(…) The moderate faction of the “Kalicha” husite movement joined the stormy and irresistable popular unrest only to seize the assets of the Church and to chase the German conquerors from the country.  However the ordinary peasants and artisans, who revolted against the Church, fought for something very different.  They struggled against the feudal order, and they dreamed about a society in which everybody would be equal.  What inspired and motivated them was the idea of a new and just society.  These people gathered in the mountains, and proclaimed the victory of the new order, the arrival of God’s kingdom.  They called themselves “Taborites” from the hill of “Tabor” which became the capital of their “new” country.  Many had left their shabby cottages and miserable lodges and moved to Tabor.  In Tabor everybody was equal - they did not recognize any external authority, they elected their leaders, the “hetmans” and “leading brothers” from among themselves.  The taborites, who revolted against oppression, aimed to abolish inequality of wealth.  They professed: “There is no ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ in Tabor.  Everybody possesses the same amount of wealth as anybody else.  All possessions must be owned in common, nobody is entitled to possess anything as private property.  It is a capital crime to claim that something is mine only.”

The Taborites tried to establish brotherly relationships with each other on the lands they seized from the bishops and landlords.  They demanded that everybody work equally, they wanted to live in conditions of equal welfare, and aimed to abolish all difference between poor and rich people.  They believed that the way to achieve this task was to require that everybody have the same amount of food and enjoy the same amount of material goods.  They also believed that only personal avarice could obstruct this task therefore they required that everybody had to pay the superfluous, or unjustly possessed part of his income into a common barrel (kufa).  These kufas were everywhere in the streets of Tabor, and all newcomers had to chuck all their money into them.  And if they needed something they had to ask for the help of the community.

This type of communism in consumption is very far from the principles of modern, scientific communism.  As comrade Stalin stated it: “The source of the idea of “equalisation” was the individualistic peasant mentality.   It was based on the psychology of an equal share of goods, upon the psychology of “primitive” peasant communism.   This kind of equalizing ambition has no connection with Marxist socialism.” Stalin’s magnificent words help us to understand the limits of this primitive form of consumption communism.  The main concern of the Taborites was equalizing consumption.  The idea of taking the means of production into common, social possession did not come to their mind.  The reason for this was quite simple: at that time production was primarily based on small-scale plants.  The contemporary technology did not allow the establishment of uniformly organized, large scale cooperatives and factories.  Therefore the Taborites were unable to build a communist society.  This great task can be fulfilled only now, with the help of all the achievements of Marxist and Leninist theory, and with the lead of the communist party and the great Stalin.

The Taborites did not create communist society.  They insisted upon the private possession of the instruments of production.  Yet they achieved a great thing.  In their free colonies the Taborites were the first laborers ever to not know oppression and exploitation, who were not subordinated to the power of feudal landlords.  Their villages were little pockets in 15th century Europe where the feudal order was subverted.