Socialism This article is about socialism as an economic system and political philosophy. For socialism specifically defined as a stage of development in Marxist theory, see Socialism (Marxism). For the concept where the state promotes the social and economic well-being of its citizens sometimes mistaken with socialism, see Welfare state. Socialism Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy.[1] Social ownership may refer to cooperative enterprises, common ownership, state ownership, citizen ownership of equity, or any combination of these.[2] There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them.[3] They differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets or planning, how management is to be organised within productive institutions, and the role of the state in constructing socialism.[4] A socialist economic system consists of a system of production and distribution organised to directly satisfy economic demands and human needs, so that goods and services are produced directly for use instead of for private profit driven by the accumulation of capital.[5] Accounting is based on physical quantities, a common physical magnitude, or a direct measure of labour-time in place of financial calculation.[6][7] Distribution is based on the principle to each according to his contribution. Marxist theory holds that the development of the socialist mode of production will give rise to a communist society, in whichclasses and the state are no longer present, there is access abundance to final goods, and thus distribution is based on to each according to his need. As a political movement, socialism includes a diverse array of political philosophies, ranging from reformism to revolutionary socialism. Proponents of state socialism advocate the nationalisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange as a strategy for implementing socialism. In contrast, libertarian socialism opposes the use of state power to achieve such an arrangement, opposing both parliamentary politics and state ownership.[8] Democratic socialismseeks to establish socialism through democratic processes and propagate its ideals within the context of a democratic political system. Modern socialism originated from an 18th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticised the effects of industrialisation and private property on society. In the early 19th-century, socialism referred to any concern for the social problems of capitalism irrespective of the solutions to those problems. However, by the late 19th-century, socialism had come to signify opposition to capitalism and advocacy for an alternative system based on some form of social ownership.[9] Marxists expanded further on this, attributing scientific assessment and democratic planning as critical elements of socialism.[10]
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:19:13 +0000
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