There were several communities formed here in Utah during the early Mormon settlement that were basically communist. Most failed miserably, and the one that performed best was made up of people who had lived through the worst failures together and had a sense of community about as strong as the traditional family. (eventually it was disbanded after a change of leadership, much to the chagrin of its members)

I think communism requires a level of philanthropy and selfless fraternal concern beyond what the average human community is capable of in order to succeed. A thread in I think the tavern not long ago included the assertion that people tend to be less friendly and community-minded the more urban or advanced their society is, and between living in small towns and cities I am of a mind to agree. If this is the case, communism would only have a chance of success in small, primitive societies (where we could probably find some compelling examples), and even then only infrequently.

Human nature and the advanced world we live in undermine the possibility of a successful communist state.

Ajax