law. In the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5–7),
Jesus explains that his ETHICSdeepen the Ten Com-
mandments by applying them to thoughts and inten-
tions as well as actions (so lust becomes a kind of
adultery, anger a kind of murder). In Western political
and legal thought, usually only the actual breaking of
a commandment is punished in earthly courts, while
sins of the mind are judged in heavenly realms. See
CHURCH AND STATE.
Further Reading
Davidman, Joy. Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the
Ten Commandments.Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954.
communism/communist
A political theory and system that believes that greater
EQUALITYand JUSTICEwill exist in a society where no
private ownership of productive PROPERTY(land, facto-
ries, stores) is allowed. Communist society places
ownership of “the means of production” (property) in
the state or community. The assumption is that pri-
vate ownership of property somehow corrupts hu-
mans, making them greedy, selfish, arrogant, and
uncooperative. This view, that it is the social environ-
ment that causes immoral behavior, contrasts with the
CLASSICAL, CHRISTIAN and British LIBERALperspective
that evil exists within human nature. Communism
believes that human nature is determined by external
social and economic relations, so if the community is
more fair and equal, persons will automatically be
more kind, virtuous, and unselfish. This contrasts
with Christ’s words “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness and all these [economic] things
shall be added” (Luke 12:31), which puts morality
first and economic justice following. Whether human
nature determines society or social conditions affect
nature has been a constant debate in political thought.
Most thinkers, after ARISTOTLE, acknowledge the in-
teraction of “nature and nurture,” but the debate
continues.
Western political thought has advanced communist
ideas in various forms for more than 2000 years. In
PLATO’s Republic,the “Guardians,” or military, practice
communism (owning no big property but only neces-
sities for soldiers—clothes, weapons—and those pro-
vided by the STATE), as appropriate to their role in
society. Wealth and luxury would corrupt military per-
sonnel because their job of fighting and defending the
country in war requires toughness and hardship. If the
soldiers become used to an easy, luxurious lifestyle,
they will be ineffective as warriors, so communism is
the best economic system for them. Plato does not
advocate public ownership of property for the business
class, however.
In the early CHRISTIANchurch, believers “held all
things in common,” sharing property according to
need. Those Christians who had more wealth gave
some to those who had nothing, usually through the
leaders of the church (Acts 4:32). This was not com-
munism because private ownership was still practiced,
but it was rather a form of Christian charity. St.
Thomas AQUINASarticulated the CATHOLICperspective
on private property, drawing on both the Bible and
Aristotle’s philosophy. Worldly goods are given by God
for the sustenance of human life. Private ownership
aids that end or the purpose of earthly property by
making people more careful of their goods, providing
incentives for work, and causing a more orderly soci-
ety. However, St. Thomas insists that private owner-
ship is limited by the needs of the poor and the
necessity of Christian charity. If a rich person knows of
a person in need, he should convey some property to
the poor, acknowledging that his wealth is a gift from
God.
Other Christian thinkers, notably Sir Thomas
MORE’s Utopia (1516) and the English Levellers,
advanced more radical common ownership of prop-
erty. Throughout European and American history,
small religious communities have established com-
munes where property is shared in common. American
writer Nathaniel Hawthorne described such a 19th-
century SOCIALIST commune in New England in his
novel The Blithedale Romance. PURITAN John LOCKE,
however, in his Second Treatise of Government,said that
private ownership of property is a God-given NATURAL
RIGHTalong with life and LIBERTY. God may have given
the earth to humanity in common to sustain human
life, but individuals must appropriate and possess pri-
vate property for it to serve its divine purpose. For this
Calvinist “work ethic,” private-property accumulation
teaches diligence and discipline and that the commu-
nist tendency to “share” property is just a clever
excuse for stealing the property of others.
Modern socialist communism emerges in Europe
just prior to the French Revolution of 1789. ROUS-
SEAU blames all vanity, greed, and inequality on
private property and advocates government control of
wealth for the common good. PROUDHONdeclares that
“property is theft” and attacks CAPITALISM as the66 communism/communist