Com"mu*nism (?), n. [F.
communisme, fr. commun common.] A scheme of
equalizing the social conditions of life; specifically, a scheme
which contemplates the abolition of inequalities in the
possession of property, as by distributing all wealth equally to
all, or by holding all wealth in common for the equal use and
advantage of all.
☞ At different times, and in different countries, various
schemes pertaining to socialism in government and the conditions
of domestic life, as well as in the distribution of wealth, have
been called communism.