistic contradiction===
An '''antagonistic contradiction''' is a contradiction which is incapable of peaceful resolution, such as the contradiction between the colonized and the colonizer. One has to come out over the other.

===Anti-imperialism===
'''Anti-imperialism''' is as simple as it sounds; the opposition against [[imperialism]], the highest stage of [[capitalism]], and against all the processes involved in it.
[[File:Inside outside.jpg|thumb|center|165px|Anti-imperialism poster published by {{wpl|OSPAAAL}} in [[Cuba]], 1967]]

===Armchair socialist===
An '''armchair socialist''' is any communist, active in and loud about the communist movement online or in a personal setting, capable of putting their knowledge into practice (i.g., joining a communist party, educating fellow proletarians, etc). 

''Note: this is somewhat of a problematic term; communists struggle and practice, but some [[Disability|disabled]] communists cannot partake in many forms of practice. There needs to be an exception for disability.''

===Base and superstructure===
The '''base and superstructure''' is a theory that states the economy; the base; the dominant forces, shapes and maintain the ideological forces, such as the arts, cultures, [[philosophy]], family structures, pedagogies, education, [[science]]s, laws, [[politics]], [[Spirituality|spiritualities]], etc; the superstructure. These ideological forces serve to normalize the base, which enforces the superstructure, which enforces the base, etc., etc., a reciprocal relationship.

===Bolshevik===
{{main|Bolshevik}}
(Historical) A '''bolshevik''' was a follower of [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Leninism|his ideas]] during the [[Russian Revolution|October revolution]] and the early days of the [[Soviet Union]]. Their fellow-communist opponents were known as the {{sl|Menshevik}}s. The term originates from the Russian большинство (''bolshinstvo''), meaning "majority".
[[File:Bolshevik leaders, Tomsk LCCN2014708681.tif|thumb|center|165px|Bolshevik leaders in Tomsk, [[Siberia]]]] 

===Bootlicker===
'''Bootlicker''' is similar to "{{sl|class traitor}}" below: a working-class person advocating against their own interests, one who suffers from {{sl|false consciousness}}. However, unlike a class traitor, bootlickers don't usually have the agency to directly harm other working-class people, the way that [[police]], bosses, and other state/corporate enforcers do; rather, they may defend these enforcers' legitimacy without having a real stake in it.<ref>[https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bootlicker Bootlicker] ''Urban Dictionary''.</ref>

===Bourgeois===
'''Bourgeois''' is those of or relating to the class of people that own the means of production (farmland, factories, corporations, rented land/buildings/residences, etc.). The people themselves are referred to as the bourgeoisie. This Marxist meaning originated with [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]]' ''[[Communist Manifesto]]'', the term in English previously had broader meaning to include the whole middle class.<ref>bourgeois, ''n.1'' and ''adj.'': A.1., ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

====Bourgeois pseudoscience====
{{main|Bourgeois pseudoscience}}
'''Bourgeois pseudoscience''' is a  [[Loaded language|loaded term]] used in the [[Soviet Union]] to repress any form of [[science]] that was contrary to [[Bolshevik]] orthodoxy and/or [[Marxism-Leninism]].

During the {{wpl|Great Purge|Great Terror of 1936-1938|,}} many prominent Soviet [[geneticist]]s were {{sl|Party purge|purged}}, often by execution, for promoting the 'bourgeois pseudoscience' of [[Gregor Mendel#Mendelian genetics|Mendelian genetics]].<ref>''Stalinist Science'' by Nikolai Krementsov (1997) Princeton University Press. ISBN 069102877X.</ref>{{rp|61}}

====Bourgeois revolution====
A '''bourgeois revolution''' entails a revolution overthrowing [[feudalism]] in order to establish [[capitalism]]. Contrary to common belief, communists reckon bourgeois revolutions were necessary. Communists believe socialism can develop only after the destruction of [[feudalism]] and the establishment of [[capitalism]]. Bourgeoisie revolutions established how proletarian revolutions should work by industrializing the economy and establishing the contradiction between the communal environment in the workplaces vs. the individualist of those workplaces and the instruments of production within them. After [[capitalism]] develops, then communists want to overthrow that economic system in favor of [[socialism]] and its final stage of [[communism]]. This belief in the progression of societal systems is a type of [[historical determinism]]. 

Yes, this means the bourgeoisie used to be revolutionary, but are not anymore; after all, [[feudalism]] is dead.

===Bourgeoisie===
{{main|Ruling class}}
The '''bourgeoisie''' is the Marxist term for the ruling class under capitalism (not aristocrats or feudal lords -- these were the ruling class under feudalism), the landowners, and the capitalists, who overthrew feudal society. Marxists claim that the middle class disappeared with the smashing of feudalism, therefore, there are only two classes, one of which is the bourgeoisie, the class opposing [[communism]] because it is an economic system that brings about their demise. Under [[capitalism]], the bourgeoisie own [[business]]es and control the means of production, and communists consider them exploiters of the {{sl|proletariat}}.<ref>bourgeoisie, ''n.'': 2, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> 

====Petit bourgeoisie====
The '''petit bourgeoisie''' are the small bourgeoisie, such as small business owners and artisans. This derives from the word "petit", meaning small.

====Bourgeois ideologist====
'''Bourgeois ideologists''' are intellectuals who either outright disagree with communism or attempt to frame the rejection of fundamental communist beliefs as mere "critique", so these ideologists are usually part of the proletarian {{sl|intelligentsia}} closely collaborating with the bourgeoisie or outright bourgeoisie intelligentsia.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1905/sep/14.htm What Our Liberal Bourgeois Want, and What They Fear] by V. I. Lenin, ''Marxists' Internet Archive''. Source: ''Lenin Collected Works'', Progress Publishers, 1972, Moscow, Volume 9, pages 240-245. </ref> An example of a bourgeois ideologist is Karl Kautsky later in his life.

===Cadre===
[[File:Premier cours de cadres femmes en Tchouvachie. (1925).gif|thumb|right|165px|First course for female cadres in Chuvashia, Russia (1925)]]
A '''cadre''' refers to a group of communists or a single communist affiliated with a communist group.<ref>cadre, ''n.'': 3., ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> Cadres abide by party discipline, much like a club. They also engage in communist activities, such as group study and volunteer work. The point is to develop a small but organized communist group.
{{clear}}

===Capital===
[[File:Death to capital.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"Death to capital--or death under the heel of capital!"]]
{{main|Capital}}
'''Capital''', to put it simply, is anything usable for the production of a commodity in order to make more [[money]].

===Capitalist===
{{main|Capitalism}}
A '''capitalist''' is a person who owns capital; anyone who is the {{sl|bourgeoisie}}. They own the means of production, and thus, capital. Contrary to popular belief, communists do not consider any {{sl|Proletariat|proletarians}} to be capitalists, for they do not own capital. Only those who own capital can be capitalists. Proletarians may support capitalism, but that support does not make them capitalists.

===Capitalist pig===
[[File:Kulak and Priest.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"{{sl|Kulak}} and Priest"]]
A '''capitalist pig''', in communist parlance, is a derogatory word used to refer to the {{sl|capitalist}} {{sl|bourgeoisie}}, which explicitly expresses discontent for the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} capitalist class and the [[economic]] and [[political]] systems of [[capitalism]].

===Central committee===
A '''central committee''' is the main governmental body of a communist party. It can exist for ruling or non-ruling parties.

===Character mask===
A '''character mask''' is a social role that conceals class {{sl|contradiction}}s. The term was first used by [[Karl Marx]]<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/sw/progress-publishers/sw.pdf ''Marx, Engels: Selected Works''] (1968) Progress Publishers.</ref>{{rp|126}} and later by [[Friedrich Engels]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/18th-Brumaire.pdf The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte] by Friedrich Engels (1852) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Class consciousness===
The condition in which a {{sl|proletarian}} is aware of their class distinctions from the {{sl|bourgeoisie}}, of their exploitation, and consequently, fights for [[socialism]] and its final stage of communism. This means they hold interests in favor of their class interests.<ref>class, ''n.'' and ''adj.'': C1. Compounds of the noun.c.:  class-conscious, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Class struggle===
'''Class struggle''' is a occurs when there is a conflict of interests between the various social classes.<ref>class, ''n.'' and ''adj.'': class struggle, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Class traitor===
'''{{wpl|Class traitor}}''' is the term used to define working-class people who are perceived as actively working against the interests of their class. Some often-used examples include [[police]] officers, [[union]]-busters, and soldiers. The term has sometimes been applied to members of the {{sl|bourgeoisie}}, e.g. [[Friedrich Engels]] (son of a factory owner) and [[Pyotr Kropotkin]] (who was born into nobility), for whom which the term is positive.

===Classless society===
A '''classless society''' is literally a communist society, one in which there are no longer any classes, no {{sl|proletariat}} or {{sl|bourgeoisie}}.

===C-M-C===
'''C-M-C''' stands for '''C'''ommodities transformed into [[money|'''M'''oney]] for '''C'''ommodities. Basically, to sell commodities in order to acquire money to buy more commodities.<ref name=cmc>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch04.htm ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'': Part II: The Transformation of Money into Capital. Chapter Four: The General Formula for Capital] by Karl Marx (1999 [1867]) ''Marxists' Internet Archive.''.</ref>

===Cosmonaut===
A '''cosmonaut''' is the term used to describe a Russian astronaut, but since Russia was socialist for more than seventy years, "cosmonaut" is vaguely part of communist parlance.

===Collective leadership===
'''Collective leadership''' is the distribution of power across the various government rankings of the {{sl|dictatorship of the proletariat}}/[[socialist]] state or of communist society.

===Collectivized agriculture===
[[File:Collective Farms.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"We'll engage hundreds of thousands of working women in socialist production in collective farms, state farms and machine tractor stations. Women of the collective farms, master automobile, tractor and rail technology! Learn auto mechanics!"]]
'''Collectivized agriculture''' or '''collectivized farming''' is a farm jointly operated by several different farmers under a socialist or communist economy.

===Collectivism===
'''Collectivism''' refers to the idea that all land and means of production should be owned by the people as a group, not individually. This is a basic precept of communism. Sometimes, [[socialist]] states, attempting to achieve communism, collectivize via seizing all private property and the means of production and keeping it in state hands.

===Colour revolution===
In communist parlance, a '''colour revolution''' refers to any counter-revolutionary (since they are anti-communist, and thus, against communist [[revolution]]) uprising against a [[socialist]] or anti-imperialist government that is purportedly either created, influenced, or heavily covered by [[capitalist]] countries in the [[imperialist]] stage.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/atc/3134.html The Debate Around Liu Xiaobo] by Au Loong-Yu. (Dec. 20, 2010) ''Against the Current'' via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> Examples include: [[Czechia#Velvet Revolution|Czechoslovakia]] (1989), [[Slobodan Milošević#Downfall|Yugoslavian rump state (2000)]], [[Georgia (country)#Rose Revolution|Georgia (2003)]], and [[Euromaidan|Ukraine 2014]].

===Commodities===
'''Commodities''' are possessions manufactured for a specific purpose. Commodities have '''use-values''' (literally the usefulness of the object) and '''exchange-values''' (for how many commodities or monies one can exchange on the market).

===Commodity fetishism===
'''Commodity fetishism''' describes a phenomenon under [[capitalism]] in which {{sl|Proletariat|proletarians}} purchasing commodities cannot perceive the labor-power put into commodities in [[capitalist]] markets. Think of a paperback book. How is it made? A worker got the materials, and another worker took those materials and made paper out of them. Another worker got the materials used to make staples. Another worker turned on a machine that used those materials in order to make a book. Another worker transported the book to the store. And what about the workers who made the machines and mined the materials that created that machines? And the workers who made the factory? And the workers who made the tools used to obtain the materials? The process is literally indefinite. But commodity fetishism involves not thinking about any of this, and instead seeing commodities as objects alienated from labor.

The meaning of the term has evolved over time, with its original usage in [[Marx]]'s ''[[Das Kapital]]'' (''Fetischcharakter der Ware''), meaning that commodities have an autonomous existence with an intrinsic value, with later meaning as placing excessive value on material goods.<ref>commodity, ''n.'': commodity fetishism ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Communism===
'''Communism''' is the final stage of [[socialism]] in which the means of production, exchange, and trade belong to all the workers in a stateless, classless, moneyless, borderless society based upon the principle "to each according to their ability, to each according to their need."

===Comrade===
'''Comrade''' was originally used to refer to a friend or close companion, from the French ''camarade''.<ref>comrade, ''n.'': a, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> Among communists (and sometimes [[socialists]]), it is a [[Gender-inclusive language|gender-neutral]] synonym for "ally" or "friend", habitually used by communists to refer to other communists.<ref>comrade, ''n.'': f, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> When reading communist works, the reader may frequently encounter the word (i.g., "[[Mao Zedong|comrade Mao]]", "[[Vladimir Lenin|comrade Lenin]]", "[[Joseph Stalin|comrade Stalin]]").

===Concrete capital===
'''Concrete capital''' consists of non-human parts of production; the raw materials, and machinery used for the production of {{sl|commodities}}.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/isr/v01n04-oct-1900-ISR-gog-Wisc.pdf The Implications of Democracy] (1900) ''The International Socialist Review'' 1(4):193-256. Via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>{{rp|239}}

===Contradiction===
'''Contradictions''' are two phenomena with opposing values or functionalities, such as between {{sl|bourgeoisie}} and {{sl|proletariat}},<ref>[https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/ijis/article/download/181/121 Capital and Labour: Can the Conflict by Soled?] by Michael Kuur Sørensen (2006) ''Interdisciplinary Journal of International Studies'' 4:29-48.</ref> or colonized and colonizer.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm On Contradiction] by Mao Tse-tung (August 1937) ''The International Socialist Review''.</ref>

===Copyright abolitionism===
'''Copyright abolitionism''' is the belief that [[copyright]] needs abolition. Since intellectual property is technically a form of private property, literally property owned by the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} in order to make profit, it should follow that copyright abolitionism is a basic principle of communists, but that is not always necessarily the case.

===Cultural hegemony===
The Marxist theory of '''cultural hegemony''' states that the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} manipulate and control the cultural beliefs of the {{sl|proletariat}}, the rest of society. This might occur via, for example, the [[media]], through which political ideologies and beliefs supporting [[capitalism]], those beliefs of the bourgeoisie, become normalized. This manifestation of hegemony differs from other hegemonies because, technically, there is no force involved; the only force involved is meeting societal norms (i.e., rejecting communism, [[revolution]], etc), lest one alienate oneself from everyone else by holding socially deviant views.

===Cultural revolution===
[[File:Samding Dorje Phagmo and her parents during Cultural Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|165px|[[Tibet]]an [[Buddhist]] leader Samding Dorje Phagmo and her parents being denouced<ref>[https://highpeakspureearth.com/collecting-eyewitness-accounts-in-lhasa-an-interview-that-made-me-continue-to-think-about-the-cultural-revolution-in-tibet-part-7-by-woeser/ "Collecting Eyewitness Accounts in Lhasa": An Interview That Made Me Continue to Think About the Cultural Revolution in Tibet – Part 7] by Woeser (September 12, 2018) ''High Peaks Pure Earth''.</ref>]]
A '''cultural revolution''' seeks to change attitudes in society, such as augmenting support for [[socialism]] and communism via extirpating purportedly {{sl|False consciousness|falsely conscious}} ideas. The term was specifically used in the [[Cultural Revolution|Chinese Cultural Revolution]] (1966-1976).

In practice, this was used justify the [[Orwellian]] [[censorship]] and destruction of cultural heritage, [[history]], media, [[art]], and any field of academia that was felt to contradict the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism or glorified anyone other than the [[dictator]] and  [[Toxic masculinity|his]] [[personality cult]], as well as any state sanctioned [[personality cults]]. This was done so that future generations would have [[Memory hole|no memory]] or [[evidence]] of [[Philosophy|philosophies]] beyond the <state’s official ideology. It is quintessentially [[post-truth]] by nature.{{cn}} See also: [[Burning the evidence]]

===Cyclical crisis of capitalism===
The '''cyclical crisis of capitalism''' is a perpetual crisis under [[capitalism]] under which boom and bust cycles and economic crashes continuously occur, one after the other, causing mass devastation repetitively.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/c/r.htm Cr: crisis of capitalism, cyclical] ''Encyclopedia of Marxism'' at ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> This is one of the {{sl|contradiction}}s that are to cause the end of capitalism; there is a need for mass production, but that mass production (under private control) requires overproduction, causing sudden economic crashes, such as, historically, [[Great Depression|the Great Depression]].

==D-J==

===Democratic centralism===
'''Democratic centralism''' is a state in which political decisions decided by a majority of a communist party are binding on all members of that party. The term was originally used by [[Lenin]].<ref>democratic, ''adj.'' and ''n.'': democratic centralism  ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> In Practice, the general Secretary or chairman of the party becomes the ''de facto'' leader or paramount leader (e.g., [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Mao Zedong]], [[Deng Xiaoping]], [[Kim Il-sung]], [[Xi Jinping]]).

===Dengist===
A '''Dengist''' is a supporter of the economic policies of [[Deng Xiaoping]] (as he initiated many market reforms and greatly expanded the private sector in China). Dengism is sometimes known as '''Deng Xiaoping Theory''', and is usually considered [[heterodox]] to Marxism-Leninism,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-5/lom-3.htm Chairman Mao’s (or Deng Xiaoping’s) Theory of the Three Worlds is a Major Deviation from Marxism-Leninism] by ''Robert Seltzer and Irwin Silber'' (1980) ''Line of March'' 1(2). Via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> hence not considered a "[[theory]]" by Marxists. The term "dengist" is often used more broadly to refer to supporters of the modern People's Republic of China.<ref>[https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dengist Dengist] ''Urban Dictionary''.</ref> Supporters of modern China usually refer to themselves as followers of Mao Zedong Thought (MZT) rather than Dengism.

===Dialectics/Dialectical materialism===
{{main|1=Dialectics|3=Dialectical materialism}}
In [[Marxist]] {{sl|theory}}, '''dialectical materialism''' is the idea that material [[reality]] shapes socioeconomic conditions and societal problems are caused by distinctions between people, i.e., {{sl|contradiction}}s. This might manifest as exploitation and lack of [[political]] or [[economic]] rights for {{sl|proletarian}}s. Historically, during [[feudalism]], the feudal lord vs. the serf was this precise dialectic. To apply dialectical materialism to history is thus {{sl|historical materialism}}.

===Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie===
A '''dictatorship of the bourgeoisie''' is the [[capitalist]] state in which the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} hold absolute power.<ref>''The Class Struggles in France (1848-1850)'' by Karl Marx (1935) International Publishers.</ref>{{rp|67}}<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1917/09/27.htm A Government of Bourgeois Dictatorship] by J. V. Stalin (September 27, 1917) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Dictatorship of the proletariat===
A '''dictatorship of the proletariat''' is a transitional state between [[capitalism]] and communism in which the {{sl|proletariat}} hold absolute power.<ref>dictatorship, ''n.'': 1.c. c. dictatorship of the proletariat, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Economism===
An economist was what Lenin described as a purported communist who refused to combine the political and economic struggles (for he saw the two as equally important in the struggle for socialism). Economists followed '''economism''', seeing struggles from a strictly economic but not also political point of view.

===Exchange value===
The '''exchange value''' of a commodity is how many other commodities for which it sells on the market.

===Exploitation===
When communists refer to '''exploitation''', they mean the extraction of {{sl|surplus value}} from the {{sl|proletariat}}. Thus, exploitation and oppression are ''two completely different affairs''. They are not interchangeable terms.

===Extra surplus-value===
See {{sl|Superprofits}}.

===False consciousness===
{{main|False consciousness}}
'''False consciousness''' merely refers to holding interests not favorable to the {{sl|proletariat}}, denying exploitation, and supporting [[capitalism]], such as reckoning one needs to "work harder" in order to receive a better wage. (Whereas, the class-conscious worker, on the other hand, reckons that {{sl|surplus value}}, literally profits, are taken from their wages by the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} capitalist).

[[Friedrich Engels]] first described this concept in an 1893 letter to Franz Mehring:<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1893/letters/93_07_14.htm Marx-Engels Correspondence 1893: Engels to Franz Mehring] (July 14, 1893) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>
{{cquote|[[Ideology]] is a process accomplished by the so-called thinker consciously, indeed, but with a false consciousness. The real motives impelling him remain unknown to him, otherwise it would not be an ideological process at all.}}

===Free association===
Free association is the state of affairs in which there is moneylessness, classlessness, statelessness, etc; no hierarchy of workers, essentially. Therefore, this term refers to relations between people in a communist society.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/subject/left-wing/gik/1930/01.htm Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution] by Group of International Communists (1930) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Historical materialism===
'''Historical materialism''' is [[dialectical materialism]] applied to history, the term was first used by [[Friedrich Engels]].<ref>historical, ''adj.'' and ''n.'': C3. historical materialism ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> This does not inherently involve denying parts of history, but rather seeing them as the results of conflicts between groups of people. All historical events occurred due to conflict between people of different social classes and [[intersectional]] factors, essentially. 

Historical materialism does ''not'' assume that history is a linear process or that it is pre-determined.

The term first appeared in [[Friedrich Engels]]' 1892 book ''Socialism: Utopian and Scientific''<ref>[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.213275/mode/2up ''Socialism: Utopian and Scientific''] by Friedrich Engels (1892) Swann Sonnenschein.</ref>{{rp|ix,xviii-xix}}<ref>historical, ''adj.'' and ''n.'': ''historical materialism n.'', Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===The history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles.===
[[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] famously wrote in the ''[[Communist Manifesto]]'', "'''the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of {{sl|class struggle}}s.'''",<ref>''The Communist Manifesto'' by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1964) ''Monthly Review Press''. Translated by Samuel Moore.</ref>{{rp|28}} meaning all of history (barring {{sl|primitive communism}}) involved conflicts between groups of people according to their material conditions; [[Slavery|enslaver vs. enslaved]], [[feudal]] lord vs. serf, {{sl|bourgeoisie}} vs. {{sl|proletariat}}, and after the writing of the manifesto, as various [[capitalist]] economies began to develop into the [[imperialist]] stage, [[Imperialism|colonizer vs. colonized]].

===Identity politics===
{{main|Identity politics}}
Politics through the lens of race, [[gender]], [[sexuality]], ethnicity, [[disability]], etc. [[intersectionality]], essentially. Communists ultimately believe class is the ''main'' division of society, and some go to the extent of saying it is the only division of society (class reductionism). Although there is no general consensus on [[identity politics]], some communists do support identity politics as secondary factors to take into account on top of class or completely reject and abhor identity politics.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isj2/1994/isj2-062/smith.htm Mistaken identity – or can identity politics liberate the oppressed?] by Sharon Smith (1994) ''International Socialism'' 2:62.  Via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> There is no international agreement on the [[identity politics]] question.

===Imperialism===
{{main|Imperialism}}
In communist theory, '''imperialism''' is an advanced stage of [[capitalism]] in which there is the immense concentration of production and competition bringing about monopolies, the combination of bank capital and industrial capital into finance capital, the exportation of [[capital]], the formation of massive international monopolies (such as those, in the contemporary era, resulting from [[globalization]]), and the massive division of the entire world (i.g., splitting apart the continent of [[Africa]] territorially). The communist theory of imperialism comes from [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s book, ''Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism''.<ref name=imperialism/> Communists, essentially, see imperialism as more than merely stealing and occupying land, but doing all that ''for the purpose of'' maintaining capitalism. Imperialism is thus as economical as it is political. It involves the occupation and division of territory, but also mass concentration, export, and development of capital and large international monopolies.

===Imperialist running dog===
An '''imperialist running dog''' was the terminology that [[Mao Zedong]] used to refer to troops in counter-revolutionary or imperialist armies,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_1.htm Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society] by Mao Tse-tung (March 1926) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref><ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-6/mswv6_19.htm Proclamation On The Northward March Of The Chinese Worker's And Red Army To Fight Japan] by Mao Tse-tung (July, 15 1934) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''. "…the Kuomintang is the most faithful running dog of Japanese imperialism…"</ref> but nowadays, it is communist slang for anyone in line with (what communists consider) [[imperialist]] policies (e.g. supporting sanctions, wishing war against other countries (especially poorer or Communist ones), apologetics for military [[coup]]s, supporting the occupation of [[Palestine]], etc.).

===Intelligentsia===
The label '''intelligentsia''' refers to well-educated constituents of a society, most of which are {{sl|Proletariat|proletarian}} by virtue of not owning the means of production. For instance, most [[scientists]] do not control and collectively operate their workplaces, be they laboratories, observatories, research stations, etc., etc. Communists support most members of the intelligentsia in consequence, as a select few are {{sl|bourgeoisie}}. Moreover, the intelligentsia usually perform mental labor, such as writing academic papers or teaching, for they are, as mentioned previously, well-educated. Communists want to remove barriers between intelligentsia and the rest of the proletariat; between mental labor, and menial labor; and render intelligentsia and non-intelligentsia alike capable of both mental and menial labor.

Despite this, communist regimes have at various times subjected intellectuals to purges usually for alleged disloyalty, e.g., [[Soviet Union]] (1936-1938),<ref>{{wpa|Great Purge}}</ref> [[China]] (1950-1953; [[Cultural Revolution]] of 1966-1976 as the "stinking ninth category"),<ref>{{wpa|Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries}}</ref><ref>[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/0920203X9601100203 The Historical Origins of the Chinese Cultural Revolution] by Tony Saich (1996) ''China Information'' 11(2-3):21-34. doi:10.1177/0920203X9601100203.</ref> and  [[Khmer Rouge]] (1975).<ref>{{wpa|Year Zero (political notion)|Year Zero}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:NKVD Mandelstam.jpg|{{wpl|Osip Mandelstam||,}} poet, died in a labor camp in 1938
File:Vavilov in prison.jpg|{{wpl|Nikolai Vavilov||,}} botanist and [[geneticist]], died in prison under harsh conditions in 1943
File:Khadija Gaibova.jpg|{{wpl|Khadija Gaibova||,}} pianist, executed in 1938
File:1930-MushketovD.jpg|{{wpl|Dmitrii Mushketov||,}} [[paleontologist]] and [[geologist]], executed in 1938
</gallery>

==K-R==

===Kulak===
(Historical) A '''kulak''' was the term used to identify rich farmers in the [[Soviet Union]]. They owned a large sum of land and grain, which communists seized from them. In 1929 during the [[Holodomor]], [[Stalin]] ordered a dekulakization campaign, purging kulaks as a class, killing large numbers, exiling others to [[Siberia]], and putting others into forced-labor camps.<ref>''The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine'' by Robert Conquest (1986)  Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195040546.</ref>{{rp|120-122,127,156}} The term derives from the Russian кулак (''kulák''), meaning 'fist' and implying a tight-fisted person.<ref>kulak, ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref> The American equivalent of kulak farming was sharecropping.
<gallery>
File:Kulak iz kolhoza.jpg|Soviet anti-kulak poster, with top text quoting [[Lenin]]
File:Forced collectivization USSR.jpg|Requisitioning of grain from kulaks in 1933
File:Dekulakisation in the USSR V 3.jpg|Dekulakization parade (c. 1929-1934) with the banners "We will liquidate the kulaks as a class" and "All to the struggle against the wreckers of agriculture"
</gallery>

====Kulaks deserved it====
A shitty [[meme]] made by {{sl|tankie}}s to justify atrocities like the [[Holodomor]]. They usually [[Denialism|deny]] it instead.<ref>[https://archive.ph/VDjNB Kulaks deserved it. Stalin did nothing wrong.] by by u/deleted (c. 2019) ''Reddit'' (archived from 9 Sep 2019 22:10:23 UTC).</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/wip/nYoP6 • The Black Hundreds deserved it • The Cadets deserved it • The White Guards deserved it • The invading soldiers of the imperialist armies deserved it • The Kulaks deserved it • The counter-revolutionaires deserved it • The fascists deserved it • The landlords deserved it] by @catchwreck3 (1:36 PM · Nov 18, 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from 4 Aug 2022 01:38:10 UTC).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220306044025/https://twitter.com/ClassVengeance/status/1185956037234442246 The Romanovs deserved it. The Kulaks deserved it. The French slave owners in Haiti deserved it. The Chinese Land Lords deserved it. King Louis deserved it. Did I miss any?] by @ClassVengeance (9:28 AM · Oct 20, 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from March 6, 2022).</ref> [[Doublethink|Sometimes, they do both!]]

====Kulaks deserved worse====
An even shittier version of Kulaks deserved it.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/kulaksdeservedworse/ The Kulaks Deserved Worse] ''Facebook''. "A page for Holodomor hoax memes, memes about kulaks, dekulakization, and spreading the truth about the Holodomor hoax."</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/53Whv Daily Reminder: Stalin did not gulag enough Kulaks deserved worse] by @fraiser_ian (11:57 AM · Jul 1, 2022) ''Twitter'' (archived from 6 Aug 2022 18:51:41 UTC).</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/wip/AKktB Stalins twitter bio: "Ya boi Joe. (Did/,Nothing/wrong). Kulaks deserved worse. My mustache personally shot H*tler. I sure do love paying the clouds not to rain."] by @johanstrauss90 (7:47 PM · Oct 22, 2021) ''Twitter'' (archived from 6 Aug 2022 18:58:55 UTC).</ref>

===Labor aristocracy===
There are multiple definitions, but covering the one most apt for this glossary, the '''labor aristocracy''' are {{sl|proletarian}}s who by virtue of their class face oppression but are more well-off than their colonized proletarian counterpoints by virtue of [[imperialism]] and neoimperialism.<ref name=imperialism>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/imperialism.pdf ''Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: A Popular Outline''] by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1917) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Labor-power===
'''Labor-power''' is the ability of the {{sl|proletarian}} to work/labor.

===Liquidationism===
'''Liquidationism''' is the abandonment of the policies established by the vanguard in a {{sl|proletarian}} communist party,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1909/jul/11.htm ''The Liquidation of Liquidationism''] by  V. I. Lenin (1909) ''Proletary'', 46(24). Reprinted by ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> so generally, communists see it as an issue.

===Market abolitionism===
'''Market abolitionism''' is the support for the eventual abolition of all markets once communism develops. This is an essential principle for any communist

===Marxist feminism===
'''Marxist feminism''', also known as '''socialist feminism''' or '''communist feminism''', is the ideology combining Marxism and [[feminism]], seeing the oppression of women as the result of capitalism (i.g., seeing patriarchy, a system that predates capitalism, becoming an inherent part of it; seeing gender roles as ones serving the interests of the bourgeoisie; seeing the dependence of all genders other than man on men as a result of capitalism, etc).

===Marxism-Leninism===
'''Marxism-Leninism''' is a communist ideology that after the [[Russian Revolution]] represented a large chunk of the movement.<ref group="note">Of course, this has ''no'' relation to the fact that the USSR was Marxist-Leninist, and hence would only support movements if they toed to the party line. And as such, it's not as if non-ML tendencies in the wider communist movement were actively suppressed... oh wait.</ref> It holds that there is a stage between capitalism and {{sl|communism}} known as the {{sl|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, which is a socialist state in control of the means of production. Marxist-Leninists want a {{sl|vanguard of the proletariat}} to lead this state. This vanguard consists of the most principled and trained revolutionaries, so as to ensure those in power of the socialist state actually know what the ultimate goal is and how to manage governmental affairs socialistically. Marxist-Leninists believe that, eventually, the {{sl|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, the state, shall wither away, and in its place {{sl|communism}} arises. Marxist-Leninists also typically support {{sl|democratic centralism}}. The main difference between Marxist-Leninists and other communists regards the authority question. Marxist-Leninists support utilizing authority (i.e., the state) to bring about communism, whereas other communists might reckon this process to be merely authoritarianism.

===Mass line===
The '''mass line''' is the connection between the socialist government, {{sl|the vanguard of the proletariat}}, and the masses  — the vanguard goes to the proletarians, consults them, and then interprets their criticisms and wants accordingly. This existed under Maoist China.

===M-C-M===
See {{sl|C-M-C}}.

===Menshevik===
[[File:Mensevikii.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Menshevik Party leaders in [[Sweden]] (1917)]]
(Historical) A '''Menshevik''' referred to an opponent of [[Vladimir Lenin]] and the [[Russian Revolution|October revolution]] (the {{sl|Bolshevik}}s). The dominant strain of communism (Marxist-Leninism) does not consider that Mensheviks were earnest communists. The word derives directly from the Russian меньшевик ('minority member').<ref>Menshevik, ''n.'' and ''adj.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Money-form===
The '''money-form''' is literally just money; what society uses to exchange commodities under capitalism. Communists want a moneyless society, eventually.

===Moneylessness===
'''Moneylessness''' only exists under communism, a society in which monies no longer exist. People receive what they need and produce what they can collectively without needing [[money]] for payment.

===National liberation===
'''National liberation''' is the process in which colonized people free themselves from colonialist, [[imperialist]] rule.

===New Soviet man===
The '''new Soviet man''' (although more aptly the new Soviet person; the original Russian term новый советский человек could refer to any gender) referred to the perceived changes in the proletarians under socialism (the transitional period to communism) in the USSR, but this technically extends to the perceived changes in the proletarians of ''all'' socialist countries.

===No war but the class war===
[[File:No war but class war София 1 март 2022.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Banner in [[Bulgaria]], days after the Russian invasion of [[Ukraine]] in 2022]]
The phrase "'''no war but the class war!''' is a common communist saying that rejects all preexisting [[war]]s, instead advocating for international [[revolution]]s in every country at different times.

===Opportunism===
'''Opportunism''' describes the sacrifice of fundamental communist principles and theories for a short-term gain that in the long-term negatively affects the [[socialist]] government and economic system.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1898/09/30.htm Opportunism and the art of the possible] by Rosa Luxemburg (September 1898) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Party line===
The party line refers to members of a communist party being expected to make all votes and public statements in accordance with the party's doctrine. This differs from party-line votes in [[Democracy|democracies]], which generally pertain to a single or small number of issues. The party line in the [[Soviet Union]] for example, required party members to vote contrary to vote contrary to evidence and facts, ultimately leading to the perpetration of the [[big lie]].<ref>''On Freedom'' by Timothy Snyder (2024)  Crown. ISBN 9780593728727.</ref>{{rp|176-177,180}}

===Party purges===
'''Party purges''' are not necessarily deadly, although they often were under the rule of [[Joseph Stalin]]. Party purges, conceptually, involve the removal of members from a political party, and in the case of the communists, the removal of members from the communist political party if they fail to adhere to party discipline (as the communist party goes by {{sl|democratic centralism}}).

===Personal property===
'''Personal property''' are any commodities. These do not produce surplus value/profits, and one cannot labor with them for wages. Thus, no, communists do not want to seize personal [[property]]. A toothbrush is irrelevant to communists. Compare to {{sl|private property}}.

===Politburo===
[[File:Politburo1934.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Politburo of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1934; [[Stalin]] (center), [[World War II#Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact|V. I. Molotov]] (immediately to the right)]]
In communist parties in control of socialist governments, the '''politburo''' is the executive committee that basically leads the state. It is usually elected by the Central Committee.

===Primitive communism===
'''Primitive communism''' refers to the [[economic]] system that [[Marx]] and [[Engels]] claimed existed for most of human existence, before the development of civilization,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1881/ethnographical-notebooks/notebooks.pdf ''The Ethnological Notebooks of Karl Marx''], edited by L. Krader (1974) Van Gorcum, 2<sup>nd</sup> edition. ISBN 9023209249.</ref>{{rp|72}}<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/letters/84_02_16.htm Marx Engels Correspondence 1884: Friedrich Engels to Karl Kautsky In Zurich] (16 February 1884) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Engels_Friedrich_-_The_Origin_of_the_Family_Private_Property_and_The_State/mode/2up?q=primitive ''The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State In Connection with the Researches of Lewis H. Morgan''] by Friedrich Engels (1978 [1884]) Foreign Languages Press.</ref> during which most people worked together in clans for the mutual benefit of all involved, without hierarchies; completely without class, markets, money, borders, and states. 

In communist [[ideology]], primitive communism shall not, nevertheless, return, and nor shall future communism be in any way primitive communism.

The Marxist idea of primitive communism drew from [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]'s [[stereotype]] of the "[[noble savage]]", and more so from the social evolution theory of early [[anthropologist]] {{wpl|Lewis Henry Morgan||'s}} studies of [[Native Americans]].<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327454137_Communism Communism] by Keir Martin (2018) In: ''International Encyclopedia of Anthropology'', edited by Hilary Callan. Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1957.</ref>

While the Marxist view of Morgan has remained static over time, but Morgan as one of the pioneers of anthropology has come under substantial scrutiny by fellow anthropologists. Anthropologists have proven that Morgan was wrong about social evolution.<ref>''The Promise of Progress: The Life and Work of Lewis Henry Morgan'' by Daniel Noah Moses (2009) University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0826218180.</ref>{{rp|272-273}}<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236744114_Evolutionisms_Lewis_Henry_Morgan_Time_and_the_Question_of_Sociocultural_Evolutionary_Theory Evolutionisms: Lewis Henry Morgan, Time, and the Question of Sociocultural Evolutionary Theory] by Brad D. Hume (2011) ''Histories of Anthropology Annual'' 7(1):91-126. doi:10.1353/haa.2011.0009.</ref>

===Private property===
In communist parlance, "'''private property'''" refers to property owned and profited from by someone who doesn't labor with it or otherwise make personal use of it. Think of [[Rail transportation|railways]], factories, farmland, workshops, and large swaths of land. Private [[property]] is distinct from {{sl|personal property}}; failure to recognize this distinction leads people to think [[Red Scare|commies are coming for their toothbrush]].

===Proletarian internationalism===
'''Proletarian internationalism''' (or international socialism) is the doctrine that reckons all proletarians belong to one united group, despite borders, [[culture]]s, [[religion]]s, [[demographics]], etc. It is internationalism with [[radical]] and [[revolution]]ary characteristics.<ref>''The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism'', edited by John Breuilly (2013) Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199209197.</ref>{{rp|636}}

{{anchor|Proletarian}}
===Proletariat===
The '''proletariat''' are those who don't own the means of production under [[capitalism]], whose labor-power is the source of {{sl|bourgeois}} wealth. Sometimes called "the working class" or "workers" for simplicity.<ref>proletariat, ''n.'':  a. Politics, ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

====Lumpenproletariat====
The '''lumpenproletariat''' are the poorest, most oppressed strata of the proletariat almost completely devoid of {{sl|class consciousness}}. This includes [[sex worker]]s, homeless people, criminals (e.g., shoplifters), etc. Marx believed they could not partake in a proletarian revolution (although reasonably they could, for they are still proletarian). The term was coined by [[Karl Marx]] from ''Lumpen'' (German: "rags") + ''proletariat''.<ref>Lumpenproletariat, ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref><ref>''Der achtzehnte Brumaire des Louis Bonaparte'' by Karl Marx (1869). Otto Meissner.</ref>

===Radlib===
In communist parlance, a '''radlib''' is a strong adherent to [[liberalism]]; to [[capitalism]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/periodicals/unity-struggle/bn-1-9.pdf Raise!!] (September 1972) ''Black Newark'' 1(9):8. "…apparent crushing defeat of the once radlib now shyly conservative McG [George McGovern]" via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref><ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/tankiejerk/comments/u42f1l/you_go_tankie_fucking_show_that_palestinian_whos/ YOU GO, TANKIE!! FUCKING SHOW THAT PALESTINIAN WHO'S BOSS!!!!: The Sequel], ''Reddit''</ref>

===Rate of exploitation===
'''The rate of exploitation''' is the ratio of unpaid, stolen labor-power ({{sl|surplus value}}) to paid labor-power. This ratio can fluctuate over time, depending on the circumstances.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch09.htm ''Capital'', Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Rate of Surplus-Value] by Karl Marx (1867), via "Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Relative surplus value===
'''Relative surplus value''' refers to the taking of profits via extending the amount of time during the workday a {{sl|proletarian}} engages in {{sl|surplus labor time}}, such as spending seven hours, instead of six hours, of an eight-hour work day on giving the [[capitalist]] {{sl|bourgeoisie}} profits.<ref name=deville/>

===Revisionism===
{{main|Historical revisionism}}
'''Revisionism''' refers to, somewhat [[vague]]ly, the revising of Marxist beliefs in favor of {{sl|bourgeois}} beliefs. A '''revisionist''' is a person who practices revisionism against [[Marxism]], rather than adding to the body of Marxist works as with {{sl|Theory|"theory"}}.

===Revolution===
{{main|Revolution}}
A '''revolution''' involves the overthrowing of a [[capitalist]] [[government]] and the capitalist [[economic]] system, and thereafter, the establishment of a [[socialist]] government and economic system.

====Revolutionary defeatism====
'''Revolutionary defeatism''' is not as edgy as it sounds. This theory reckons that no {{sl|Proletariat|proletarians}} of any nation can win [[capitalist]]-[[imperialist]] [[war]]s (so, for instance, communists do not reckon any proletarians won during [[World War One]], the [[Gulf War]], the [[Afghanistan War]], etc). The true enemies, in this case, are the {{sl|bourgeoisie}} who throw proletarians into battle. The theory also recommends manipulating a capitalist-imperialist in order to wage a communist, proletarian [[revolution]] in each country involved in that war.

====Revolution is not a dinner party====
[[Mao Zedong]] famously said "'''revolution is not a dinner party'''."<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_2.htm#s5 Report On An Investigation Of The Peasant Movement In Hunan] by Mao Tse-tung (March 1927) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> This is an important term for communists, as it refers to one of their basic principles; a {{sl|proletarian}} communist [[revolution]] is not a clean or pretty event. It involves mass struggle, liberation, determination, and fighting for independence, rather than a [[utopia]] in which [[communism]], the final stage of [[socialism]], suddenly appears out of nowhere.

====Revolutionary phrase-mongering====
In communist parlance, '''revolutionary phrase-mongering''' purportedly refers to the tendency for opportunists to create slogans seemingly revolutionary but in actuality non-revolutionary or even anti-revolutionary. This term was first used by [[Karl Marx]]<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/05/parti-ouvrier.htm The Programme of the Parti Ouvrier] by Karl Marx & Jules Guesde (1880) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> and later by [[Vladimir Lenin]] in his book ''Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution''.

====Revolutionary situation====
[[File:Workers of the world unite.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"Workers of the world, unite! For a worldwide October!"]]
A '''revolutionary situation''' is a condition in which [[revolution]] becomes possible. A previous example of a revolutionary situation was the 2020 [[George Floyd]] protests, there were mass uprisings against the [[United States]] [[government]], and although the spontaneity of those protests prevented communist {{sl|proletarian}} revolution (communists reject the claim that spontaneous protests cause communist proletarian revolutions), it caused a mass sum of the populace to lose trust in the [[United States]] capitalist [[police]] force, perhaps giving the communists an opportunity to radicalize those workers into eventually starting a revolution. Another example of a revolutionary situation is a [[war]], as the mass raising of {{sl|class consciousness}} might render the workers of all countries at war the ability to sabotage those wars and initiate revolutions instead.

===Rootless cosmopolitans===
[[File:HardWork.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A poster in Yiddish from the early years of Stalin's rule (1926), inviting Jews to come to the Soviet Union to farm<ref>[https://www.palestineposterproject.org/poster/build-a-communist-life Build A Communist Life] ''The Palestine Poster Project Archives''.</ref>]]
'''Rootless cosmopolitans''' is a [[Stalinist]] [[antisemitic]] slur for [[Jews]]. The term did not initially have an antisemitic connotation, but was coined by 19<sup>th</sup> century [[Russian]] literary critic Vissarion Belinsky to refer to writers who lacked national character.<ref>''The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia'' by Orlando Figes (2012) Metropolitan Books. ISBN 0805074619.</ref>{{rp|494}} During the early years of the [[Soviet Union]], Jews occupied many positions of research and authority. In 1931, Stalin officially opposed antisemitism. ''Pravda'' published an article in 1936 comparing antisemitism to [[cannibalism]] and threatening antisemites with the death penalty.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1931/01/12.htm Anti-Semitism] by J. Stalin (January 12, 1931) ''Jewish News Agency in the United States'' via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> During the Great Terror of 1936-1938, many people, including some Jews, were {{sl|Party purges|purged}} – usually considered motivated by perceived deviation from Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy, or [[Bourgeois pseudoscience]],<ref>''Let History Judge: The Origins and Consequences of Stalinism'' by Roy A. Medvedev (1972) Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0394446453</ref>{{rp|562}} though some have posited antisemitic motivations.<ref>[https://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/russian-jews-turmoil-history-three-ages-stalinism Russian Jews in the Turmoil of History: Three Ages of Stalinism] by Luba Jurgenson (November 18, 2020) ''Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard Unviersity''.</ref><ref>[https://shc.stanford.edu/events/%E2%80%9Csoviet-jews-and-nkvd-during-great-terror-issue-prewar-antisemitism%E2%80%9D Soviet Jews and the NKVD during the Great Terror: The Issue of Prewar Antisemitism] by Lynne Viola (April 7, 2017) ''Stanford Humanities Center''</ref> Beginning in 1940 many Soviet Jewish literary, educational and artistic organizations were surreptitiously closed.<ref name=kunitz>[https://www.marxists.org/subject/jewish/kunitz-purges.pdf The Jewish Problem In the USSR: Trials and Purges] by Joshua Kunitz (1953) reprinted from ''The Jewish Problem In the USSR '' via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>{{rp|23}}

From 1946 onward, the Soviet Union became increasingly [[Nationalism|nationalistic]] in rejecting [[Western culture]].<ref>"Rootless cosmopolitans: German-Jewish writers confront the Stalinist and National Socialist atrocities" by Cathy Gelbin (2016) ''European Review of History'' 23(5-6):863-879. doi:10.1080/13507486.2016.1203882.</ref> By 1949, 'cosmopolitanism' and 'rootless cosmopolitans' became explicitly connected with Jews and with [[Zionism]]<ref name=kunitz/>{{rp|23-24}}<ref>[https://escholarship.org/content/qt4jq507vn/qt4jq507vn.pdf ''Rootless Cosmopolitans: Literature of the Soviet-Jewish Diaspora''] by Margarita Levantovskaya (2013) University of California San Diego, doctoral thesis.</ref> (following the declaration of [[Israel]] as a nation in 1948).

==S-Z==

===Self-criticism===
[[File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006041 028 Wandzeitung der Wertpapierdruckerei Leipzig.jpg|thumb|left|165px|[[East Germany|East German]] factory wall in 1951 describing criticism and self-criticism in the 5-year plan]]
'''Self-criticism''' is a critique a communist makes about themselves or their political party. Communists reckon there is a necessity for self-criticism in order to improve their political ideology and acknowledge mistakes. A form of contemporary self-criticism might entail, for instance, contemporary communists critiquing the large presence of [[transphobia]], [[homophobia]], [[biphobia]], [[Asexual exclusionism|aphobia]], interphobia, lesbophobia, panphobia, nbphobia, and [[queerphobia]] in previous and current communist movements and in previous and current socialist governments.

Self-criticism originated in Soviet Union in the 1930s under [[Stalinism]] as a way to publicly interrogate (and humiliate<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/world/asia/china-revives-mao-era-self-criticism-but-this-kind-bruises-few-egos.html China Revives Mao-Era Self-Criticism, but This Kind Bruises Few Egos] by Dan Levin (Dec. 20, 2013) ''The New York Times''.</ref>) intellectuals.<ref name=priestland>''The Red Flag: A History of Communism'' by David Priestland (2010) Grove Press. ISBN 0802119247.</ref>{{rp|144}} It would later be implemented in [[China]] as "struggle sessions" in which people would be publicly humiliated, beaten, [[torture]]d by people they were close to.<ref name=priestland/>{{rp|368}}

===Self-determination===
'''Self-determination''' is the right of people to decide their fate as, collectively, a nation; be it independence, autonomy, etc. An example of self-determination in practice was with [[Finland]]. After the [[Russian Revolution|October revolution]], the [[Bolsheviks]] supported independence for [[Finland]] (which had been part of the Russian Empire), recognizing the right of self-determination for the Finnish people.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/events/revolution/documents/1917/12/18.htm Sovnarkom: Decree on Independence of Finland] by The Soviet of People's Commissars (December 18, 1917) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Social fascism===
'''Social Fascism''' was a [[Loaded language|loaded term]] promoted by the Communist International (Comintern) in the early 1930s that held that [[social democracy]] was a variant of [[fascism]] because it stood in the way of the {{sl|dictatorship of the proletariat}}.<ref>''Five-Year Plan Soviet Union: A Political Interpretation'' by G. T. Grinko (1930). Martin Lawrence.</ref> See [[red fascism]] for its opposite. The term has been attributed to [[Soviet]] politician {{wpl|Grigory Zinoviev}} who expressed similar ideas, but no citation has been found for his use of the term.<ref>social fascism, ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Social murder===
'''Social murder''', a term coined by [[Friedrich Engels]], refers to any unnatural death under [[capitalism]] that is completely preventable.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/ch04.htm Condition of the Working Class in England: The Great Towns] by Friedrich Engels (1845) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> Examples include [[death]] by starvation, death by a lack of clean, [[Water chlorination|chlorinated water]], death by inadequate [[healthcare]] access, death by a lack of [[transgender]] healthcare access, death by vaccine-preventable diseases, death by homelessness, death by an inability to acquire insulin, death by [[war]], death by landmines, death by cluster munitions, death by vacuum bombs, death by incendiary bombs, death by [[police]], death by [[Prison|imprisonment]] and [[solitary confinement]], etc.

As early as the 1970s, but in the 21<sup>st</sup> century in particular, the term began appearing outside of strictly Marxist publications, for example regarding [[austerity]]<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181219124319.htm Austerity results in 'social murder' according to new research] (December 19, 2018) ''ScienceDaily''.</ref> and [[conservative]] [[economics]] generally,<ref>''Social Murder and Other Shortcomings of Conservative Economics'' by Robert Chernomas &  Ian Hudson () Arbeiter Ring Publishing. ISBN 1894037316.</ref> regarding the 2017 [[Grenfell Tower fire]],<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/16/john-mcdonnell-says-grenfell-tower-disaster-was-social-murder John McDonnell says Grenfell Tower disaster was 'social murder'], The Guardian, 16 July 2017</ref> and regarding health insurance companies' practices of denial of [[healthcare]] treatment.<ref>[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/unitedhealthcare-shooting-inevitable.html The Shooting That Was Inevitable Our political system is breaking down. Now it has killed.] by Sarah Jones (Dec. 7, 2024) ''New York Intelligencer''.</ref><ref>"The reemergence of Engels’ concept of social murder in response to growing social and health inequalities" by Stella Medvedyuk et al. (2021) ''Social Science & Medicine'' 239:114377. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114377.</ref>

===Socialism with a human face===
The term "'''socialism with a human face'''" (Slovak: socializmus s ľudskou tvárou) was a term coined by Alexander Dubček during the Prague Spring of 1968 for reform of the extant communist system toward [[democratic socialism]]. The reform was approved by the Presidium of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1968.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/czech-republic/40.htm The Prague Spring, 1968] ''United States Library of Congress''.</ref> The term is sometimes associated with [[Trotskyism]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/karalasingham/1969/08/trotsky.html Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)] by V. Karalasingham (22 August 1969) ''Ceylon Daily News'' via ''Marxist Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Socialist emulation===
[[File:Socialist competition 1973 award.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"1973 Socialist competition winner" medal]]
'''Socialist emulation''' (or '''socialist competition''') was a concept used in the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Eastern Bloc]] that was intended to be the opposite of [[capitalist]] competition. The idea was first advanced by [[Lenin]].<ref name=geller>''Cogs in the Soviet Wheel: The Formation of Soviet Man'' by Mikhail Geller (1988) Collins Harvill. ISBN 0002725169.</ref>{{rp|147}} In capitalist competition, workplaces compete against each other hostilely in order for one to come out on top and beat the rest; whereas socialist emulation in theory involves friendly competition between workplaces not for the purpose of eradication of the rest but for the mutual '''benefit''' and '''improvement''' of all parties involved, such as speeding up production whilst retaining good and humane working conditions. Socialist competition awarded workers and teams of workers for their enthusiasm in producing more than was demanded. Such workers were known as "shock-workers" (ударни = ''udarnik'', meaning 'shock') and the methodology as "shock-working".<ref name=geller/>{{rp|147-148}} Starting in 1935, under [[Stalin]], an even more exceptional type of worker began to be known as a Stakhanov worker, named after a [[coal]] miner who allegedly mined 14 times over his quota.<ref name=geller/>{{rp|148-149}} Such recognition created a hierarchy within the working class, both in terms of fame and salaries.<ref name=geller/>{{rp|149}} Such multiple-times-over production would seem to be preposterous, and in [[reality]] did require the collusion of management.<ref name=geller/>{{rp|149}}

===Socialist fraternal kiss===
[[File:Kiss-EastSideGallery.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Nobody loves a dictator like a dictator. {{wpl|My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love||,}} graffitied on the [[Berlin Wall]]. The painting was of a 1979 photograph of [[USSR]] leader Leonid Breznev and [[East Germany]] leader Eric Honnecker.<ref>[https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/nachrichtenfoto/soviet-leader-leonid-brezhnev-and-east-german-nachrichtenfoto/582649448 Kiss of Soviet Leader Brezhnev and East German President Honecker] ''Getty Images''.</ref>]]
The '''socialist fraternal kiss''' (a.k.a., the ''socialist fraternal embrace''') was a ritualized greeting between male communist state leaders. It evolved over time from the Eastern Orthodox fraternal kiss and cheek kissing that is common in parts continental Europe.<ref>[https://comradekiev.com/journal/the-fraternal-kiss-behind-the-famous-photo Red Lips: The Fraternal Kiss, a Socialist Symbol of Unity] ''Comrade''.</ref> The kiss or embrace has variously taken the forms of hugging, cheek kissing, and more rarely lip kissing. It represents an expression of the political proximity of the two leaders.

===Socially necessary labor time===
The '''socially necessary labor time''' is how much time it takes for a {{sl|proletarian}} to satisfy their own needs (in the form of wages). Thus, communists do not believe proletarians spend the entire workday involved in socially necessary labor time.

===Soviet===
A '''soviet''' is a type of worker’s council. The term сове́т (''sovyét'') literally means "council". A famous example of a [[government]] involving soviets was, quite literally, [[Soviet Union|the Soviet Union]].

===Soviet democracy===
A '''soviet democracy''' is a political system constituted by soviets. Trotskyists and left-communists claim that Soviet democracy disappeared almost as soon as it started, shortly after the 1917 [[October Revolution]] due to [[autocratic]] tendencies within the Soviet leadership.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/atc/5282.html The Rise & Fall of Soviet Democracy] by David Mandel  (March/April 1992) ''Against the Current'' vol. 37 via ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref><ref>''Before Stalinism: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Democracy'' by Samuel Farber (1990) Verso Books. ISBN 0860913155.</ref>

===Soviet power===
'''Soviet power''' is the power of regular people to ascend to soviets via [[election]]s under [[socialism]] and [[communism]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1919/mar/x08.htm What Is Soviet Power?] by V. I. Lenin (March 1919) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Stagism===
See {{sl|Two-stage theory}}.

===Superprofits===
'''Superprofits''' or '''extra surplus-value''' are simply excess surplus value. The latter term was first described in [[Karl Marx]]'s ''[[Das Kapital]]''.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf Capital: A Critique of Political Economy] by Karl Marx (1887) ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref>

===Surplus labor time===
The surplus labor time is the part of the workday during which a {{sl|proletarian}} does not work for wages, but rather for the [[capitalist]] to gain surplus value. Capitalists need to continuously gain wealth, they may not plateau and not gain or lose, so they require workers to spend a massive sum of the workday working solely to their benefit in order to constantly gain more surplus value, and thus, a higher ranking in a capitalist market.

===Surplus product===
'''Surplus products''' are commodities made despite a community not needing them. They are extra products that almost always go to waste. This is an inevitable result of {{sl|the anarchy of production}} (overproduction).

{{Anchor|Surplus value}}
===Surplus value===
'''Surplus value''' is what is commonly known as profits. Communists reckon these profits come from unpaid labor-power. The {{sl|bourgeoisie}} capitalists cannot give the {{sl|proletariat}} the full value of their labor-power because they would not gain any profits; their enterprises would falter and collapse accordingly. Capitalism requires bourgeoisie capitalists to dominate markets, thus, the bourgeoisie capitalists keep most of the value of labor-power for themselves in order to invest it in upgrades, security guards, worker training, or literally anything else.

===Tankie===
{{main|Tankies}}
A '''tankie''' is a [[vague]] slang term used to describe a communist with purported [[authoritarian]] characteristics. It is typically used, for instance, to insult a communist who supports a [[totalitarian]] regime and/or is apologetic to [[Josef Stalin|Stalin]], [[Mao Zedong|Mao]], [[Xi Jinping]], [[Shining Path]], or [[North Korea|The Kim Dynasty]], etc.

The term was named after the [[Hungarian]] revolution of 1956 when the [[Soviet Union]] had a "friendly disagreement" of how the country should be run, and again during the Czechoslovakian [[Czechia#Prague Spring|Prague Spring of 1968]].<ref name=driver>''Understanding British Party Politics'' by Stephen Driver (2011) Polity Press. ISBN 0745640788.</ref>{{rp|154}} During these years, European communists split between tankies supporting Soviet repression and 'eurocommunists' supporting [[democratic socialist]] politics.<ref name=driver/>{{rp|154}}

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of [[Ukraine]], the term tankie has been extended to those on [[left]] who support [[Vladimir Putin]]'s invasion<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2022/03/01/ukraine-russia-leftists-tankie/ Don't Be a Tankie: How the Left Should Respond to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Those who don’t stand in solidarity with the oppressed cannot call themselves leftists.] by Roane Carey (March 1 2022, 11:51 a.m.) ''The Intercept''.</ref> — though Putin ceased being a communist after fall of the Soviet Union,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090630150907/http://www.kremlin.ru/articles/bookchapter6.shtml ''От первого лица разговоры с Владимиром Путиным''] (2000) Vagrius. ISBN 5264002576. Excerpt reprinted by The Kremlin (archived from June 30, 2009).</ref> the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]] does support the invasion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220516112543/https://cprf.ru/2022/05/in-ukraine-russia-is-fighting-neo-nazism/ In Ukraine Russia is Fighting Neo-Nazism] (May 16, 2022) ''Communist Party of the Russian Federation'' (archived from May 16, 2022).</ref>
<gallery>
File:Szent István körút a Falk Miksa (Néphadsereg) utca felől a Honvéd utca felé nézve. A szovjet csapatok ideiglenes kivonulása 1956. október 31-én. Fortepan 24787.jpg|Soviet tanks in Budapest during the 1956 revolution
File:10 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg|Czech protesters walk past a Soviet tank during the 1968 Prague Spring
File:Chinese tanks in Beijing, July 1989.png|Chinese tanks after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
File:Russian MT-LB in Ukraine marked "Z".jpg|Captured Russian tank with "[[Vladimir Putin#Z|Z]]" marking in Ukraine, 2022
</gallery>

===Theory===
'''Theory''' consists of educational communist works; they are the texts that outline basic communist ideas. The most well-known communist theories comes from {{wpl|Rosa Luxemburg||,}} [[Karl Marx]], [[Vladimir Lenin]], [[Friedrich Engels]], {{wpl|Nadezhda Krupskaya||,}} [[Joseph Stalin|Joseph Stalin]], [[Trotskyism]] (based on Marxism-Leninism), [[Mao Zedong]], {{wpl|Ho Chi Minh||,}} [[Kim Il-sung]] ([[Juche]], not a theory strictly speaking, since it deviates from Marxism), {{wpl|Alexandra Kollontai||,}} [[Fidel Castro]], [[Che Guevara]], {{wpl|Clara Zetkin||,}} {{wpl|Kwame Nkrumah||,}} [[Thomas Sankara]], {{wpl|Frantz Fanon||,}} and others.

Since the time of Marx, when a theory adds an army, it often gains an -ism: Marxism-Leninism, [[Stalinism]] (or Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism), Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism-Maoism,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/harris/1966/xx/marxism.htm Marxism: Leninism-Stalinism-Maoism] by Nigel Harris (Autumn 1966) ''International Socialism'' 26: 9–16 & 27–32.</ref> (although the term "Stalinism" is not usually used by Stalin's supporters) [[Hoxhaism]], Castroism,<ref>''Castroism: Theory and Practice'' by Theodore Draper (1969) Praeger.</ref> Marxism-Leninism-Maoism-Gonzalo Thought ([[Shining Path]]),<ref>[https://queer-bolshevik.medium.com/five-minute-polemic-3-in-defense-of-marxism-leninism-maoism-gonzalo-thought-a4352cfaa68a Five Minute Polemic №3: In Defense of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism-Gonzalo Thought] by queer_bolshevik (Sep 21, 2021) ''Medium''.</ref> {{wpl|Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Prachanda Path}} (Nepal, named for {{wpl|Pushpa Kamal Dahal|Pushpa Kamal Dahal's}} ''nom de guerre'').
<gallery>
File:Wandteppich Engels Marx Lenin anagoria.JPG|Marx-Engels-Leninism
File:Gustavs Klucis-Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin.jpg|Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalinism
File:MELSM.JPG|Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Maoism
File:Hoxhaist five faces.jpg|Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Hoxhaism: following in the tradition of {{wpl|censorship of images in the Soviet Union||,}} Hoxha's head was pasted over Mao's
File:1946-05-01 평양의 5.1절 기념 행사(2).jpg|Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Kimism
File:Red Guards Austin.png|Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Mao-Gonzaloism
File:Little Red Book First Edition English Scan.png|The book ''Quotations by Mao Zedong'', an essential piece of communist theory explaining the basic principles of '''Mao Zedong''''s communist ideology and the ideology of the socialist [[People's Republic of China]].
</gallery>

===Tovarish===
See {{sl|Comrade}}. '''Tovarish''' from the Russian Товариш (''továrishch''), also several variant spellings (such as "tovarisch"), is mostly used in Russian-spekaing countries as a synonym of 'comrade'.<ref>tovarish, ''n.'', ''Oxford English Dictionary''.</ref>

===Two-stage theory===
The '''two-stage theory''' or '''stagism''' states that in order for [[socialism]] to develop, [[capitalism]] must first develop whilst [[feudalism]] dies. There is a {{sl|bourgeois}} [[revolution]] that establishes capitalism, and then a {{sl|proletarian}} revolution that establishes [[socialism]].<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/s/t.htm#stagism St: Stagism] ''Encyclopedia of Marxism'' in ''Marxists' Internet Archive''.</ref> The idea of stagism is opposed by most [[Trotskyite]]s. This belief in the progression of societal systems, such as this, is a type of [[historical determinism]].

===United front===
A '''united front''' is a coalition of entities opposing a common enemy (usually [[fascism]]), which might include a communist party of some sort.

===Use-value===
The '''use-value''' of a commodity is simply how useful it is; what needs it satisfies.

===Vanguard of the proletariat===
The '''vanguard of the proletariat''', in communist parlance, describes the proletarian party that leads a communist proletarian revolution in some place or country and consists of those proletarians who are well versed with communism. This includes those who are the most {{sl|Class consciousness|class-conscious}} and revolutionary. The vanguard does not refer to an individual but to the collective leadership of the party.
<gallery>
File:Vladimir Lenin - Borovsk, Russia - panoramio.jpg|Lenin statue
File:Zijingshan Park 01 Statue of Mao Zedong.jpg|Mao statue
File:North Korean paid tribute to Kims in Mansudae Grand Monument.jpg|Statues of Kim Il-sung and [[Kim Jong Il]]
</gallery>

===Variable capital===
'''Variable capital''' is simply the labor-power that produces commodities for the bourgeoisie to sell on the market.

===Wage slavery===
'''Wage slavery''', in communist parlance, refers to what most know as "wage labor"; it is, obviously, not the same as ''de jure'' [[slavery]], and communists know and accept that, but in their view, "wage labor" functions as a quasi-slavery, as {{sl|proletarian}}s are completely dependent upon the market and the [[capitalist]] {{sl|bourgeoisie}} boss who hires and pays them a pittance for a specific period of time (the workday), and thus "wage labor" is wage slavery.

===Western media===
In communist parlance (but not merely in communist parlance), '''western media''' refers to any [[media]] (i.g., news channels, newspapers, [[music]], movies, TV shows, etc) made in the [[western world]], more aptly the [[imperialist]] core (Western Europe, Northern America, [[Australia]], [[Aotearoa]], and occupied [[Palestine]]). Communists might consider western-owned media unreliable due to how much of it is owned by powerful imperialist capitalists, and express concern about the sentiments expressed in them accordingly.{{cn}}

===Workers' bomb===
[[File:Soviet-R-12-nuclear-ballistic missile.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The workers' nuclear missile]]
{{cquote|Then raise the workers’ bomb on high,<BR>
Beneath its cloud we’ll gladly die,<BR>
For though it sends us all to [[hell]],<BR>
It kills the [[ruling class]] as well.<ref name=hallas/>{{efn|These lyrics are a parody of the song {{wpl|The Red Flag|"The Red Flag"|.}} Both songs use the melody of "Oh Christmas Tree" [[File:Oh Christmas Tree.ogg|"Oh Christmas Tree"]]}}
}}
A bomb made in a [[communist]] regime.<ref name=hallas>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/hallas/works/1980/12/workersbomb.htm The return of the workers’ bomb] by Duncan Hallas (December 1980) ''Marxists International Archive''. From ''Socialist Review'', 1980 : 11, 12 December 1980–16 January 1981, pp. 31–32.</ref> "This degenerated workers’ state [[Soviet Union|<nowiki>[Soviet Union]</nowiki>]] must be defended against [[imperialist]] powers. The Russian [[hydrogen bomb]] is a necessary instrument for this defence. Therefore it must be defended too. It is the workers’ bomb." — Duncan Hallas<ref name=hallas/>

===World revolution===
[[File:Dyadya lenin.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Soviet poster from 1920, "{{sl|Comrade}} [[Lenin]] cleans the Earth from scum"]]
'''World revolution''' refers to {{sl|proletarian}} communist [[revolution]]s taking place in every country, led by the {{sl|Class consciousness|class-conscious}} {{sl|vanguard of the proletariat}}, in each country. These do not occur simultaneously or spontaneously, but rather over a period of time due to extensive agitation, radicalization, and re-education of the masses into {{sl|class consciousness}}.
{{clear}}

==See also==
* [[Tankie glossary]] 
* [[Whataboutism]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Glossaries]]

Categories: Communism, Glossaries