共産主義革命
後にスターリンによって定式化されたマルクス・レーニン主義の概念では、共産主義の第一段階（より低い段階）が社会主義社会と呼ばれ、第二段階（より高い段階）が共産主義社会と呼ばれた。これにより当時の社会主義諸国は社会主義段階と位置づけられ、貨幣・国家などの廃止は将来の共産主義社会にて実現されるとされた。スターリニズムや一国社会主義論も参照。
中国式社会主義
The concept of private ownership is rooted in classical Marxism. Because China adopted socialism when it was a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country, it is in the primary stage of socialism. Because of this, certain policies and system characteristicssuch as commodity production for the market, the existence of a private sector and the reliance of the profit motive in enterprise managementwere changed. These changes were allowed as long as they improve productivity and modernize the means of production, and thus further develop socialism. According to this perspective, Mao's regime's leftist belief that China could advance to full socialism immediately by bypassing capitalism is considered false.