How would criminal activity be combatted in a Communist society without introducing an element of (corrupting) authority?
The point of true (theoretic) communism is that everybody does what work they can for the good of the society as a whole, and everybody takes what they need from society. If it could run properly there would be no need for burglaries or stealing, leaving only physical crimes. The easiest way to deal with that, perhaps through conclave with the rest of the community, is interment or exile from the community. Of course the reality is different. Someone would be appointed to keep the peace, and they would require power, which is then open to abuse. Lady Fuschia kindly pointed out, in another question, that Animal Farm by George Orwell deals with this in an easily understood manner.
