Communism is a political and economic system in which property is owned by the community and goods are distributed according to basic common needs. Though the idea of a communal society has ancient roots, the modern theory of communism was largely the work of two 19th-century philosophers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Inspired by their writings, Vladimir Lenin and other revolutionaries established a communist regime in Russia in 1917. Under Lenin (and later Joseph Stalin), communism became a totalitarian system in which a single party controlled the government, economy, and cultural life of the Soviet Union. During the 1920s and 1930s, communism was viewed by many Europeans as the greatest enemy of democracy, capitalism, and traditional morality. This became a central theme of European fascist movements, and public fear of communist revolution contributed to the popularity of both Hitler and Mussolini.
