Socialism refers to the various theories of economic organization advocating either public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources.[1][2][3] A more comprehensive definition of socialism is an economic system that has transcended commodity production and wage labor, where economic activity is carried out to maximize use-value as opposed to exchange-value and thus a corresponding change in social and economic relations, including the organization of economic institutions and resource allocation[4]; based on economic rationalization to overcome anarchy of production in order to further advance the economy toward superabundance[5], often implying advocacy for a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.[6]
Most socialists share the view that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through exploitation, creates an unequal society, does not provide equal opportunities for everyone to maximise their potential[7] and does not utilise technology and resources to their maximum potential nor in the interests of the public.[8]
Many socialists, from Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the founders of early socialism (Utopian Socialism), to Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, advocated for the creation of a society that allows for the widespread application of modern technology to rationalise economic activity by eliminating the anarchy of capitalist production.[9][10] They reasoned that this would allow for wealth and power to be distributed based on the amount of work expended in production, although there is disagreement among socialists over how and to what extent this can be achieved.
Socialism is not a concrete philosophy of fixed doctrine and programme; its branches advocate a degree of social interventionism and economic rationalisation (usually in the form of economic planning), but sometimes oppose each other. A dividing feature of the socialist movement is the split between reformists and revolutionaries on how a socialist economy should be established. Some socialists advocate complete nationalisation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange; others advocate state control of capital within the framework of a market economy.
Socialists inspired by the Soviet model of economic development have advocated the creation of centrally planned economies directed by a state that owns all the means of production. Others, including Yugoslavian, Hungarian, German and Chinese communist governments in the 1970s and 1980s, have instituted various forms of market socialism, combining co-operative and state ownership models with the free market exchange and free price system (but not free prices for the means of production).[11] Modern social democrats propose selective nationalisation of key national industries in mixed economies, while maintaining private ownership of capital and private business enterprise. (In the 19th and early 20th century the term was used to refer to those who wanted to completely replace capitalism with socialism through reform.) Modern social democrats also promote tax-funded welfare programs and regulation of markets; many, particularly in European welfare states, refer to themselves as socialists, despite holding pro-capitalist viewpoints, thus adding ambiguity to the meaning of the term "socialist". Libertarian socialism (including social anarchism and libertarian Marxism) rejects state control and ownership of the economy altogether and advocates direct collective ownership of the means of production via co-operative workers' councils and workplace democracy.
Modern socialism originated in the late 18th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticised the effects of industrialisation and private ownership on society. The utopian socialists, including Robert Owen (1771–1858), tried to found self-sustaining communes by secession from a capitalist society. Henri de Saint Simon (1760–1825), the first individual to coin the term socialisme, was the original thinker who advocated technocracy and industrial planning.[12] The first socialists predicted a world improved by harnessing technology and combining it with better social organisation, and many contemporary socialists share this same belief. Early socialist thinkers tended to favour an authentic meritocracy combined with rational social planning, while many modern socialists have a more egalitarian approach.
Vladimir Lenin, drawing on Karl Marx's ideas of "lower" and "upper" stages of socialism[13] defined socialism as a transitional stage between capitalism and communism.[14]
Contents |
|
MiamiHerald.com
``I'm here today as a fellow American whose parents were born in a country that lost itself to socialism ,'' the 38-year-old Cuban American told a cheering ...
and more »
Paul Aitken
Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:16:28 GM
Here Hardt and Negri argue that just as neoliberalism is unfit to face the challenges brought about by biopolitical production, so are outmoded illusions of . socialism. . For Hardt and Negri, . socialism. and capitalism appear as two sides of ...
Q. Where did you learn the definition? Do you get a negative feeling when you hear the word socialism, but the feeling goes away when you know the actual definition? 8 answers so far and no one knows the definition, yet everyone has strong opinions of something that don't have specific knowledge on. what is the definition of socialism? (and yes there are over 7 countries that are socio-democratic, which means democracy and more socialism mixed in with capitalism)
Asked by malinalli.medicine - Wed Sep 30 16:15:33 2009 - - 8 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Democratic Socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the many decisions that affect our lives. Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements, tendencies, and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation. The term is sometimes used synonymously with 'social democracy', but many self-identified democratic socialists oppose social democracy, seeing it as capitalist.[1] The social-democra [cont.]
Answered by Talli - Thu Oct 1 11:52:52 2009
