Most ppl don’t even know what actual communism even is. The term was bastardized bcuz of how the government of the Soviet Union in the early 20th century claimed to be communists, and how they applied it. But the reality is, the way that “communism” was applied and put into application in the Soviet Union has very little or any resemblance of what communism is. And yes it is just a theory, but u need to understand that the soviets claimed to be applying that theory and implementing it as an integral part of their government and putting it into practical application, when in fact they were not. Thus, when ppl think communism they immediately think Russia or china, or other places whereby the word was used , and it’s very misleading bcuz all these countries applied a very ignorant and misinformed version of communism (theory).