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			'''Socialism''' refers to both a broad array of doctrines and political movements that aspire to put these doctrines into practice. These movements generally envisage a system of social organization in which property and the distribution of income are subject to social control. As an ], socialism is usually associated with state or ] ownership of the ]. This control may be either direct, exercised through popular collectives such as ], or it may be indirect, exercised on behalf of the people by the state.
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	{{Socialism}}

			The modern socialist movement had its origin largely in the ] movement of the late-]. In this period, the term "socialism" was first used in connection with European social critics who condemned ] and ]. For ], who helped establish and define the modern socialist movement, socialism implied the abolition of ]s, ], and ] as a ].
	'''Socialism''' is an ] in which the ] are owned and controlled collectively or a ] advocating such a system. This control may be either direct, exercised through popular collectives such as ] or community councils, or it may be indirect, exercised on behalf of the people through the ]. A primary concern of socialism (and, according to some, its defining feature) is ] and an equitable ] that would serve the interests of ] as a whole.<ref>'']'', ], 4 Apr. 2000 </ref><ref>MSN Encarta - Accessed March 2006</ref>

			It is difficult to make generalizations about the diverse array of doctrines and movements that have been referred to as "socialist." The various adherents of contemporary socialist movements do not agree on a common doctrine or program. As a result, the movement has split into different and sometimes opposing branches, particularly between moderate socialists and ]. Since the 19th century, socialists have differed in their vision of socialism as a system of economic organization. Some socialists have championed the complete ] of the means of production to implement their aims. Others have proposed selective nationalization of key industries within the framework of ]. ] insisted on the creation of ]-style ] under strong central state direction. Others advocate "]" in which social control of property exist within the framework of market economics and private property.
	Socialists hold that ] is an illegitimate economic system that serves the interests of the wealthy and ] the majority of the population. As such, they wish to replace it completely or at least make substantial modifications to it, in order to create a more just society that would reward hard work, guarantee a certain basic standard of living, and extend economic and cultural opportunities to all<ref>], Henri de. '''', 1803</ref> <ref>], Karl Heinrich. '''', 1875</ref> {{dubious}}

	Socialist theory is diverse, and there is no single body of thought that is universally shared by all socialists. Rather, different socialist ideologies have arrived at similar conclusions by different paths. However, there are some common themes. One such theme is the idea that ]s are inherently ] beings who require social interaction and the companionship of others in order to survive and develop both physically and mentally<ref>], Alexander. '''' from ''Dialectical Materialism'', Progress Publishers, 1983.</ref>.

	Historically, the ideology of socialism arose with the rise of ], and the socialist political movement has found most of its support among the urban ] and, to a lesser extent, the ]. This has led to socialism being strongly associated with the working class and often identifying itself with the interests of workers and the "common people". In many parts of the world, the two are still strongly associated with one another; in other parts, they have become two distinct movements.

	] is an ] which has had a powerful influence on socialist thought. For over 50 years, from the ] to the ]s, the majority of socialists were Marxists of one kind or another. This has not been the case for several decades, but Marxist ideas - particularly notions of ] - are common themes across a broad range of modern socialist groups. Marxism itself continues to be a strong current in the broader socialist movement. Many Marxists, past and present, use the term ''socialism'' to refer to the form of society that is supposed to replace capitalism and later develop into ].

	Within the socialist movement, there are several different ideas on how to create a socialist society and economic system, and what form this society will take. As a result, the movement has split into several different and sometimes opposing branches, which are discussed further below.

	==Etymology==
	The word "socialism" dates back to the early ]. It was first used, self-referentially, in the English language in 1827 to refer to followers of ]. In France, again self-referentially, it was used in 1832 to refer to followers of the doctrines of ] and thereafter by ] and J. Regnaud in '']''<ref>''A History of Socialist Thought, Volume 1'' (1965) pp1-2</ref>. Use of the word spread widely and has been used differently in different times and places, both by various individuals and groups that consider themselves socialist and by their opponents.

	While there is wide variation between socialist groups, nearly all would agree that they are bound together by a common history rooted originally in ] and ] struggles by ] and ] ]s, operating according to principles of solidarity and advocating an ] society, with an ] that would, in their view, serve the broad populace rather than a favored few.

	According to ], the term "socialism" was coined independently by two groups advocating different ways of organizing society and economics: the ]s, and most likely ], in the years ]-], and the followers of ], around 1835.<ref>], Élie. ''Histoire du Socialisme Europeen.'' Paris, Gallimard, 1948, pp. 17-18</ref>

	===A note on usage===

	Some groups (see ]) have called themselves socialist while holding views that some consider antithetical to socialism. The term has also been used by some politicians on the ] as an epithet for certain individuals who do not consider themselves to be socialists and policies that are not considered socialist by their proponents (e.g. referring to ] as "socialized medicine" or to the ] as "socialist"). According to classical liberal economist ], most of those who profess socialism today do not favor state ownership of the means of production but rather "mean by it a ]."<ref>Friedman, Milton. Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2004</ref> This article touches briefly on those peripheral issues.

	==History of socialism==		==History of socialism==
			{{Main\|History of socialism}}
	] and particularly the ] are traditional symbols of Socialism, in honour of the blood spilt in the "struggle for freedom".]]
	{{main article\|History of socialism}}

			===Early socialism===
	According to ]s (notably ]), socialist models and ideas are said to be traceable to the dawn of human social history, being an inherent feature of human nature and early human social models. The ] is described in the ] as having everything in common, and this was copied by a number of religious groups down the modern times{{citation needed}}.
			In the history of political thought, certain elements of what is typically thought of as socialism long predate the rise of the workers movement of the late 19th century, particularly in ]'s '']'' and ]'s '']''.

			The term "socialism" was first used in the context of early-19th century Western European social critics. In this period, socialism emerged from a diverse array of doctrines and social experiments associated primarily with British and French thinkers—especially ], ], ], ], and ]. These social critics saw themselves as reacting to the excesses of poverty and inequality in the period, and advocated reforms such as the egalitarian distribution of wealth and the transformation of society into small communities in which private property was to be abolished. Outlining principles for the reorganization of society along collectivist lines, Saint-Simon or Owen sought to build socialism on the foundations of planned, ] communities.
	Some socialist thinkers, such as ], have identified ], one of the leaders of the ] in England in 1381, as the first socialist. Historians have rediscovered the writings of ] in the period of the ], and the ] set up by the ], as they were called.

			Early socialists differed widely about how socialism was to be achieved; they differed sharply on key issues such as centralized versus decentralized control, the role of private property, the degree of ], and the organization of family and community life. Moreover, while many emphasized the gradual transformation of society, most notably through the foundation of small, utopian communities, a growing number of socialists became disillusioned with the viability of this approach, and instead emphasized direct political action.
	During the ] in the ], revolutionary thinkers and writers such as the ], ], ], ], ], and ] provided the intellectual and ideological expression of the discontented social layers in ] society. This included not only the ], at that time kept out of political power by the '']'', but also the "popular" classes among whom socialism would later take root. The idea of abolition of ] became popular in the early 19th century, and was influenced by new discoveries and the idea of the "noble savage", popularised by ].

			===The rise of Marxism===
	The earliest ''modern'' socialist groups shared characteristics such as focusing on general welfare rather than ], on ] rather than ], and on laborers rather than on industrial or political leaders and structures<ref>''A History of Socialist Thought, Volume 1'' (1965) p3</ref>. They did not generally think in terms of ], but argued that the wealthy should join with the poor in building a new society. Class struggle, the challenge to ] and the accompanying notions of the special role of the ] in the ] find their earliest origins in the ] of ], an unsuccessful actor in the ]<ref>''A History of Socialist Thought, Volume 1'' (1965) pp12-22</ref>. Later, they were greatly developed by the Marxist branch of socialism.
			]

			In the mid-19th century, the transformation of socialism into a political doctrine occurred as ] and ] developed their own account of socialism as the outcome of a revolutionary class struggle between the ] and ].
	], one of the first ].]]

			Marx and Engels regarded themselves as "]," and distinguished themselves from the "]" of earlier generations. For Marxists, socialism is viewed as a transitional stage characterized by state ownership of the ]. They see this stage in history as a transition between ] and ], the final stage of history. For Marx, a communist society describes the absence of differing social classes and thus the end of class warfare. According to Marx, once private property had been abolished, the state would then "wither away," and humanity would move on to a higher stage of society, communism. This distinction continues to be used by Marxists, and is the cause of much confusion. The ], for example, ever claimed that it was was a communist society, even though it was ruled by a ] for over seven decades. For communists, the name of the party is not meant to reflect the name of the social system.
	By the time of the ] there were a variety of competing "socialisms", the most influential being those founded by ], ] and ]. ] and ] by this time were referring to themselves as "communists", in large part to distinguish themselves from the above ideologies, which they described as "]". (Engels later used the term "]" to describe Marxism.<ref>], Friedrich. '''' from ''Socialism: Utopian and Scientific''</ref>)

			===Moderate socialism and communism===
	Depending on the context, the term socialism may refer either to these ideologies or any of their many lineal descendants.

			In 1864 Marx founded the ], or ], which held its first congress at ] in 1866. The First International was the first international forum for the promulgation of communist doctrine. However, socialists often disagreed on a strategy for achieving their goals. Diversity and conflict between socialist thinkers was proliferating.

			Despite the rhetoric about socialism as an international force, socialists increasingly focused on the politics of the nation-state in the late 19th century. As universal male suffrage was introduced throughout the Western world in the first decades of the twentieth century, socialism became increasingly associated with newly formed trade unions and mass political parties aimed at mobilizing working class voters.

			The most notable of these groups was the ] (today know as the ]), which was founded in 1869. These groups supported diverse views of socialism, from the gradualism of many trade unionists to the radical, revolutionary agendas of Marx and Engels. Nevertheless, although the orthodox Marxists in the party, led by ], managed to retain the Marxist theory of revolution as the official doctrine of the party, in practice the SPD became more and more reformist.
	==Socialist theory==
	Socialist ideologies tend to emphasize economic cooperation over economic competition; virtually all envision some sort of economic planning (some, but by no means all, favor ]). All advocate placing at least some of the means of production -- and at least some of the distribution of goods and services -- into collective or cooperative ownership.

			As socialists gained their first experiences in government, the focus of socialism shifted from theory to practice. In government, socialists became more pragmatic, as the success of their program increasingly depended on the consent of the middle and propertied classes, who largely retained control of the bureaucratic machinery of the state. Moreover, with the extension of universal male suffrage and the beginnings of the modern welfare state, the condition of the working class, gradually improved in the Western world. Thus, the socialist revolution predicted by Marx for Western Europe had not come about.
	===An economic system===
	{{main article\|Socialist economics}}

			As social democrats moved into government, divisions between the moderate and radical wings of socialism grew increasingly pronounced. On one hand, many socialist thinkers began to doubt the indispensability of revolution. Moderates like ] argued that socialism could best be achieved through the democratic political process (a model increasingly known as social democracy).
	As in the realm of ideology, there is no single consensus on what it means for a particular ] to be "socialist". However, all socialists agree that a socialist economy must be run for the benefit of the vast majority of the people rather than for a small ], ], or ] class. In the mid-nineteenth century, when socialism first arose, many political ideologies of the day were frank in supporting the interests of elite classes. Today, in a world where many countries offer a broader ], such open support for the wealthy would be the equivalent of political suicide. Therefore, most ideologies claim to support the greatest good for the greatest number, something that was once advocated only by socialists. Still, even today, socialism stands out by being particularly forthright in advocating what it considers to be direct pursuit of working class interests, even at the expense of what other ideologies consider the legitimate property rights of the wealthy classes.
			On the other hand, strong opposition to moderate socialism came from socialists in countries such as the ] where parliamentary democracy did not exist and did not seem possible. Russian revolutionary ] argued that revolution was the only path to socialism. In ], there was a formal split in the Russian social democratic party into revolutionary ] and reformist ] factions.

			Meanwhile, ]s and proponents of other alternative visions socialism—emphasizing, for example, the potential of small-scale communities and agrarianism—coexisted with the more influential currents of Marxism and social democracy. The anarchists, led by the Russian ], believed that capitalism and the state were inseparable, and that one could not be abolished without the other. Consequently, they opposed Marxism and most other socialist groups, and a split between the anarchists and the Socialist International soon occurred.
	Most socialists argue that socialism requires democratic control of the economy, although they differ vastly over the appropriate institutions of that democracy and over whether control should be centralized or highly dispersed. Similarly, they differ over the extent to which a socialist economy could involve ]s, and among those who believe that it could, there is a further dividing line on whether markets should apply only to consumer goods or, in some cases, to the ] themselves (factory and farm equipment, for example). For the means of production, this is a question of ownership of the economy, and therefore of control over it.

			The moderate, or revisionist, wing of socialism dominated the meeting of the ] in Paris in 1889. The majority of its members, led by Eduard Bernstein, were revisionists. Still, at the Second International, Lenin and the German revolutionary ] emerged as leaders of the left-wing minority. Followers of German theorist Karl Kautsky constituted a smaller faction.
	Many non-socialists use the expression "socialist economy" (or "socialization" of a sector of the economy) almost exclusively to refer to centralized control under government aegis.

			] haranguing workers under a ].]]
	There is general agreement among socialists and non-socialists that a socialist economy would not include private or estate ownership of large enterprises; there is less agreement on whether such enterprises would be owned by society at large or (at least in some cases) owned cooperatively by their own workers. Among the few self-described socialists who dispute these principles is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, who claim to remain socialist, even while the continuing ] explicitly includes the concept of privately-owned large enterprises competing on an equal basis with publicly-owned ones. The adoption by China of this essential characteristic of capitalism is a principal reason why, outside and inside of China, few people (socialists or otherwise) consider present-day mainland China and its ruling party to be, in any meaningful sense, socialist.

			In the first decades of the twentieth century, moderate socialism became increasingly influential among many European intellectuals. In 1884 British middle class intellectuals organized the Fabian Society. The Fabians in turn helped lay the groundwork for the organization of the Labour Party in 1906. The French ] (SFIO), founded in 1905, under ] and later ] adhered to Marxist ideas, but became in practice a reformist party.
	It has been claimed, by some socialists and non-socialists, that the former ] and the ] had socialist economies, as the means of production were owned almost entirely by the state and the bulk of the economy was centrally controlled by the Communist Party acting through the state. However, many other socialists object to that label, because the people in those countries had little or no control over the government, and therefore they had little or no control over the economy. The aforementioned socialists argue that these societies were essentially ]; some would call them ], ], or as some Trotskyists would say, "]s". Trotskyists contend that Stalinist economies fulfilled one criterion of a socialist economy, in that the economy was controlled by the state, but not the other criterion, that the state must be in turn democratically controlled by the workers. Many non-Marxist socialists would agree with the general outline of this argument, while perhaps dissenting from the statement that ''state'' control of the economy is one of the criteria of socialism. Further, many socialists would argue that the Soviet Union and its satellite states merely replaced a capitalist ruling class with a new ruling class, the ] or '']'', who played an extremely analogous role to the former capitalists, by managing the economy for their own benefit, or at least attempting to do so.

			In the U.S. a Socialist Labor party was founded in 1877. This party, small as it was, became fragmented in the 1890s. In 1901 a moderate faction of the party joined with ] to form the American Socialist party. The influence of the party gradually declined, and socialism never became a major political force in the United States. Communism also failed to ever gain a large following in the U.S.; in fact, in the broader English-speaking world, communism never gained a large mass following.
	During the Cold War, a common term used by the Soviet Union and its allies to refer to their own economies was "actually existing socialism" (presumably as against any number of theoretically possible socialisms, but carrying an implicit statement that their economy was, in fact, socialist). Another similarly used term was (and is) "]." Typically, when these terms were or are used by anyone outside of the particular parties that ruled these countries (or the parties who supported them in other countries), they are placed in ] and are used with at least mild irony.

			The distinction between socialists and communists became more pronounced during and after ]. When the First World War began in 1914, many European socialist leaders supported their respective governments. During the war, socialist parties in France and Germany supported the state wartime military and economic planning, despite their ideological commitments to internationalism and solidarity. Lenin, however, denounced the war as an imperialist conflict urged the workers worldwide to use the war as an occasion for proletarian revolution. This ideological conflict resulted in the collapse of the Second International.
	===Mixed economy===
	As remarked above, some self-described socialists, especially those who identify as social democrats, but also including (for example) the reform-oriented "]s", advocate a ] rather than a complete re-working of existing capitalist economies along socialist lines. These views also extend to many who would not describe themselves as "socialists."

			===The rise of the Soviet Union===
	In the most moderate formulation of such a ], ] of the means of production is typically to ]s and ] such a electricity, telephone service, and postal mail service. The rationale for prioritizing these is that natural resources are a common patrimony and that (all or some) public utilities are '']'' (a theoretical construct where one firm serves the society better than more than one), and that therefore, private competition should be prohibited.

			In 1917 the ] marked the definitive split between communists and social democrats. Communist parties in the Soviet Union and Europe dismissed the more moderate socialist parties and pursued, for the most part, broke off contact.
	Others would extend a socialist approach within a mixed economy to what they deem to be essential industries to prevent certain capitalists from having a stranglehold on society, or to prevent massive concentrations of wealth which result in a power imbalance (including disproportionate bargaining leverage). There is also often a rationale of national defense or national sovereignty. Thus, many otherwise capitalist countries have, at least at times, nationalized such industries as ], ]s, or ]s. In the U.S., for example, President ] nationalized the steel mills during the ]. They soon returned to private ownership by order of the ], however.

			The ] sought to "build socialism" in the Soviet Union. For the first time, socialism was not just a vision of a future society, but a description of an existing one. Lenin's regime brought all the means of production (except agricultural production) under state control, and implemented a system of government through workers' councils (in ], ''soviets''). Gradually, however, the Soviet Union developed a bureaucratic and authoritarian model of social development condemned by moderate socialists abroad for undermining the initial democratic and socialist ideals of the Russian Revolution. In 1929 ] came to power and pursued a policy of "]."
	Socialists argue that unrestrained ] economics generally results in profits for few at the expense of an unlucky many, which they argue is unacceptable. Many are adamantly opposed to any compromise with capitalism, claiming that any economic system that permits the private accumulation of wealth is inherently unjust and allows capitalists (those who own and control capital) to compel behavior out of individuals due to their own necessity to survive. (''see: ]''). As noted several times above, this is disputed by the contemporary Communist Party of China, making China (if it is regarded as socialist or communist) an inevitable exception to much of what follows here.

			The Russian Revolution provoked a powerful reaction throughout the Western world. One example was the "Red scare" in the ], which effectively destroyed the American Socialist Party of Eugene Debs. In Europe, ] emerged as a movement against both socialism and liberalism. Fascism came to power in Italy in ] under ] (a former socialist), and strong fascist movements also developed throughout much of Europe.
	While few self-described communists support any scheme upholding private ownership of the means of production (except, perhaps, as a temporary disposition on the way to something purer, and again noting the contemporary Chinese exception), other socialists are split over this, arguing over whether to only moderate the workings of market capitalism to produce a more equitable distribution of wealth, or whether to expropriate the entire owning class to guarantee this distribution. Many socialists acknowledge the extreme complexity of designing other appropriate non-market mechanisms to identify demand, especially for non-essential goods. Some have put forward models of moderate ] where markets exist, but an owning class does not.

			===The interwar era and World War II===
	In practice, some aspects of the socialist worldview and socialist policy have been integrated with capitalism in many European countries and in other parts of the world (especially in the industrialized "first world"). Social democracy typically involves state ownership of some corporations (considered strategically important to the people) and some participation in ownership of the means of production by workers. This can include ] and worker representation on decision-making boards of corporations (a measure common in ], for instance). Some inherently capitalist measures, such as stock ownership for workers or ]s would, however, also fit the description. Social services are important in social democracies. Such services include ] for the disadvantaged, ] and healthcare.

			Despite division of the world socialist movement, Western European socialist parties won major electoral gains in the immediate postwar years. Most notably, in Britain, the Labour party under ] was in power for ten months in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1931.
	Likewise, market economies in the United States and other capitalist countries have integrated some aspects of socialist economic planning. Democratic countries typically place legal limits on the centralization of capital through ] laws and limits on monopolies, though the extent to which these laws are enforced has to do with the balance of power between the actually existing or emerging monopoly firms, as well as political ties between government and some corporations ('']''). Stock ownership has become common for middle class workers, both in companies they work for and in other companies (''see ]''). ] pressures (''see'' ]) and regulations have encouraged profit sharing. Social welfare and unemployment insurance are mandated by law in the ], ], ] and other market economies. There is a lively debate today whether the world is moving closer to or further away from "socialism", as defined by different people. Another component of this debate is whether or not these developments are to be encouraged.

			Throughout much of the interwar period, socialist and Communist parties were in continuous conflict. Socialists condemned communists as agents of the Soviet Union, while communists condemned socialists as betrayers of the working class.
	===Transition from capitalism===
	Although Marxists and other socialists generally use the word "socialism" in the senses described above, there is also another specifically Marxist use of the term. ], in his exposition of ] (his ] model of history) saw socialism as a phase of human society that would follow capitalism and precede communism. Marx is by no means clear about the expected characteristics of socialism, but he is consistent in his belief in the eventual triumph of revolutionary-socialism over capitalism, and then, its eventual transformation into communism.

			However, with the rise of fascism in Italy in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, socialists and communists made attempt attempts in some countries to form a united front of all working-class organizations opposed to fascism. The "]" movement had limited success, even in France and Spain, where it did well in the 1936 elections. The failure of the German communists and socialists to form a "popular front" helped the ]s gain power in 1933. The "popular front" period ended in 1939 with the conclusion of the ]. Socialists condemned this act as an act of betrayal by the Stalinist Soviet Union.
	According to Marx, the socialist society will be controlled by the working class (the ]), whose familiarity with large, collective undertakings will be reflected in the character of this society. It will be a "]", in the sense that it is contrasted with the existing dictatorship of the ] (i.e. capitalism). In this context, Marx was not necessarily advocating or predicting "dictatorship" in the sense that word is commonly used today; he was referring only to governance in which ''class'' would be dominant - in other words, it is the proletariat who become the ruling class, not a "dictator". While a Leninist dictatorship is arguably consistent with this vision, so is a workers' democracy, analogous to bourgeois democracy. In addition, most Marxist models of socialism involve the abolition of the so-called "exploitation of man by man" which is presumed to exist in capitalist society. This would mean abolishing class distinctions, therefore making "the proletariat" a universal term synonymous with "the people".

			===Cold War years===
	Marx saw socialism (that is, the "dictatorship of the proletariat") as a transitional phase, ultimately to be replaced by a classless ''communist'' society in which the existing forms of government would no longer be needed. According to Engels, the state was destined to eventually "wither away", as the ] of socialism slowly turned into the ] of communism, and economic life would be re-organised on a basis of freedom and equality. In holding this classless non-state as the ultimate goal, Marx expressed a long-term ideal not far from that of anarchism. However, whereas the anarchists wanted to abolish the state overnight, the communists wanted to utilize the state to transform society, expecting it to "wither away" to the extent that the nature of man evolved to the "new socialist man." In other words, while anarchists try to abolish the state more directly through an ], anti-capitalist revolution directly against both capitalism and the state at the same time, Marxists believe that a new state can be un-capitalist and that its destruction of the bourgeoisie will also destroy the self same state.
			In Western Europe, socialism gained perhaps its widest appeal in the period immediately following the Second World War. Even where conservative governments remained in power, they were forced to adopt a series of social welfare reform measures, so that in most industrialized countries, the post-World War period saw the creation of a welfare state.

			The period following ] marked another period of intensifying struggle between socialists and communists. In the postwar period, the nominally socialist parties became increasingly identified with the expansion of the capitalist welfare state.Western European socialists largely backed U.S.-led ] policies. They largely supported the ] and the ], and denounced the Soviet Union as "]." Communists denounced these measures as imperialist provocations aimed at triggering a war against the Soviet Union. Inspired by the Second International, the ] was organized in 1951 in ], ] without communist participation.
	This definition of socialism is particularly important in understanding the official ideology of the People's Republic of China. The Communist Party of China states that class struggle has already pushed China into the socialist phase of social development. This and Deng Xiaoping's theory of ]s, any economic policy which "works" is automatically classified as a socialist policy, and hence there are no constraints on what "socialism with Chinese characteristics" can look like.

			In the postwar years, socialism became increasingly influential throughout the Third World. In 1949 the ] established a Communist state. Emerging nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America frequently adopted socialist economic programs. In many instances, these nations nationalized held by foreign owners. The Soviet achievement in the 1930s seemed hugely impressive from the outside, and convinced many nationalists in the emerging former colonies of the Third World, not necessarily Communists or even socialists, of the virtues of state planning and state-guided models of social development. This was later to have important consequences in countries like ], ] and ], which tried to import some aspects of the Soviet model.
	===A state?===
	{{seealso\|Communist state}}

			In the 1970s, despite the radicalism of some socialist currents in the Third World, Western European communist parties effectively abandoned their revolutionary goals and fully embraced electoral politics. Dubbed "]," this new orientation resembled earlier social-democratic configurations, although distinction between the two political tendencies persists.
	Most past and present states led by parties of ] orientation called (or call) themselves "socialist." However, they were usually referred to as "Communist states" by anti-communists in the western world. Once again, whether these states were socialist or not is disputed, with many socialists contending that they were not, for reasons analogous to those discussed in the section above regarding the socialist economy.

			] meeting with ], the president-elect of France and the leader of the ] on February 12, 1981. In power both Deng and Mitterrand struggled to adapt and modernize socialism in a period of growing globalization and liberalization of the global economy.]]
	A libertarian socialist society within the ] briefly emerged in the 1930s during the ]. See ].

			In the late last quarter of the twentieth century, socialism in the Western world entered a new phase of crisis and uncertainty. Socialism came under heavy attack following the ]. In this period, monetarists and neoliberals attacked social welfare systems as an impediment to individual entrepreneurship. With the rise of ] in the U.S. and ] in Britain, the Western welfare state found itself under increasing political pressure. Increasingly, Western countries and international institutions rejected social democratic methods of ] demand management were scrapped in favor of neoliberal policy prescriptions.
	There are also some who dispute whether it is appropriate to refer to any state, past, present, future, or hypothetical as "socialist," preferring to reserve that word for an economy or even a society, but not a state. Socialist leaders have been elected in South America, in recent years, but there has not been a large shift away from capitalism, at this point.

			Western European socialists were under intense pressure to refashion their parties in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and to reconcile their traditional economic programs with the integration of a European economic community based on liberalizing markets. Some formerly socialist parties no longer support anything recognizable as socialism, particularly "]" in the United Kingdom.
	==Types of socialism==

			The late last quarter of the twentieth century marked a far greater period of crisis for communists in the Eastern bloc, where the worsening shortages of housing and consumer goods; combined with the lack of individual rights to assembly, association, movement, and speech disillusioned many Communist party members. With the rapid collapse of Communist party rule in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, socialism as it was practiced in the Soviet bloc has effectively disappeared worldwide as a political force.
	Socialism can be divided into the libertarian schools, generally called ''libertarian socialist'' or ''anarchist'', and the more authoritarian schools that support some degree of state coercion. Since the ], socialist ideas have developed and separated into many different streams. Notable ideologies that have been referred to using the ''label'' "socialism" are:

			===Contemporary socialism===
	* ] (see also ])
			In the 1960s and 1970s new social forces began to change the political landscape in the Western world. The long postwar boom, rising living standards for the industrial working class, and the rise of a mass university-educated white collar workforce began to break down the mass electoral base of European socialist parties. This new "]" white-collar workforce was less interested in traditional socialist policies such as state ownership and more interested expanded personal freedom and liberal social policies.
	* ]
	** ]
	* ]
	** ]
	** ]
	* ]

			Over the past twenty-five years, efforts adapt socialism to new historical circumstances have led to a range of new left ideas and theories, some of them contained within existing socialist movements and parties, others achieving mobilization and support in the arenas of "]." Some socialist parties reacted more flexibly and successfully to these changes than others, but eventually all were forced to do so.
	A few of the lesser-known schools are:

			In the developing world, some elected noncommunist socialist parties and communist parties remain prominent, particularly in India. In China, the Chinese Communist Party has led a transition from the command economy of the Mao period under the banner of "]." Under ], the leadership of China embarked upon a program of market-based reform that was more sweeping than had been Soviet leader ]'s ] program of the late 1980s. In Latin America, in recent years socialism has reemerged in recent years with a nationalist and populist tinge, with Venezuelan President ] the trend.
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	** ]
	** ]
	* ]
	* ]

			==Socialism as an economic system==
	The socio-political or intellectual movements basing themselves in the Marxist-Socialist tradition can generally be further divided into:
			{{Main\|Socialist economics}}
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ''']'''
	* ]
	* ''']''' or "Mao Zedong Thought"
	* ]
	* ''']'''
	* ''']'''
	* ]
	* ]

			The term "socialism" is often used is to refer to an economic system characterized by state ownership of the means of production and distribution. In the Soviet Union, state ownership of productive property was combined with central planning. Down to the workplace level, Soviet economic planners decided what goods and services were to be produced, how they were to be produced, in what quantities, and at what prices they were to be sold (''see'' ]). Soviet economic planning was touted as an alternative to allowing prices and production to be determined by the market through supply and demand. Especially during the ], many socialists considered Soviet-style planning a remedy to what they saw as the inherent flaws of capitalism, such as ], ]s, ], vast inequalities in the distribution of wealth, and the exploitation of workers.
	Several forms of "socialism" are considered by those further to the left to be ] or ]. These include:
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

			In the West, conservative economists such as ] and ] argued that socialist planned economies were doomed to failure. They argued that central planning central planners could never match the overall information inherent in the decision-making throughout a market economy. Nor could enterprise managers in Soviet-style socialist economies match the motivation of private profit-driven entrepreneurs in a market economy.
	===Communism===
	] (1818-1883)]]
	{{main article\|Communism}}

			Following the stagnation of the Soviet economy in the 1970s and 1980s, many socialists have begun to accept the critiques of state planning of Western market economists. The economist ], for example, was an early proponents of "market socialism."
	] refers to a conjectured future ], stateless social organization based upon ] of the ], and can be classified as a multivariant branch of the broader socialist movement. Communism also refers to a variety of political movements which claim the establishment of such a social organization as their ultimate goal. Early forms of human social organization have been described as ]. However, communism as a political goal generally is a conjectured form of future social organization which has never been implemented.

			==Socialism and political theory==
	There is a considerable variety of views among self-identified communists. However, ] and ], ] of communism associated with ] and of ] respectively, have the distinction of having been a major force in world politics since the early 20th century. ] plays a central role in Marxism. The establishment of communism is in this theory viewed as the culmination of the class struggle between the capitalist class, the owners of most of the capital, and the working class. Marx held that society could not be transformed from the capitalist mode of production to the communist mode of production all at once, but required a state transitional period which Marx described as the revolutionary ]. The communist society Marx envisioned emerging from capitalism has never been implemented, and it remains theoretical. However, the term "Communism", especially when the word is ], is often used to refer to the political and economic nations under ] which claimed to be the dictatorship of the proletariat.

			Marxist and non-Marxist social theorists have both generally agreed that socialism, as a doctrine, developed as a reaction to the rise of modern industrial capitalism, but differ sharply on the exact nature of the relationship. ] saw socialism as rooted in the desire simply to bring the state closer to the realm of individual activity as a response to the growing anomie of capitalist society. ] saw in socialism an acceleration of the process of rationalization commenced under capitalism. Weber was a critic of socialism who warned that putting the economy under the total bureaucratic control of the state would not result in liberation but an 'iron cage of future bondage.'
	After the success of the Red ] in ], many socialist parties in other countries became communist parties, owing allegiance of varying degrees to the ] (see ]). After ], regimes calling themselves communist took power in Eastern Europe. In ], the Communists in ], led by ], came to power and established the ]. Among the other countries in the ] that adopted a Communist form of government at some point were ], ], ], ], ], and ]. By the early ], almost one-third of the world's population lived under ]s.

			Socialist intellectuals continued to retain considerable influence on European philosophy in the mid-20th century. ]'s ] '']'' was an explicit attempt to merge Marxism with ]. ], widely influential in mid-20th century French academic circles, emerged as a model of the social sciences that influenced the 1960s and 1970s socialist ].
	Communism carries a strong ] in the ], due to a history of ].<!--research communism in South America--> Since the early ], the term "]" was used to refer to the policies of communist parties in western Europe, which sought to break with the tradition of uncritical and unconditional support of the Soviet Union. Such parties were politically active and electorally significant in ] and ]. With the collapse of the Communist governments in ] from the late 1980s and the ] on ], ], Communism's influence has decreased dramatically in Europe, but around a quarter of the world's population still lives under Communist states.

	====Marxism-Leninism====
	{{main article\|Marxism-Leninism}}

	Lenin himself never used the term "Leninism," nor did he refer to his views as "Marxism-Leninism." However, his ideas diverged from classical Marxist theory on several important points (see the articles on ] and ] for more information). ] communists saw these differences as advancements of Marxism made by Lenin. After Lenin's death, his ideology and contributions to Marxist theory were termed "Marxism-Leninism," or sometimes only "Leninism." Marxism-Leninism soon became the official name for the ideology of the ] and of ] around the world.

	Stalin, in contrast to many contemporary revolutionaries, did not write a significant body of theoretical work. "]," strictly speaking, refers to a style of government or political structure, rather than an ideology ''per se''; during the period of Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union, Marxism-Leninism was proclaimed the official ideology of the state.

	Whether Stalin's practices actually followed the principles of Marx and Lenin is still a subject of debate amongst historians and political scientists. ] in particular believe that Stalinism contradicted authentic Marxism and Leninism, and they intitially used the term "Bolshevik-Leninism" to define their beliefs.

	=====Stalinism=====
	{{main article\|Stalinism}}

	The term "Stalinism" is sometimes used to denote the brand of ] theory that dominated the ] and the countries within the Soviet sphere of influence during and after the leadership of Joseph Stalin. The term used in the Soviet Union and by most who uphold its legacy, however, is "]", reflecting that Stalin himself was not a theoretician, but a communicator who wrote several books in language easily understood, and, in contrast to ] and ], made few new theoretical contributions. However, many people professing ] or Leninism view Stalinism as a perversion of their ideas; ], in particular, are virulently anti-Stalinist, considering Stalinism a counter-revolutionary policy using Marxism to achieve power.

	Rather, Stalinism is more in the order of an interpretation of their ideas, and a certain political system claiming to apply those ideas in ways fitting the changing needs of society, as with the transition from "socialism at a snail's pace" in the mid-twenties to the forced industrialization of the ]s.

	The main contributions of Stalin to communist theory were ] and the theory of ''']''', a theoretical base supporting the repression of political opponents as necessary.

	Stalinism has been described as being synonymous with ], or a ]. The term has been used to describe regimes that fight political dissent through violence, imprisonment, and killings.

	=====Maoism=====
	] with Chinese words "Supreme Directives"]]
	{{main article\|Maoism}}

	A key concept that distinguishes ] from other left-wing ideologies is the belief that the ] continues throughout the entire socialist period, as a result of the fundamental ] between ] and ]. Even when the ] has seized state power through a socialist ], the potential remains for a ] to restore capitalism. Indeed, Mao famously stated that "the bourgeoisie is right inside the Communist Party itself", implying that corrupt Party officials would subvert socialism if not prevented.

	Unlike the earlier forms of ] in which the urban ] was seen as the main source of revolution, and the countryside was largely ignored, Mao focused on the peasantry as a revolutionary force which, he said, could be mobilized by a Communist Party with their knowledge and leadership.

	Unlike most other political ideologies, including other ] and Marxist ones, Maoism contains an integral ] doctrine and explicitly connects its political ideology with ]. In Maoist thought, "political power comes from the barrel of the gun" (one of Mao's quotes), and the ] can be mobilized to undertake a "]" of armed struggle involving ].

	Since the death of Mao and the reforms of Deng, most of the parties explicitly defining themselves as "Maoist" have disappeared, but various communist groups around the world, particularly armed ones like the ] and the ] of the ], continue to advance Maoist ideas and get press attention for them. These groups generally have the idea that Mao's ideas were betrayed before they could be fully or properly implemented.

	====Other types of communism====

	;]: Religious communism is a form of ] centered on ] principles. The term usually refers to a number of ]n religious societies practicing the voluntary dissolution of private property, so that society's benefits are distributed according to a person's needs, and every person performs labor according to their abilities. "Religious communism" has also been used to describe the ideas of religious individuals and groups who advocate the application of communist policies on a wider scale, often joining secular communists in their struggle to abolish ].

	:The ] nature of ] led to many religious people on the ] oppose the use of the term ''communism'' to refer to religious communal societies, preferring names such as '']'' instead. The term ''religious communism'' has been ascribed to the social arrangement practiced by many orders of ]s and ]s of such religions as ]ity, ], ], ] and ]. As recorded in the ], the first Christians lived in communities organized according to communist-like principles.

	::''"all who owned property or houses sold them and lay them at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to everyone according to his need."'' (] 4:32-35; see also 2:42-47)

	:The ] movement in ] in the year ] may also be described as an example of religious communism. The Diggers were particularly concerned with the communal ownership of land. From the early ] to the present day, the most prominent form of religious communism has been the one practiced in the ]im (collective communities) of ].

	;]: Trotskyism is the theory of ] as advocated by ]. Trotsky considered himself a ]-], arguing for the establishment of a ]. He considered himself an advocate of orthodox Marxism. His politics differed greatly from those of ] or ], most importantly in declaring the need for an international "]". Numerous groups around the world continue to describe themselves as Trotskyist and see themselves as standing in this tradition, although they have diverse interpretations of the conclusions to be drawn from this.

	;]: Shachtmanism is a critical term applied to the form of ] associated with ]. It has two major components: a ] analysis of the ] and a ] approach to world politics. Shachtmanites believe that the ] rulers of ] countries are a new (ruling) class, distinct from the workers and rejects ]'s description of Stalinist Russia as being a "]". Max Shachtman described the ] as a "]" society. Although Shachtmanism is usually described as a form of ], both Trotsky and Shachtman were careful to not describe Shachtman's view as Trotskyist.

	===Libertarian socialism and Social anarchism===
	], one of the major thinkers of ]]]
	{{main articles\|] and ]}}

	] is any one of a group of ] ] dedicated to opposing coercive forms of ] and ], in particular the institutions of ] and the ]. Some of the best known libertarian socialist ] are ] - particularly ] and ] - as well as ], ], ], and ]. However, the terms anarcho-communism and libertarian communism should not be considered synonyms for libertarian socialism - anarcho-communism is a particular branch of libertarian socialism.

	Libertarian socialists believe in the abolition of the ] and of ] over the ], considering both to be unnecessary and harmful institutions. Most libertarian socialists support personal property or ''use rights'' over certain goods destined for individual use, but some, such as anarcho-communists, favoured collective ownership in the products of labor as well, with a distribution system which allocates based on one's needs.

	Some ]s also referred to their philosophy as libertarian socialism, although some supported private property (as long as it was not exploitative) and a market economy.

	===Democratic socialism and social democracy===
	{{main articles\|] and ]}}

	Modern ] is a broad political movement that seeks to propagate the ideals of socialism within the context of a democratic system. Many democratic socialists support ''social democracy'' as a road to reform of the current system, in effect, it is a means to an end. Other groups within democratic socialism support more revolutionary change in society to establish socialist goals. Conversely, Modern ] emphasises a program of gradual legislative reform of the ] system in order to make it more equitable and humane, while the theoretical end goal of building a socialist society is either completely forgotten or redefined in a pro-capitalist way. The two movements are widely similar both in terminology and in ideology, though there are a few key differences.

	Many who describe themselves as "socialists" disagree with the terminology of "democratic socialism" because they believe that socialism necessarily implies democracy. For many years, though, the terms "democratic socialism" and "social democracy" were used interchangeably to describe the same overall political movement, but in modern times, social democracy is considered to be more centrist and broadly supportive of current capitalist systems and the ], while many democratic socialists support a more fully socialist system, either through ] or revolutionary means.

	The term ''social democracy'' can refer to the particular kind of society that social democrats advocate. The ] (SI) - the worldwide organisation of social democratic and democratic socialist parties - defines ''social democracy'' as an ideal form of ], that may solve the problems found in a ]. The SI emphasizes the following principles: Firstly, ''freedom'' - not only individual liberties, but also freedom from discrimination and freedom from dependence on either the owners of the means of production or the holders of abusive political power. Secondly, ''equality and social justice'' - not only before the law but also economic and socio-cultural equality as well, and equal opportunities for all including those with physical, mental, or social disabilities. Finally, ''solidarity'' - unity and a sense of compassion for the victims of injustice and inequality.

	Democratic socialists and social democrats both advocate the concept of the welfare state, but whereas most social democrats view the welfare state as the end itself, many democratic socialists view it as a means to an end. Democratic socialists are also committed to the ideas of the ] of wealth and power, as well as social ownership of major industries, concepts widely abandoned by social democrats. As of current, there are no countries in the world that could qualify as a "democratic socialist" state, though many European nations are considered to be socially democratic or nearly so.

	The prime example of social democracy is ], which prospered considerably in the 1990s and 2000s. Sweden has produced a robust economy from ]s up through to ], while maintaining one of the highest ] in the world, low ], ], all while registering sizable ]. Many see this as validation of the superiority of social democracy. However, many others point out that in comparison with other developed countries Sweden did fell behind in that period . Also, Sweden experiences welfare dependency of around 20% of the working age population according to the ]. Likewise, ] has been steadily rising since the 1960s, and during the past decade has grown ever more violent.

	===Religious socialism===

	====Christian socialism====
	{{main article\|Christian socialism}}

	Various ] clerical parties have at times referred to themselves as "Christian Socialists." Two examples are the ] of ] in ] before and after ], and the contemporary ]. There are other individuals and groups, past and present, that are clearly both Christian and Socialist, such as ], author of ''The Kingdom of Christ'' (1838), or the contemporary Christian Socialist Movement (UK) (CSM), affiliated with the British ].

	], is a ] economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as ] and ] to apply the principles of ] articulated by the Roman Catholic Church, especially in Pope ]'s encyclical ].
	{{further\|] and ]}}

	====Islamic Socialism====
	].]]

	] is the political ideology of ]'s ], Former ] president ], and of the ]i leader of ], ].

	] (written by ]) consists of three parts - "The Solution of the Problem of Democracy: 'The Authority of the People'", "The Solution of the Economic Problem: 'Socialism'", and "The Social Basis of the Third Universal Theory". The book is controversial because it completely rejects modern conceptions of ] and encourages the institution of a form of ] based on popular committees. <!-- * CITATION NEEDED * Critics charge that Qaddafi uses these committees as tools of ] political repression in practice. -->

	Scholars have highlighted the similarities between the Islamic economic system and socialist theory. For example, both are against unearned income. ] does allow private ownership of ]s and large ], which are owned collectively, or at least encouraged to be so.

	===Differences between various schools===

	Although they share a common root (as elaborated upon in the above sections), schools of socialism are divided on many issues, and sometimes there is a split within a school. The following is a brief overview of the major issues which have generated or are generating significant controversy amongst socialists in general.

	====Theory====

	Some branches of socialism arose largely as a philosophical construct (e.g. utopian socialism); others in the heat of a revolution (e.g. early Marxism, Leninism). A few arose merely as the product of a ruling party (e.g. Stalinism), or a party or other group contending for political power in a democratic society (e.g. social democracy).

	Some are in favour of a socialist ] (e.g. Leninism, Trotskyism, Maoism, revolutionary Marxism), whilst others tend to support ] instead (e.g. Fabianism, reformist Marxism). Others believe both are possible (e.g. ], various Marxisms). The first utopian socialists even failed to address the question of how a socialist society would be achieved.

	Socialists are also divided on which rights and liberties are desirable, such as the "] liberties" (such as those guaranteed by the U.S. ] or the ]). Some hold that they are to be preserved (or even enhanced) in a socialist society (e.g. social democracy), whilst others believe them to be undesirable (e.g. Maoism). Marx and Engels even held different opinions at different times, and some schools are divided on this issue (e.g. different strains of Trotskyism).

	All socialists criticize the current system in some way. Some criticisms center on the ownership of the means of production (e.g. Marxism), whereas others tend to focus on the nature of mass and equitable distribution (e.g. most forms of utopian socialism). A few are opposed to industrialism as well as capitalism (common where socialism intersects ])? Utopian Socialists, like ] and ] argued, though not from exactly the same perspective, that the injustice and widespread poverty of the societies they lived in were a problem of distribution of the goods created. Marxian Socialists, on the other hand, determined that the root of the injustice is based not in the function of distribution of goods already created, but rather in the fact that the ownership of the means of production is in the hands of the upper class. Also, Marxian Socialists maintain, in contrast to the Utopian Socialists, that the root of injustice is not in how goods (]) are distributed, but for whose economic benefit are they produced and sold.

	====Implementation====

	Most forms and derivatives of Marxism, as well as variations of syndicalism, advocated total or near-total socialization of the economy. Less radical schools (e.g. Bernsteinism, reformism, reformist Marxism) proposed a mixed market economy instead. ], in turn, can range anywhere from those developed by the social democratic governments that have periodically governed Northern and Western European countries, to the inclusion of small ]s in the planned economy of ] under ]. A related issue is whether it is better to reform capitalism to create a fairer society (e.g. most social democrats) or to totally overthrow the capitalist system (most Marxists).

	Some schools advocate centralized state control of the socialized sectors of the economy (e.g. ]), whilst others argue for control of those sectors by ]s (e.g. ], ] and ], ], ]). This question is usually referred to by socialists in terms of "ownership of the ]." None of the social democratic parties of Europe advocate total state ownership of the means of production in their contemporary demands and popular press.

	Another issue socialists are divided on is what legal and political apparatus the workers would maintain and further develop the socialization of the means of production. Some advocate that the power of the workers' councils should itself constitute the basis of a socialist state (coupled with ] and the widespread use of ]s), but others hold that socialism entails the existence of a legislative body administered by people who would be elected in a ].

	Different ideologies support different governments. For example, in the era of the ], western socialists were bitterly divided as to whether the Soviet Union was basically socialist, moving toward socialism, or inherently un-socialist and, in fact, inimical to true socialism. Similarly, today the government of the ] claims to be socialist and refers to its own approach as "]," but most other socialists consider China to be essentially capitalist. The Chinese leadership concurs with most of the usual ], and many of their actions to manage what they call a socialist economy have been determined by this opinion.

	===Controversial classifications===
	{{npov-section}}
	Like other political terms, such as '']'', '']'' and '']'' (see, for example, the ], which is, according to critics, neither liberal nor democratic), the words ''socialism'' or ''socialist'' have sometimes been used in a controversial manner, usually by critics.

	It is observed by political scientists that there is a great deal of similarities between the ] and the ], with historical examples such as ], leader of the ] movement in ] Italy, whose regime has been compared to that of the ]. It has been argued by ] conservatives that movements instigated by ] and Mussolini are "not far right at all", but "socialist", as they claim these regimes carried large governmental intervention, again seen by the Libertarian right to be a socialistic trait. Of course, it could be said that most modern Socialists want no affiliation with either of the historical figures mentioned abouve.

	For a discussion of the controversial views of one ] who sees a close, though antagonistic, relationship between the left and the right descendants of ], see ].

	==== Baathism ====

	The ] rules ], and also ruled ] under ], based on a tradition of ], non-Marxist socialism. Ba'thist beliefs combine ], ], and ]. The mostly secular ideology often contrasts with that of other Arab governments in the ], which sometimes tend to have leanings towards ] and ].

	Once into power, the Ba'athist regimes of Syria and Iraq were fiercely opposed, and any notion of an international Ba'ath Party was lost, although the ruling parties in both countries retained the Ba'ath name. The Ba'athists also persecuted the socialists in their own countries. In Iraq, the ] assisted Iraq with a list of Communists to eliminate, effectively wiping out the Iraqi communists. Socialist ] argues that the Iraqi Ba'athists in fact promoted capitalists from within the Party and outside the country.<ref>], Lynn. ''Imperialism and the gulf war'', , 1990-91</ref>

	==== Fascism ====

	Fascism developed from ], a form of radical socialism. While opposing ] and ], fascism was rooted in part in radical leftist philosophy, including the theories of those such as ] (a former anarchist), ] (influenced by ]) or former socialist ].

	Fascism rejects ] and the concept of ] in favor of ]. It holds the state to be an end in and of itself (see also ]). Also, contrary to the practice of socialist states, fascist ] did not ] any industries or capitalist entities. Rather, it established a ] structure influenced by the model for class relations put forward by the ]. (For more on the influence of Catholicism on fascism see ].)

	] claimed that fascism and totalitarian forms of socialism (for example ]) stemmed from a common origin.<ref> from self-gov.org</ref> On the other hand, ] argues that "totalitarian movements use socialism and racism by emptying them of their utilitarian content, the interests of a class or nation." <ref>], Hannah. ''The Origins of Totalitarianism'', p348.</ref> Fascists rejected categorization as left or right-wing, claiming to be a "]" (see ] and ] for more information).

	==== Nazism ====
	{{TotallyDisputed-section}}
	{{POV-check-section}}
	] is derived from the name of the ], formerly simply the ]. Their ideology included a few of the more anti-capitalist ideas of socialism, as declared in the ], as part of the propaganda attempt<ref>], John. from the </ref> to create a ] of an ] race.

	The Nazis also had a hostile purge within their own party, the ], which has often been viewed as a victory of the ] of the Nazi party and the ] over the more socialist ] and ]'s ].

	Socialism rejects the ] theories and ] of the Nazis, while Nazism rejected the policies of ], ], ], and common ownership of the ] pursued by many socialists.<ref>], Leon. '''' June 10 1933</ref>

	Anti-socialists argue that the Nazis' large ] projects and state interventions are indicative of socialism<ref>], George. ''''</ref> Efforts were made to coordinate business' actions with the needs of the state, particularly with regard to rearmament, and the Nazis established some state-owned concerns such as ]. However, independent ] were outlawed, as were ]s. The Nazis did demand ] of big industries and land reform before their rise to power, though when they did eventually seize power, they did not act on most of these policies.

	Opponents of socialism also argue that the absoluteness of what the leader of the Nazi Party, ], decreed is similar to the ] in the totalitarian regimes of ]s such as those of ] or ].

	It is however worth noting, that the term 'Socialist' in National Socialist German Workers Party was, according to most historians, a popular appeal to all classes. The Nazis actually were perceived by most middle and upper class citizens as the main opposition to the German Communist Party, who was popular at that time. Evidence suggests that the Nazis also set up the Reichstag Fire incident to discredit the Communists. History actually shows that the Nazi party persecuted and oppressed Socialists and Communists.

	Socialist theory actually rejects authoritarian overtones. It is worth noting that the Nazis cannot be called socialist due to the fact that they were authoritarian.

	{{seealso\|Fascism and ideology#Fascism and the political spectrum}}

	==Socialism and other ideologies==

	While many would say that socialism is defined by state ownership and state planning of the means of production and economic life, a certain degree of such state ownership and planning is common in economies that would almost universally be considered capitalist. In Canada, Crown Corporations are responsible for various sectors of the economy deemed to be of strategic importance to the people (for example power generation). In the U.S., a semi-private central bank with close ties to the federal government, the ], regulates lending rates, serving as a "bank of banks." Also, governments in capitalist nations typically run the post office, libraries, national parks, highways, and space agencies. Interestingly, though, the U.S. government's monopoly on space travel from U.S. take-off sites is itself a thing of the past -- as of 2004 (see ]) private capital is entering even that field.

	State, provincial, and local governments within a capitalist system can operate and own power companies and other utilities, parks, mass transit including rail and airports, hospitals and other medical facilities, and public schools (often including a number of universities). Capitalist governments also frequently subsidize or otherwise influence (though do not own) various sectors of the economy, such as automotive, weapons, oil (petrol), aerospace, and agriculture.

	In the post-World War II political ], this sort of (limited) economic state planning became integral to stabilization of the global economy, and has come to be known as ] economics, after ].

	Conversely, ] under ] has been characterized by decreasing state ownership of the economy, the replacement of central planning mechanisms with market-based ones that are also used in Western capitalist nations, and even going as far as removing governmental social welfare services that are commonly found in capitalist nations. However, because the legitimacy of the ] is based on the premise that China has already made a transition to socialism, the government insists that it is a socialist government. Very few inside and outside China would support this claim.

	==Criticisms of socialism==		==Criticisms of socialism==
	{{~~main~~\|Criticisms of socialism}}		{{Main\|Criticisms of socialism}}

	Socialism's critics include ], ] and ]. Some of socialism's critics can be described as advocates of unregulated or '']'' capitalism.

	Other critics come from within socialism itself, as evidenced by the many variants and extreme differences of doctrine to be found within socialism, such as the argument as to what the ultimate fate of capitalism should be.

	Criticism from all parties ranges from disagreements over the efficiency of socialist economic and political models, to condemnation of states described by themselves or others as 'socialist'; of the latter, there is much focus on the human rights records of ]s (some critics identify these examples with socialism, while others reject the categorisation of such examples as socialist). Many ] dispute that the more even distribution of wealth advocated by socialists can be achieved without loss of political or economic freedoms.

			Criticisms of socialism ranges from disagreements over the efficiency of socialist economic and political models, to condemnation of states described by themselves or others as "socialist." Many ] dispute that the more even distribution of wealth advocated by socialists can be achieved without loss of political or economic freedoms. There is much focus on the human rights records of ]s. Some critics identify these examples with socialism, while others reject the categorization of such examples as socialist.
	==Notes==
	<references/>

	==References and further reading==		==References and further reading==
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	*{{cite book\|author=]\|title=]\|publisher=University Of Chicago Press; 50th Anniversary edition \|year=1944\|id=ISBN 0226320618}}		*{{cite book\|author=]\|title=]\|publisher=University Of Chicago Press; 50th Anniversary edition \|year=1944\|id=ISBN 0226320618}}
	*{{cite book\|author=]\|title=\|publisher=Liberty Fund\|year=1922\| id=ISBN 0913966630}}		*{{cite book\|author=]\|title=\|publisher=Liberty Fund\|year=1922\| id=ISBN 0913966630}}
	* '']: Crimes, Terror, Repression'', ], 1999, hardcover, 858 pages, ISBN 0674076087.

	==See also==		==See also==
	{{Political ideology entry points}}		{{Political ideology entry points}}
			* ]
	* ]		* ]
			* ]
	* ], ]
			* ]
	* ] (Progressive Utilization Theory)
			* ]
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	* ]		* ]
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	* ] (ParEcon)
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
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	==External links==		==External links==
	===Socialist perspective===
	* Criticism of capitalism in support of socialism
	* active in over 35 countries
	* , news and analysis		* , news and analysis
	*		*
	* Marxist resource from the Committee for a Workers' International		* Marxist resource from the Committee for a Workers' International
	*		* [http://www.socialistinternational.org/ Socialist International
	* , active forum with theoretical discussions of different revolutionary socialist ideologies
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*

	===Non-socialist perspective===

	*
	* ; expresses hope that the Bush administration can "reverse socialism"
	*
	*
	*		*
	*		*
	* , by Tom Palmer
	* , by ]
	* , by Hans-Hermann Hoppe		* , by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
	* , by Peter J. Boettke and Peter T. Leeson
	* , by Ludwig von Mises		* , by Ludwig von Mises
	* , by Robert Heilbroner		* , by Robert Heilbroner
	* , by Martin De Vlieghere, Paul Vreymans and Willy De Wit

	]		]

Revision as of 12:03, 24 May 2006

Socialism

History - Outline

Schools of
thought

Libertarian (from below)	Anarchism Collectivist Communist Free-market Left-wing laissez-faire Left-wing market Green Individualist Insurrectionary Magonism Mutualism Neozapatismo Platformism Communalism Social Syndicalist Left-libertarianism Libertarian Marxism Left communism Council communism Luxemburgism Mao-Spontex Trotskyism Pabloism Posadism Orthodox Third camp
Authoritarian (from above)	Barracks Nechayevism Blanquism Bolshevism Leninism Marxism–Leninism Brezhnevism Castroism Ceaușism Guevarism Ho Chi Minh Thought Hoxhaism Husakism Juche Kadarism Khrushchevism Maoism Dengism Maoism–Third Worldism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Gonzalo Thought Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Prachanda Path Xi Jinping Thought Stalinism Neo-Stalinism National Tkachevism State Lassallism
Religious	Buddhist Christian anarchism communism Islamic Jewish
Regional variants	African African-Caribbean Arab Bolivarian Chinese Communist Nationalist Chiangist European Eurocommunism Indian Israeli Indonesian Melanesian Mexican Soviet In one country Real Sri Lankan Third World Yugoslav

Key topics
and issues

Concepts

People

16th c.	Tommaso Campanella Thomas More
18th c.	Gracchus Babeuf Victor d'Hupay Gabriel Bonnot de Mably Sylvain Maréchal Étienne-Gabriel Morelly
19th c.	Stephen Pearl Andrews Mikhail Bakunin John Goodwyn Barmby Enrico Barone August Bebel Edward Bellamy Eduard Bernstein Louis Blanc Louis Auguste Blanqui Philippe Buchez Georg Büchner Philippe Buonarroti Francisco Largo Caballero Étienne Cabet Edward Carpenter Nikolay Chernyshevsky James Connolly Victor Prosper Considerant Claire Démar Théodore Dézamy W. E. B. Du Bois Prosper Enfantin Friedrich Engels Charles Fourier Emma Goldman William Batchelder Greene Charles Hall Alexander Herzen Thomas Hodgskin Jean Jaurès Mother Jones Karl Kautsky Peter Kropotkin Paul Lafargue Ferdinand Lassalle Pyotr Lavrov Alexandre Ledru-Rollin Pierre Leroux Helen Macfarlane Errico Malatesta Karl Marx Louise Michel Nikolay Mikhaylovsky William Morris Robert Owen Antonie Pannekoek Giovanni Pascoli Constantin Pecqueur Georgi Plekhanov Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Luis Emilio Recabarren Henri de Saint-Simon Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin George Sand Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz Eugène Sue Lysander Spooner Fred M. Taylor William Thompson Pyotr Tkachev Benjamin Tucker Suzanne Voilquin Alfred Russel Wallace Josiah Warren Wilhelm Weitling Oscar Wilde
20th c.	Tariq Ali Salvador Allende Inejirō Asanuma Hafez al-Assad Clement Attlee Aung San Deng Xiaoping Jiang Zemin Henri Barbusse Jyoti Basu Simone de Beauvoir Walter Benjamin Tony Benn Léon Blum Grace Lee Boggs Murray Bookchin Bertolt Brecht Aristide Briand Nikolai Bukharin Cornelius Castoriadis Noam Chomsky M. N. Roy G. D. H. Cole Jeremy Corbyn Marcel Déat Guy Debord Eugene V. Debs John Dewey Alexander Dubček Albert Einstein Faiz Ahmad Faiz Muammar Gaddafi Einar Gerhardsen Mikhail Gorbachev Maxim Gorky Antonio Gramsci Safdar Hashmi Eric Hobsbawm Saddam Hussein Dolores Ibárruri Pablo Iglesias Posse Jayaprakash Narayan Russell Jacoby Kim Jong-il Kim Il Sung Martin Luther King Jr. Alexandra Kollontai James Larkin E. M. S. Namboodiripad Jack Layton Henri Lefebvre Claude Lefort Vladimir Lenin György Lukács Rosa Luxemburg Lu Xun Alasdair MacIntyre Nestor Makhno Nelson Mandela José Carlos Mariátegui Adrien Marquet Mao Dun Salama Moussa François Mitterrand Imre Nagy Gamal Abdel Nasser Jawaharlal Nehru Ernst Niekisch Ne Win George Orwell Sylvia Pankhurst Fred Paterson Karl Polanyi Pierre Renaudel B. T. Ranadive Bertrand Russell Gaetano Salvemini Bernie Sanders Jean-Paul Sartre Arthur Scargill Léopold Sédar Senghor George Bernard Shaw Sukarno Sun Yat-sen R. H. Tawney E. P. Thompson Ernst Toller Leon Trotsky Ram Manohar Lohia H. G. Wells Cornel West Clara Zetkin Howard Zinn J. Posadas
21st c.	Pedro Castillo Hugo Chávez Bob Crow Hu Jintao Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kim Jong Un Lula da Silva Evo Morales Yanis Varoufakis Xi Jinping Vaush

Organizations

History of socialism

Main article: History of socialism

Early socialism

In the history of political thought, certain elements of what is typically thought of as socialism long predate the rise of the workers movement of the late 19th century, particularly in Plato's Republic and Thomas More's Utopia.

The term "socialism" was first used in the context of early-19th century Western European social critics. In this period, socialism emerged from a diverse array of doctrines and social experiments associated primarily with British and French thinkers—especially Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Louis Blanc, and Saint-Simon. These social critics saw themselves as reacting to the excesses of poverty and inequality in the period, and advocated reforms such as the egalitarian distribution of wealth and the transformation of society into small communities in which private property was to be abolished. Outlining principles for the reorganization of society along collectivist lines, Saint-Simon or Owen sought to build socialism on the foundations of planned, utopian communities.

Early socialists differed widely about how socialism was to be achieved; they differed sharply on key issues such as centralized versus decentralized control, the role of private property, the degree of egalitarianism, and the organization of family and community life. Moreover, while many emphasized the gradual transformation of society, most notably through the foundation of small, utopian communities, a growing number of socialists became disillusioned with the viability of this approach, and instead emphasized direct political action.

The rise of Marxism

File:Kmarx.jpg

Karl Marx

In the mid-19th century, the transformation of socialism into a political doctrine occurred as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed their own account of socialism as the outcome of a revolutionary class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie.

Marx and Engels regarded themselves as "scientific socialists," and distinguished themselves from the "utopian socialists" of earlier generations. For Marxists, socialism is viewed as a transitional stage characterized by state ownership of the means of production. They see this stage in history as a transition between capitalism and communism, the final stage of history. For Marx, a communist society describes the absence of differing social classes and thus the end of class warfare. According to Marx, once private property had been abolished, the state would then "wither away," and humanity would move on to a higher stage of society, communism. This distinction continues to be used by Marxists, and is the cause of much confusion. The Soviet Union, for example, ever claimed that it was was a communist society, even though it was ruled by a Communist party for over seven decades. For communists, the name of the party is not meant to reflect the name of the social system.

Moderate socialism and communism

In 1864 Marx founded the International Workingmen's Association, or First International, which held its first congress at Geneva in 1866. The First International was the first international forum for the promulgation of communist doctrine. However, socialists often disagreed on a strategy for achieving their goals. Diversity and conflict between socialist thinkers was proliferating.

Despite the rhetoric about socialism as an international force, socialists increasingly focused on the politics of the nation-state in the late 19th century. As universal male suffrage was introduced throughout the Western world in the first decades of the twentieth century, socialism became increasingly associated with newly formed trade unions and mass political parties aimed at mobilizing working class voters.

The most notable of these groups was the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (today know as the German Social Democratic Party), which was founded in 1869. These groups supported diverse views of socialism, from the gradualism of many trade unionists to the radical, revolutionary agendas of Marx and Engels. Nevertheless, although the orthodox Marxists in the party, led by Karl Kautsky, managed to retain the Marxist theory of revolution as the official doctrine of the party, in practice the SPD became more and more reformist.

As socialists gained their first experiences in government, the focus of socialism shifted from theory to practice. In government, socialists became more pragmatic, as the success of their program increasingly depended on the consent of the middle and propertied classes, who largely retained control of the bureaucratic machinery of the state. Moreover, with the extension of universal male suffrage and the beginnings of the modern welfare state, the condition of the working class, gradually improved in the Western world. Thus, the socialist revolution predicted by Marx for Western Europe had not come about.

As social democrats moved into government, divisions between the moderate and radical wings of socialism grew increasingly pronounced. On one hand, many socialist thinkers began to doubt the indispensability of revolution. Moderates like Eduard Bernstein argued that socialism could best be achieved through the democratic political process (a model increasingly known as social democracy). On the other hand, strong opposition to moderate socialism came from socialists in countries such as the Russian Empire where parliamentary democracy did not exist and did not seem possible. Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin argued that revolution was the only path to socialism. In 1903, there was a formal split in the Russian social democratic party into revolutionary Bolshevik and reformist Menshevik factions.

Meanwhile, anarchists and proponents of other alternative visions socialism—emphasizing, for example, the potential of small-scale communities and agrarianism—coexisted with the more influential currents of Marxism and social democracy. The anarchists, led by the Russian Mikhail Bakunin, believed that capitalism and the state were inseparable, and that one could not be abolished without the other. Consequently, they opposed Marxism and most other socialist groups, and a split between the anarchists and the Socialist International soon occurred.

The moderate, or revisionist, wing of socialism dominated the meeting of the Second International in Paris in 1889. The majority of its members, led by Eduard Bernstein, were revisionists. Still, at the Second International, Lenin and the German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg emerged as leaders of the left-wing minority. Followers of German theorist Karl Kautsky constituted a smaller faction.

File:Jaurès02.jpg

Jean Jaurès haranguing workers under a red flag.

In the first decades of the twentieth century, moderate socialism became increasingly influential among many European intellectuals. In 1884 British middle class intellectuals organized the Fabian Society. The Fabians in turn helped lay the groundwork for the organization of the Labour Party in 1906. The French Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO), founded in 1905, under Jean Jaurès and later Léon Blum adhered to Marxist ideas, but became in practice a reformist party.

In the U.S. a Socialist Labor party was founded in 1877. This party, small as it was, became fragmented in the 1890s. In 1901 a moderate faction of the party joined with Eugene V. Debs to form the American Socialist party. The influence of the party gradually declined, and socialism never became a major political force in the United States. Communism also failed to ever gain a large following in the U.S.; in fact, in the broader English-speaking world, communism never gained a large mass following.

The distinction between socialists and communists became more pronounced during and after World War I. When the First World War began in 1914, many European socialist leaders supported their respective governments. During the war, socialist parties in France and Germany supported the state wartime military and economic planning, despite their ideological commitments to internationalism and solidarity. Lenin, however, denounced the war as an imperialist conflict urged the workers worldwide to use the war as an occasion for proletarian revolution. This ideological conflict resulted in the collapse of the Second International.

The rise of the Soviet Union

In 1917 the Russian Revolution marked the definitive split between communists and social democrats. Communist parties in the Soviet Union and Europe dismissed the more moderate socialist parties and pursued, for the most part, broke off contact.

The Soviet Communist Party sought to "build socialism" in the Soviet Union. For the first time, socialism was not just a vision of a future society, but a description of an existing one. Lenin's regime brought all the means of production (except agricultural production) under state control, and implemented a system of government through workers' councils (in Russian, soviets). Gradually, however, the Soviet Union developed a bureaucratic and authoritarian model of social development condemned by moderate socialists abroad for undermining the initial democratic and socialist ideals of the Russian Revolution. In 1929 Stalin came to power and pursued a policy of "socialism in one country."

The Russian Revolution provoked a powerful reaction throughout the Western world. One example was the "Red scare" in the United States, which effectively destroyed the American Socialist Party of Eugene Debs. In Europe, fascism emerged as a movement against both socialism and liberalism. Fascism came to power in Italy in 1922 under Benito Mussolini (a former socialist), and strong fascist movements also developed throughout much of Europe.

The interwar era and World War II

Despite division of the world socialist movement, Western European socialist parties won major electoral gains in the immediate postwar years. Most notably, in Britain, the Labour party under Ramsay MacDonald was in power for ten months in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1931.

Throughout much of the interwar period, socialist and Communist parties were in continuous conflict. Socialists condemned communists as agents of the Soviet Union, while communists condemned socialists as betrayers of the working class.

However, with the rise of fascism in Italy in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, socialists and communists made attempt attempts in some countries to form a united front of all working-class organizations opposed to fascism. The "popular front" movement had limited success, even in France and Spain, where it did well in the 1936 elections. The failure of the German communists and socialists to form a "popular front" helped the Nazis gain power in 1933. The "popular front" period ended in 1939 with the conclusion of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. Socialists condemned this act as an act of betrayal by the Stalinist Soviet Union.

Cold War years

In Western Europe, socialism gained perhaps its widest appeal in the period immediately following the Second World War. Even where conservative governments remained in power, they were forced to adopt a series of social welfare reform measures, so that in most industrialized countries, the post-World War period saw the creation of a welfare state.

The period following World War II marked another period of intensifying struggle between socialists and communists. In the postwar period, the nominally socialist parties became increasingly identified with the expansion of the capitalist welfare state.Western European socialists largely backed U.S.-led Cold War policies. They largely supported the Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and denounced the Soviet Union as "totalitarian." Communists denounced these measures as imperialist provocations aimed at triggering a war against the Soviet Union. Inspired by the Second International, the Socialist International was organized in 1951 in Frankfurt, West Germany without communist participation.

In the postwar years, socialism became increasingly influential throughout the Third World. In 1949 the Chinese Revolution established a Communist state. Emerging nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America frequently adopted socialist economic programs. In many instances, these nations nationalized held by foreign owners. The Soviet achievement in the 1930s seemed hugely impressive from the outside, and convinced many nationalists in the emerging former colonies of the Third World, not necessarily Communists or even socialists, of the virtues of state planning and state-guided models of social development. This was later to have important consequences in countries like China, India and Egypt, which tried to import some aspects of the Soviet model.

In the 1970s, despite the radicalism of some socialist currents in the Third World, Western European communist parties effectively abandoned their revolutionary goals and fully embraced electoral politics. Dubbed "Eurocommunism," this new orientation resembled earlier social-democratic configurations, although distinction between the two political tendencies persists.

File:DengMitterrand.jpg

Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping meeting with Francois Mitterrand, the president-elect of France and the leader of the Socialist Party on February 12, 1981. In power both Deng and Mitterrand struggled to adapt and modernize socialism in a period of growing globalization and liberalization of the global economy.

In the late last quarter of the twentieth century, socialism in the Western world entered a new phase of crisis and uncertainty. Socialism came under heavy attack following the 1973 oil crisis. In this period, monetarists and neoliberals attacked social welfare systems as an impediment to individual entrepreneurship. With the rise of Ronald Reagan in the U.S. and Margaret Thatcher in Britain, the Western welfare state found itself under increasing political pressure. Increasingly, Western countries and international institutions rejected social democratic methods of Keynesian demand management were scrapped in favor of neoliberal policy prescriptions.

Western European socialists were under intense pressure to refashion their parties in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and to reconcile their traditional economic programs with the integration of a European economic community based on liberalizing markets. Some formerly socialist parties no longer support anything recognizable as socialism, particularly "New Labour" in the United Kingdom.

The late last quarter of the twentieth century marked a far greater period of crisis for communists in the Eastern bloc, where the worsening shortages of housing and consumer goods; combined with the lack of individual rights to assembly, association, movement, and speech disillusioned many Communist party members. With the rapid collapse of Communist party rule in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, socialism as it was practiced in the Soviet bloc has effectively disappeared worldwide as a political force.

Contemporary socialism

In the 1960s and 1970s new social forces began to change the political landscape in the Western world. The long postwar boom, rising living standards for the industrial working class, and the rise of a mass university-educated white collar workforce began to break down the mass electoral base of European socialist parties. This new "post-industrial" white-collar workforce was less interested in traditional socialist policies such as state ownership and more interested expanded personal freedom and liberal social policies.

Over the past twenty-five years, efforts adapt socialism to new historical circumstances have led to a range of new left ideas and theories, some of them contained within existing socialist movements and parties, others achieving mobilization and support in the arenas of "new social movements." Some socialist parties reacted more flexibly and successfully to these changes than others, but eventually all were forced to do so.

In the developing world, some elected noncommunist socialist parties and communist parties remain prominent, particularly in India. In China, the Chinese Communist Party has led a transition from the command economy of the Mao period under the banner of "market socialism." Under Deng Xiaoping, the leadership of China embarked upon a program of market-based reform that was more sweeping than had been Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika program of the late 1980s. In Latin America, in recent years socialism has reemerged in recent years with a nationalist and populist tinge, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez the trend.

Socialism as an economic system

Main article: Socialist economics

The term "socialism" is often used is to refer to an economic system characterized by state ownership of the means of production and distribution. In the Soviet Union, state ownership of productive property was combined with central planning. Down to the workplace level, Soviet economic planners decided what goods and services were to be produced, how they were to be produced, in what quantities, and at what prices they were to be sold (see economy of the Soviet Union). Soviet economic planning was touted as an alternative to allowing prices and production to be determined by the market through supply and demand. Especially during the Great Depression, many socialists considered Soviet-style planning a remedy to what they saw as the inherent flaws of capitalism, such as monopolies, business cycles, unemployment, vast inequalities in the distribution of wealth, and the exploitation of workers.

In the West, conservative economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman argued that socialist planned economies were doomed to failure. They argued that central planning central planners could never match the overall information inherent in the decision-making throughout a market economy. Nor could enterprise managers in Soviet-style socialist economies match the motivation of private profit-driven entrepreneurs in a market economy.

Following the stagnation of the Soviet economy in the 1970s and 1980s, many socialists have begun to accept the critiques of state planning of Western market economists. The economist Oskar Lange, for example, was an early proponents of "market socialism."

Socialism and political theory

Marxist and non-Marxist social theorists have both generally agreed that socialism, as a doctrine, developed as a reaction to the rise of modern industrial capitalism, but differ sharply on the exact nature of the relationship. Émile Durkheim saw socialism as rooted in the desire simply to bring the state closer to the realm of individual activity as a response to the growing anomie of capitalist society. Max Weber saw in socialism an acceleration of the process of rationalization commenced under capitalism. Weber was a critic of socialism who warned that putting the economy under the total bureaucratic control of the state would not result in liberation but an 'iron cage of future bondage.'

Socialist intellectuals continued to retain considerable influence on European philosophy in the mid-20th century. Herbert Marcuse's 1955 Eros and Civilization was an explicit attempt to merge Marxism with Freudianism. Structuralism, widely influential in mid-20th century French academic circles, emerged as a model of the social sciences that influenced the 1960s and 1970s socialist New Left.

Criticisms of socialism

Main article: Criticisms of socialism

Criticisms of socialism ranges from disagreements over the efficiency of socialist economic and political models, to condemnation of states described by themselves or others as "socialist." Many economic liberals dispute that the more even distribution of wealth advocated by socialists can be achieved without loss of political or economic freedoms. There is much focus on the human rights records of communist states. Some critics identify these examples with socialism, while others reject the categorization of such examples as socialist.

References and further reading

G.D.H. Cole, History of Socialist Thought, in 7 volumes, Macmillan and St. Martin's Press (1965), Palgrave Macmillan (2003 reprint); 7 volumes, hardcover, 3160 pages, ISBN 140390264X
Friedrich Engels, The Origin Of The Family, Private Property And The State, Zurich, 1884
Albert Fried, Ronald Sanders, eds., Socialist Thought: A Documentary History, Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor, 1964.
Phil Gasper, The Communist Manifesto: A Road Map to History's Most Important Political Document, Haymarket Books, ISBN 1-931859-25-6 paperback, 224 pages, 2005.
Élie Halévy, Histoire du Socialisme Européen. Paris, Gallimard, 1948
Michael Harrington, Socialism, New York: Bantam, 1972
Makoto Itoh, Political Economy of Socialism. London: Macmillan, 1995.
Michael Newman, "Socialism - a Very Short Introduction", Oxford University Press (2005) ISBN 0-19-280431-6
Bertell Ollman, Market Socialism: the debate among socialists, ed. (1998) ISBN 0415919673
Leo Panitch, Renewing Socialism: Democracy, Strategy, and Imagination, ISBN 0813398215
Selbourne, David, Against Socialist Illusion, London, 1985, ISBN 0-333-37095-3
James Weinstein, Long Detour: The History and Future of the American Left, Westview Press, 2003, hardcover, 272 pages, ISBN 0813341043
Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station: A Study in the Writing and Acting of History, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1940.
Friedrich Hayek (1944). The Road to Serfdom. University Of Chicago Press; 50th Anniversary edition. ISBN 0226320618.
Ludwig von Mises (1922). Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Liberty Fund. ISBN 0913966630. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)

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See also	Authoritarianism Anti Collectivism Colonialism Culturalism Inter Mono Multi Extremism Federalism Globalism Imperialism Individualism Internationalism Localism Militarism Nihilism Pacifism Pluralism Populism Progressivism Reformism Regionalism Separatism Statism Syncretism Totalitarianism

External links

In Defence of Marxism, news and analysis
Industrial Workers of the World
Marxist.net Marxist resource from the Committee for a Workers' International
[http://www.socialistinternational.org/ Socialist International
Socialism by Robert Heilbroner
PBS' "Heaven on Earth: the Rise and Fall of Socialism"
The Intellectual Cover for Socialism, by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
"The Impossibility of Economic Calculation Under Socialism", by Ludwig von Mises
Socialism, by Robert Heilbroner

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