what is the difference between communism and socialism 
communism and socialism both advocate for a more equitable distribution of wealth than that achieved under capitalism but they differ in their means and the extremity of their vision a basic premise of communism is that a communist order is achieved through a revolution in which the working class proletariat overthrows the ruling class bourgeoisie socialism insists on working within existing systems to implement reform communism also advocates the dissolution of all private property so that all property is owned by the state which distributes resources evenly between citizens under socialism the means of accumulating wealth industry and commerce are collectively owned and managed by the government but property like homes and personal possessions can remain privately owned 