Socialism facts for kids

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

Bernie Sanders, a U.S. Senator who calls himself a democratic socialist, at a campaign event in 2015.

Socialism is a way of organizing money and government. It's a system where the ways of making, moving, and selling wealth are owned or controlled by the people who do the work. This means that the people share the wealth they create. People who believe in this system are called socialists.

Socialists think that everything in society is made by people working together.

History of Socialism

Karl Marx is a very well-known person who helped create the ideas of socialism and communism. He wrote a famous book called "A Critique of the Social Economy." This book was about capitalism, socialism, and communism. Friedrich Engels helped write the book and also paid for much of Marx's work.

Many socialist political groups started in the 1800s and early 1900s. These "left-wing" groups are usually newer than "right-wing" ones.

A man from Wales named Robert Owen was one of the first socialists. His followers started calling themselves socialists in 1841. He is still seen as a leader of the Co-op Movement in Britain. He believed that workers should own the companies they worked for. Then, the workers would share the profits among themselves. He even started a new factory in New Lanark, Scotland. This town was not successful and was later left empty. Owen also bought land in New Harmony, Indiana, and started a community there in 1825. This socialist community began to break apart in 1826 and was completely gone by 1827.

Kinds of Socialism

There are many different kinds of socialism. In all of them, at least in theory, the workers own the "means of production." This means they control the factories, tools, and land used to make things. The main differences between these types are how much the free market is used, how the "means of production" are managed, how workers are organized, and how much control the government has over the economy.

Collectivization

One type of socialism is called "collectivization." In this system, money and goods are shared more equally among everyone. The government usually controls this process. Some people believe this system helps reduce the gap between rich and poor people. When the government uses collectivization, it takes money and special benefits from the richest people. It then gives these to the nation's poorest people. This is also known as "redistribution of wealth."

Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism is the idea that both the economy and society should be run democratically. This means they should be managed for the good of everyone, not just for the profits of a few. Democratic socialists believe that the government and economy need big changes. This would allow everyday people to have a say in decisions that affect their lives. Ideas for this include sharing company wealth among citizens. Other ideas are following the Green New Deal and sharing costs for things like housing, higher education, and health care.

Social Democracy

Social democracy is a type of capitalism that tries to mix parts of socialism with capitalism. It is not a pure form of socialism, but it shares some ideas. In this system, the government takes money from the rich and gives it to the poor. This is usually done through social programs to reduce inequality. Social democracy is often confused with democratic socialism because their names are similar and they share some short-term goals. The biggest difference is that social democrats want to stop changing capitalism when they think it's good enough. Democratic socialists, however, will keep working until capitalism is gone. Countries like those in Scandinavia are examples of social democracies.

In social democracies, some services and industries get money to help them run. They might also be partly controlled by the government, or both. For example, education, health care, housing, utility companies, and public transportation might be owned or supported by the government. People working in these areas are often paid by the government, using money from taxes. A strong welfare system, which helps people in need, is very important for social democracy.

Communism as a Goal

Some socialists believe that socialism will eventually lead to a more advanced system called communism. In this system, there would be no state (government), no money, and no social classes. In Marxist theory, socialism is a temporary step between capitalism and communism. However, some socialists do not plan to move on to communism.

Related pages

• Capitalism
• Communism
• Social democracy

Images for kids

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  Charles Fourier, an important early French socialist thinker.

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  The celebration of the election of the Commune on March 28, 1871. The Paris Commune was an early example of socialist ideas being put into practice.

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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, a famous Marxist revolutionary and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She was a 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 a member of the Socialist Party of Chile. His presidency ended with a 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, a main thinker of mutualism and an important French socialist.

See also

In Spanish: Socialismo para niños