Primitive communism facts for kids

Primitive communism is a way of life that Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels talked about. It describes how early human groups, like hunter-gatherers, shared everything they had. The word "primitive" means "very early" or "original." So, primitive communism was an early form of communism, where people worked together and shared resources.

What is Primitive Communism?

In a primitive communist society, people did not have a lot of extra things. Instead, they shared important resources like food and shelter equally. There was no money used to buy or sell things. Everyone in the group helped to find or make food.

Sharing and Equality

These early societies did not have leaders who told everyone what to do. There was also no idea of a state or government. Instead, everyone had an equal voice in decisions. This idea of everyone being equal is called egalitarianism.

How Things Changed

Over time, agriculture (farming) started. This led to people owning land privately. When people could grow more food than they needed, some members of the group did not have to work to get food. These people started doing other jobs, which led to different social classes. People began to think some jobs were more important than others. This is also when slavery began in some societies.

Who Thought of Primitive Communism?

The idea of primitive communism came from an American man named Lewis H. Morgan. He did a lot of research on the Iroquois people. The Iroquois lived in large groups and shared everything they grew, hunted, and gathered. Marx and Engels believed that the Iroquois way of life showed traits of a communist society.

Images for kids

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  Mbendjele hunter-gatherer meat sharing

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  Çatalhöyük after the first excavations

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  Rundale clachan patterns of settlement still visible in Inver, Kilcommon, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland

See also

In Spanish: Comunismo primitivo para niños