Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Communism \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.

   Note: 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.

Source : WordNet®

communism
     n 1: a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership
     2: a political theory favoring collectivism in a classless
        society