Communism can be characterized as an economic system in which all individual property is abolished to the state; there is no private business, as the government owns and controls all processes of production and manufacturing; and supply and demand are centrally planned and controlled by the government.

In communism, the collective good outweighs the needs or desires of the individual. Everyone will get what they need, not necessarily what they want. Critics of communism argue that it takes away individual freedoms and guts a free enterprise economy that ultimately will lead to a better way of life. Defenders will point out that every need of food, employment, education, and healthcare is taken care of under communism.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, communism went on the decline, as other nations (Vietnam, China) began implementing capitalist measures within their economies.