Socialism
It is a system that affects people's behavior and the economy.
What Is Socialism?
Socialism is considered a popular political system around the world. This system affects how people behave as well as how the economy runs.
One of their main ideas is that citizens should have equal control over various aspects of daily life, including goods and assets.
If you live in a country that practices this system, your neighbors and your friends will not have more control over properties and land than you because everyone is equal in terms of authority.
This is because the higher authorities believe that not only should goods be spread equally, but also the government should not have control of your belongings.
For example, If I live in country X, and this is a socialist country, I should be allowed to own my own house without anyone taking it away from me.
As you can see, the end goal of countries and economies in this political system is equality. Naturally, therefore, governments should have limited control of their possessions.
There is this belief that when a product is created using different goods and production processes, this product should be shared among those who contributed to helping create this product.
Since products are commonly created via different outlets and people during their production procedures, those who contributed to building the product should share them.
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In other words, individual constituents or the government alone cannot do everything alone. Thus, they need to balance things out among each other. This is at the very heart of a socialist political ideology.
This means that the people of a socialist country work hard to earn equivalent goods and assets. In return, the government will be in charge of providing healthcare, food, and security.
In addition, for the workers, labor is not judged by the results and the production they achieve. Instead, workers are given credit for the hours of work they had labored.
This is because, in this society, the government values effort and hard work more than economic output, which is primarily why there is limited competition, and people receive equal pay.
This differs from the beliefs of a capitalist society, as capitalism focuses on earning money and rewarding more to those who deserve more, which means goods distribution and the spread of wealth will not be equal among the people.
Key Takeaways
- Socialism is a well-known political system that strives for equality amongst its citizens.
- One of their main ideas is that citizens should have equal control over various things among each other. That includes necessary assets that are used daily.
- In a socialist society, the government values effort and hard work more than how much money you generate. This is why there is no competition, and everyone earns equally.
- They don’t believe in a free market economy, which can lead to too much power from private owners and businesses, competition, and dominance.
- This opposes the views of capitalism, as capitalists think that consumers and their wants and needs should determine the market. Essentially the market is run by supply and demand.
- Libertarian socialism is one of the newer and more popular political systems. They stress the importance of freedom. They believe people are rational and independent, not needing guidance from those representing the country.
- Socialists do not support creativity and change. This negatively impacts the economy as it limits its growth potential.
Understanding Socialism
The definition of socialism might change according to usage. In general, socialism is defined as a political and economic system in which property and the means of production are owned by the people rather than the government. The fundamental tenet of socialism is that public ownership of the means of production promotes social equality.
The definition of socialism has evolved over time. The definition of common socialism is that each member of a community should have an equal say in how resources are produced and distributed. Socialism is sometimes described as a "utopian society" and has certain practical difficulties.
The meaning of socialism is that it fosters security and equality in society. Depending on their efforts, each person is given a portion of the community.
Characteristics of Socialism
- The definition of general socialism is when the means of production are owned by the people.
- Under socialism, the law of supply and demand is inapplicable.
- In a socialist system, there is no such thing as class, and everyone is treated equally.
- The meaning of socialism is that everyone is guaranteed equal opportunities and that the state provides for men's needs in an impartial manner.
- Since the state controls all of the means of production, there is no market competition in a socialist economy.
- Because the tools of production are dispersed equally, socialism avoids the concept of class distinction.
Different Socialism Types
Many people and countries can claim to be and follow socialist characteristics, but it is essential to note the different types of socialist systems.
Below are several examples:
1. Utopian
In a utopian socialist society, as the word “utopian” suggests, people aim for everything to be great or near perfect.
In this type of society, no social classes are competing against each other. Instead, all social classes work together to achieve one common goal.
It is worth noting that this type of socialist society is rare to find because the characteristics of utopian societies are practically impossible.
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You can't be selfish and prioritize societal well-being over personal satisfaction or desires in this society.
Instead, it would help if you focused on doing what is needed to make everyone’s lives better. When doing so, everyone will grow together and obtain goods and resources equally.
2. Revolutionary
This type was created to battle against capitalist ideas. They do not believe socialists and capitalists can work together as they do not share the same goals and intentions.
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In fact, they also believe that capitalism should not even exist at all.
The reason behind this movement against capitalists is that in today’s world, many countries or economies share traits of both socialists and capitalists.
However, revolutionary socialists do not see nations progressing and believe changes are mandatory.
Further expanding on this idea, they believe the government should not have absolute control in impacting the economy.
Contrarily, they believe that laborers should be the decision-makers since they work hard.
3. Democratic
The idea of democracy is crucial here. A lot of their beliefs come from their vision of democracy.
Like most socialist types, they stress sharing goods and resources among the public equally and not having social classes competing against one another.
But here is what makes them unique: people in this society vote for who they believe can best represent them in running the government.
This political ideology emphasizes protecting its people by caring for and protecting those needing financial assistance and healthcare.
Under this system, the wealthy would not have a superior say because that would lead to a power gap.
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The government of a democratic socialist state aims to minimize the wealth gap between social classes.
Another notable characteristic is that democratic socialists believe in a healthy balance of economic power. This means that when it comes to directly consumable products and goods, the government should not have control of that market.
But in the markets that require tertiary provisions, like the health and energy sectors, the government should be trusted with control.
This would lead to a healthy balance of economic power.
4. Market
Market socialists firmly believe in allocating power to laborers and hard workers.
They are completely against the idea of the government making decisions for them. They believe that since they are the handlers of goods and resources, the government should not have the power to control them.
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They want ultimate power in controlling their economy with limited to no intervention from the government.
5. Libertarian
This type is popular today, as it encourages a new political ideology not previously permitted.
They do not want to be controlled by the government, and they want to have the right to make vital decisions for their country and economy collectively.
Their members stress the importance of freedom and freedom of speech. They believe people have the independence and rationality to operate a country without guidance from government leaders.
On top of that, they should be allowed to object to certain ideas and voice their opinions on important matters at any time.
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Libertarian says that people should have the right to act according to their beliefs and that women should be represented and respected more.
Although they believe in not being controlled and dominated by high authorities, they understand that some government intervention is necessary to keep the country stable and protect people from harm.
Libertarianism is advertised globally because they believe they can only gain power and stand up against the government by collectively joining forces and creating a revolution.
Socialism Vs. Capitalism
Both these systems differ in several ways, mainly regarding their goals and power.
In a capitalist society, capitalists believe in a free market. This means that consumers and the wants and needs of people should determine the market. The idea behind this is called supply and demand.
It is not the government that decides what to supply and what to price the supplies at; it is the market that does so.
Socialists disagree. They want shared and equal power and believe that too much market freedom defeats the purpose of equality because many will profit more than others.
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In capitalism, the main idea is that you are rewarded for what you produce, but socialists believe you should be rewarded by how much you work.
Private business people and industries will have too much control as there is little to no government intervention in capitalistic societies. When there is excess control, the businesses and private individuals in power can act only in their best interest.
This means creating their prices for self-benefits and giving less attention to those who can barely afford necessities, thus widening the wealth gap in society. From a socialist perspective, the capitalist ideology shows that making profits is always the end goal while disregarding the pursuit of societal equality.
Communism Vs. Socialism
An appropriate place to put socialism regarding political goals and values is between capitalism and communism.
Communism, much similar to socialism, is against capitalism. The main reason is how they handle their laborers' rights. Communists believe that laborers are not appreciated enough and are not rewarded fairly.
Communists think workers should not be used to help rich people get richer. But, like socialists, they don't think there should be gaps in treatment and income between different social classes.
It is also worth noting that although they have similar characteristics, communism is considered much more harsh and strict than socialism. As a result, some look at communist societies as an extreme version of capitalistic societies.
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You cannot own your land under communism, which goes against socialist beliefs.
In addition, communists believe that no matter how much you work and what you produce, you should be given the same things as others.
In socialism, you are rewarded according to your hours of work.
Some people say communism is much harsher because they don’t feel they have enough power as individuals living in society.
When it comes to land and property, the government has full control. As a family, you don’t have property rights in a communist state.
This is not the case with the people that live in a socialist state. One of the main ideas is that you have the right as a family to own goods and necessities without anyone interfering with you.
The reason that no one will interfere is that everyone in society will be awarded goods equally.
Pros and Cons of Socialism
There are many pros and cons when it comes to this system. Below are some examples:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Higher authorities make it a goal to give benefits to everyone equally. These benefits include money, resources, and necessary goods to survive. | They do not like creativity and change. Therefore, they follow the same process extensively, and because of that, economies in this type of system do not expand much. |
| Unlike in a capitalistic society, laborers and workers are not used and mistreated just to take the money that they make. | You cannot rely on what you produce or create. Instead, you have to rely on other workers’ hard work because everyone is given benefits based on the work they put in collectively. |
| A socialist regime is less likely to witness poverty in society as the gap between social classes is not wide. | You are working without having a sense of motivation and inspiration. Typically, you must do exactly what you are told, and you cannot overwork in hopes of gaining more benefits. |
| Individuals and private owners do not own a large number of resources. Instead, higher authorities are in charge of managing resources for the common good of society. | Leaving resources under the control of the government can be risky. It could mean these resources are not being distributed fairly, and people depend on the government’s generosity. |
On the positive side, socialists always strive for equality, which includes preventing market takeovers or the monopolization of industries by dominant businesses or executives.
But unfortunately, this type of system could be better.
When you limit and discourage your workers from being creative and innovative, you are blocking the potential growth of your country, which could lead to a failed state.
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