commune; communal organization; people's commune
Meanings
4 senses · 9 examplesnoun
primitive communal organization; communal society in early human history
formalTechnical term in anthropology and historical materialism.
Clan communes were the basic form of social organization in primitive society.
Under the primitive communal system, means of production were collectively owned.
noun
medieval city commune; municipal self-governing body in European history
formalHistorical term referring to medieval European municipal corporations.
The medieval Italian city communes enjoyed considerable autonomy.
The communes of many French cities were the embryonic form of bourgeois political power.
noun
proletarian commune; workers' commune as a form of proletarian state power
formalPolitical term referring to specific historical attempts at proletarian dictatorship.
The 1871 Paris Commune was the first great attempt by the proletariat to establish state power.
Although the 1927 Guangzhou Commune Uprising failed, it holds significant historical importance.
noun
People's Commune (specifically referring to the Chinese rural collectives, 1958-1983)
formalHistorical term specific to Chinese socialist construction period. Often capitalized in English as 'People's Commune'.
The People's Commune movement began during the 1958 Great Leap Forward period.
When my grandfather was young, he was a member of the People's Commune and did collective labor every day.
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After 1983, the People's Communes were gradually converted into township governments.