Socialism: Difference between revisions

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{{socialism}}

'''Socialism''' refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage an [[egalitarian]]a [[socio-economic]] system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109587 "Socialism"] ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> This control may be either direct—exercised through popular collectives such as [[workers' councils]]—or indirect—exercised on behalf of the people by the state. As an [[economic system]], socialism is often characterized by [[state]] or community ownership of the [[means of production]].

The modern socialist movement had its origin largely in the [[working class]] movement of the late-[[19th century]]. In this period, the term "socialism" was first used in connection with European social critics who condemned [[capitalism]] and [[private property]]. For [[Karl Marx]], who helped establish and define the modern socialist movement, socialism implied the abolition of [[money]], [[market]]s, [[capital (economics)|capital]], and [[Labour (economics)|labor]] as a [[commodity]].

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==Criticisms of socialism==

{{Main|Criticisms of socialism}}

Criticisms of socialism range from disagreements over the efficiency of socialist economic and political models to condemnation of states described by themselves or others as "socialist." Many [[economic liberalism|economic liberals]], such as [[Friedrich Hayek]] in his ''[[Road to Serfdom]]'', have argued that the more even distribution of wealth and [[nationalization]] of industries advocated by socialists cannot be achieved without a loss of political, economic, and human rights.<ref>{{cite book| last = Hayek| first = Friedrich | authorlink = Friedrich Hayek| title = [[The Road to Serfdom]]| publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]]| edition = 50th anniversary ed.| date = 1994| id = 0-226-32061-8}}</ref> Hayek argued that the road to socialism leads society to [[totalitarianism]], and saw [[Fascism]] and [[Nazism]] as inevitable outcome of the socialist trends in the preceding period.<ref>Hayek, Friedrich. ''The Road to Serfdom'', Routledge (2001), ISBN 0415255430, p.4</ref> [[Communist states]], seen as examples of actually existing socialism, are the object of a particularly virulent criticism and, according to estimates, responsible for deaths of tens of millions of people.<ref>Rummel, R.J., ''Death by Government'', Transaction Publishers (1997), ISBN 1-56000-927-6</br> Courtois, Stephane; Werth, Nicolas; Panne, Jean-Louis; Paczkowski, Andrzej; Bartosek, Karel; Margolin, Jean-Louis & Kramer, Mark, ''[[The Black Book of Communism|The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]]''. Harvard University Press (1999), ISBN 0-674-07608-7.</ref>

One of the difficulties of the socialism in the 21st century is that it needs capitalism to generate economic growth and prosperity, and at the same time capitalism doesn't need socialism for providing welfare protection. All this resulted in the loss of confidence by socialist leaders and followers.<ref>Donald Sassoon, "Socialism," [http://uk.encarta.msn.com Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2006]</ref>

[[Communist states]] are often seen by their advocates and critics as examples of actually existing socialism, and, as such, they are the object of numerous arguments regarding the performance of socialism in practice. A particularly virulent criticism directed against them is that they have been allegedly responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people.<ref>Rummel, R.J., ''Death by Government'', Transaction Publishers (1997), ISBN 1-56000-927-6</br> Courtois, Stephane; Werth, Nicolas; Panne, Jean-Louis; Paczkowski, Andrzej; Bartosek, Karel; Margolin, Jean-Louis & Kramer, Mark, ''[[The Black Book of Communism|The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]]''. Harvard University Press (1999), ISBN 0-674-07608-7.</ref>

==Notes==