Socialism is defined as an economic theory, system or movement where the production and distribution of goods is done, owned and shared by the citizens of a society.
Facts About Socialism
- In theory, citizens have equal access to the products and resources and are compensated based on the amount of work performed.
- Under the ideals of socialism, there is no motivation for workers to excel at their jobs because there is no benefit to the worker.
- Friedrich Engels, a French social theorist, developed modern socialistic theory in the late 18th century when he advocated the elimination of production methods based on capitalism.
- Karl Marx described socialism as a lower form of communism and held the opinion that socialism was an intermediary step in moving from capitalism to communism.
- Many movements across Europe embraced the Marxist view of socialism and this led to the protests and uprisings of the working class, including the labor unions.
- The two largest "socialistic" systems are the former Soviet Union and Mainland China. Each of these began with the ideals of socialism, but ended in becoming totalitarian in nature.
(noun)An example of socialism is the Mainland Chinese economic system.