SOCIALISM

The word socialism means ‘all things to all men’.Is an economic and political system of
social organization where the means of production and distribution are collectively owned by
the society. This mean everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a
share in it.

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIALISM
 Collective Ownership - no individual can hold private property beyond certain limit.
Therefore, it is government who utilises these resources in the interest of social welfare.
 Economic, Social and Political Equality - there is almost equality between rich and poor.
There is no problem of class struggle.
 No Competition - Unlike capitalistic economy, there is no cut throat competition. It
means lack of competition as state is the sole entrepreneur.
 Maximum Social Welfare - The sole objective of socialism is the maximum social
welfare of the society. It means that there is no scope of exploitation of labor class.

HISTORY OF SOCIALISM
The idea of socialism and communism certainly play an important part in the ideas of
the ancient Greek and even as far as Moses, in which men and women of the “guardian” class
share with each other not only their few material goods but also their spouses and children.
Early Christian communities also practiced the sharing of goods and labour, a simple form of
socialism.

The idea of socialism is first introduced by Karl Marx and Fredric Engles in their book,
‘The Communist Manifesto’. Socialism rose as a reaction to the injustices of early capitalism.
One of the first people to advocate for socialism was a Welsh mill owner and idealist known as
Robert Owen, who used is wealth to create utopian communities based on socialist ideals.
Unfortunately, his socialist experiments ended up in failure and cost him a huge chunk on his
wealth. Still, the idea of socialism did not die. Instead, it took root by the mid-19th century. As
socialists see it, true freedom and true equality require social control of the resources that
provide the basis for prosperity in any society. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made this point in
Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) when they proclaimed that in a socialist society “the
condition for the free development of each is the free development of all.” By the time of
Marx’s death in 1883, many socialists had begun to call themselves “Marxists.” His influence
was particularly strong within the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which was formed
in 1875.
FOUNDER
KARL MARX
German philosopher and
revolutionary socialist Karl Marx
published The Communist Manifesto
and Das Kapital, anticapitalist works
that form the basis of Marxism.

Synopsis :

Born in Prussia on May 5,

1818, Karl Marx began exploring
sociopolitical theories at university
among the Young Hegelians. He became
a journalist, and his socialist writings would
get him expelled from Germany and France. In 1848, he published
The Communist Manifesto with Friedrich Engels and was exiled to
London, where he wrote the first volume of Das Kapital and
lived the remainder of his life.

REFERENCES
 https://www.biography.com/scholar/karl-marx
 https://www.britannica.com/topic/socialism
 https://www.cleverism.com/socialism-characteristics-pros-cons-examples-and-types/
 http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/economy/socialist-economy-meaning-and-
features-of-socialist-economy/2070