The most common symbol of communism
, another being the red star
. As the name suggests, the symbol is a hammer, with the handle on the right and the head on the left, heading up at a 45 degree angle, representing the industrial proletariat
. Starting at the lower left is the handle of the sickle, which curves to the right and intersects with the handle of the hammer, then curves up and to the left, stopping a little bit to the left of approx. where the handle of the sickle, if it were to be extended in a line, would be. The sickle represents the agricultural laborers; the peasants.
The idea of crossed tools is often connected to unions and organizations which deal with the hard laborers.
It is possible that the Hammer and Sickle design was influenced by the Crook and Flail that Egyptian Pharoahs held, crossed much like the Hammer and Sickle, when depicted on their sarcophagus.
I saw the Hammer and Sickle on that flag, and I instantly knew that the person holding the flag was a communist.