Derived from the Latin, communis, which means common or belonging to all, the communist, the idea of communal property dates from the time of the ancient Greeks. Plato, in his famous masterwork, The Republic, discussed communal philosophies and proposed that a ruling class own everything in common.  This class would place the welfare and prosperity of the state above all else. 

In the time since Plato, countless philosophers and reformers advocated such communist ideals as community ownership and equality of work and profit.  Witnessing the terrible conditions experienced by the lower classes in early industrial England in 1800's, a German philosopher, Karl Marx changed communism into a revolutionary movement. 

 Marx's basic ideas were first expressed in the Communist Manifesto (1848), which he coauthored with the German economist,  Friedrich Engels. Marx believed the only way to ensure a prosperous, just and contented society was to place the workers in control.  Karl Marx truly believed that it was inevitable that communism would succeed, for it was as he declared,  the highest and final stage of development.  

In their manifesto Marx and Engels call for the abolition of capitalism, because, they argued, that workers do not receive the full of their labor because the capitalists keep the profits. They said that  under the capitalist system, wealth would become concentrated among the upper crust members of the bourgeoisies, and most people of the middle class would be forced to become workers. They maintained that workers' living standards would continually grow worse, as the proletariats became disenfranchised with their labor. 

Finally, Marx said, the workers would be unwilling to accept their burdens and turn away from capitalism in a revolt where they would seize control of industry and the government. 

Following their revolt the workers would establish a socialist state, with a dictatorship of the proletariat, a government controlled by workers.  This government, Marx said,  would focus itself on establishing a classless communist society. After classes had been eliminated, all would live happily ever after. And, as there would be no more need for governments, police, or armies, these institutions would cease to exist.