Philosophy advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Features of Socialism:
- Group living in which there is no private property.
- Means of production are owned and controlled by the state.
Early Socialism
Advocated the need for non-coercive communities of people working non-competitively for the spiritual and physical well-being of all. Advocates : Charles Fourier, Henri de Saint-Simon and Robert Owen.
Later Stage – Scientific Socialism = Communism
According to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, socialism is a transition state between capitalism and communism.
Socialist Countries – Examples
Centralized socialism : Soviet Union.
Non-communist socialism : Sweden and Denmark