In a communist society, means of production are owned collectively by the people. Marx and Engels described classless societies in the The Communist Manifesto, where ''everyone gave according to their abilities and received according to their needs.'' There is no truly communist society that exists today, although many inaccurately use the term 'socialist' interchangeably.

This is often confused with a 'Communist state' is where the government owns and regulates the means of production. In other words, there is no such thing as private property. Farmers do not own their farms, citizens do not own their homes. Factories, hospitals, restaurants, and all other means of economic activity are owned and run by the government. Recently, there have been a few Communist states that have incorporated elements of capitalism, like the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China.