What is Considered Socialism?

by Investing School on July 16, 2010

Socialism is a system of social organization that advocates a society that has equal access to resources and that it is available to everyone. Compensation would be commensurate with the amount of labor that was expended. Proponents of socialism view capitalism as an unfair distribution of wealth and power. They feel that only a small percentage of the population enjoys the benefits of the capitalism and the wealth that is said to come from it. This, in their view, creates an exploitation of individuals and results in an unequal society.

Socialism is not a concrete or fixed doctrine. It has some aspects of social interventionism and economic rationalization but sometimes these concepts clash with each other. There is a lack of uniformity when it comes to many advocates of socialism. The reformists and revolutionaries disagree on how a socialist economy should be established. Then there are some socialists who believe that complete nationalization should be sought in areas of production, distribution and exchange. Then there are others who feel that state control of capital should be achieved within the bounds of a market economy.

There are many socialists who have long admired the progress made by the Soviet model of economic development. They would like to see more systems of centrally planned economies that are solely directed by the state and the state owns all the means of production. There are other countries that advocated a type of market socialism that combined state ownership with free market exchange and a free price system.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Mike July 26, 2010 at 7:12 pm

I’ve always thought that Capitalism was the most honest system in that it admits the inherent inequalities that exist in any system that seeks to manage effective use of finite resources with alternative uses. By contrast, Socialism is inherently flawed in that it seeks the impossible:

“Socialism is a system of social organization that advocates a society that has equal access to resources and that it is available to everyone.”

In a system where there is more demand than supply, you can never have “equal access” to those resources.

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