socialism
- a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
- procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
- (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Origin of socialism
Related Words for socialism
communism, collectivism, Maoism, Leninism, Bolshevism, Fabianism, MarxismExamples from the Web for socialism
Contemporary Examples of socialism
These, he insisted, were harbingers of the twin plagues of socialism and secular humanism.
“Welfarism,” as Goldwater constantly called welfare, was the path to socialism.
Far from doing any of that, of course, Cochran voted against Obamacare and called it socialism just like the rest of them did.
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma has compared Common Core standards to socialism.
No one will be more infuriated by the comparison to socialism than the conservative-leaning members of the military.
Historical Examples of socialism
The celebrated founder of socialism in France was his nephew.
In the Heart of VosgesMatilda Betham-Edwards
Let us go straight for socialism and equal human rights and opportunities.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
There will soon be no babies for you to instruct either in materialism or socialism.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
This middle-class sentiment, or socialism, or whatever it may be, is rotten.
Strife (First Series Plays)John Galsworthy
The experience of civilized nations has hitherto been adverse to Socialism.
The RepublicPlato
socialism
- an economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state. It is characterized by production for use rather than profit, by equality of individual wealth, by the absence of competitive economic activity, and, usually, by government determination of investment, prices, and production levelsCompare capitalism
- any of various social or political theories or movements in which the common welfare is to be achieved through the establishment of a socialist economic system
- (in Leninist theory) a transitional stage after the proletarian revolution in the development of a society from capitalism to communism: characterized by the distribution of income according to work rather than need
Word Origin and History for socialism
1837, from French socialisme (1832) or formed in English (based on socialist) from social (adj.) + -ism. Perhaps first in reference to Robert Owen's communes. "Pierre Leroux (1797-1871), idealistic social reformer and Saint-Simonian publicist, expressly claims to be the originator of the word socialisme" [Klein, also see OED discussion]. The word begins to be used in French in the modern sense c.1835.
socialism
An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists.