Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Explanation: 3
Conclusion 6
Reference 6
Introduction
socialism, general term for the political and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods. Because of the collective nature of socialism, it is to be contrasted to the doctrine of the sanctity of private property that characterizes capitalism. Where capitalism stresses competition and profit, socialism calls for cooperation and social service.
In a broader sense, the term socialism is often used loosely to describe economic theories ranging from those that hold that only certain public utilities and natural resources should be owned by the state to those holding that the state should assume responsibility for all economic planning and direction. In the past 150 years there have been innumerable differing socialist programs. For this reason socialism as a doctrine is ill defined, although its main purpose, the establishment of cooperation in place of competition remains fixed.
A Critique Of Socialism, Definition Of Socialist Economy
Modern socialism has advanced beyond the patchwork of anticapitalist animosities, Utopian proposals, and romantic hopes that distinguished early socialist schemes. Probably no other type of economic system, including capitalism and Marxian communism, has constructed for itself a theory that covers such a wide range of social phenomena.
It is toward a critique of socialist theory that this chapter is directed, rather than toward criticism of minute details of some administrative plan or political platform. The socialist blueprint does not extend to the level of detailed programs because, the socialist claims, desirable changes in society are not necessarily hastened by concern over questions of...