Socialism facts for kids

New Harmony, a model community presented by Robert Owen, 1838

Bernie Sanders, Junior U.S. Senator of Vermont and self-described democratic socialist at his 2016 presidential campaign kickoff in May 2015.

Socialism is an economic and political system. It is a theory of how society is organized. It believes that the ways of making, moving, and trading wealth should be owned or controlled by the workers. This means that the people share the wealth. People who agree with this type of system are called socialists.

Socialists believe that everything in society is made by the cooperative efforts of the people and citizens.

History

Karl Marx is the most well-known creator of the theory of socialism and of communism. He wrote a book about capitalism, socialism, and communism, called "A Critique of the Social Economy." Friedrich Engels co-wrote the book and paid for much of Marx's work and research.

Many socialist political parties were formed during the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. Left-wing political parties are mostly newer than right-wing ones.

A Welshman, Robert Owen, was the first socialist. His followers began calling themselves socialists in 1841. He is still considered a pioneer of the Co-operative Movement in Britain. He said that workers should own the companies they worked for. The workers would then share the profits among themselves. He set up a new model factory in New Lanark, Scotland. The town was not successful and was eventually abandoned. Owen also purchased a previously-settled land in New Harmony, Indiana, and established a community in 1825. The socialist community began splintering in 1826 and completely disbanded by 1827.

Forms of socialism

There are many kinds of socialism. In all types, at least in theory, the workers own the means of production. The major differences between the different varieties are the role of the free market (market planning), how the means of production are directed, how the workers are managed, and how much control the government has in the economy.

Collectivization

One kind of socialism is "collectivization." In this system, money and goods are shared more equally among the people, with the government in control. Some believe this system will help the gap between classes to get smaller. When the government uses collectivization, it takes money and privileges from the richest people to give to the nation's poorest people. This practice is also called "redistribution of wealth."

Democratic socialism

Democratic socialism is a belief that both the economy and society should be run democratically for the good of the public rather than for the profits of a few. Democratic socialists believe that the government and economy must be radically changed so that ordinary people can participate in the many decisions that affect their lives. Suggestions for achieving this include sharing the wealth of companies among citizens; following the Green New Deal; sharing expenses such as housing, higher education, and health care; and defunding (stop paying) the police.

Social democracy

Social democracy is a kind of capitalism that tries to mix parts of socialism with capitalism. It is not a form of socialism but shares some ideas with it. In this system, the government takes money from the rich and gives it to the poor to reduce inequality, usually through social programs. Social democracy is often confused with democratic socialism due to the similar names and having the same short term goals. The biggest difference is social democrats want to stop reforming capitalism when they think their reforms are good enough, but democratic socialists will not stop until capitalism is gone. Some examples of social democracies are the Scandinavian countries.

In social democracies, some services and industries are subsidized (given money to help them run), or partly controlled by the government, or both. For example, education, health care, housing, utility companies, and public transportation are some industries that might be owned/supported by the government in a social democracy. For the most part, people working in these industries are paid by the government, with money paid by the people as taxes. A strong welfare system is key to social democracy.

Other

Many countries see socialism differently. The Socialist International is an organization dedicated to the cause of promoting socialist ideals and has ties with many socialist parties, especially Social Democratic parties.

Communism as a goal

Some socialists believe that socialism will grow into what they see as a more advanced system: communism, with no state, money, or social classes. In Marxist theory, socialism is a temporary social state between capitalism and communism, although some socialists have no intention of progressing to communism.

Related pages

• Capitalism
• Communism
• Social democracy

Images for kids

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  Charles Fourier, influential early French socialist thinker

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  The celebration of the election of the Commune on March 28, 1871; the Paris Commune was a major early implementation of socialist ideas.

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  Mikhail Bakunin speaking to members of the International Workingmen's Association at the Basel Congress in 1869

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  Rosa Luxemburg, prominent Marxist revolutionary, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and martyr and leader of the German Spartacist uprising in 1919

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  FAI militia during the Spanish Revolution in 1936

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  Einar Gerhardsen, Prime Minister of Norway for the Labour Party

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  Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden for the Swedish Social Democratic Party

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  Salvador Allende, President of Chile and member of the Socialist Party of Chile, whose presidency and life were ended by a CIA-backed military coup

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  Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)

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  Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, main theorist of mutualism and influential French socialist thinker

See also

In Spanish: Socialismo para niños