Socialism is a set of left-wing political principles whose general aim is to create a system in which everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from a country's wealth. Under socialism, the country's main industries are usually owned by the state.
Synonyms: Marxism, communism, leftism, social democracy More Synonyms of socialism
socialism in British English
(ˈsəʊʃəˌlɪzəm)
noun
1.
an economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state. It is characterized by production for userather than profit, by equality of individual wealth, by the absence of competitive economic activity, and, usually, by government determination of investment, prices, and production levels
Compare capitalism
2.
any of various social or political theories or movements in which the common welfare is to be achieved through the establishment of a socialist economic system
3.
(in Leninist theory) a transitional stage after the proletarian revolution in the development of a society from capitalism to communism: characterized by the distribution of income according to work rather than need
socialism in American English
(ˈsoʊʃəlˌɪzəm)
noun
1.
any of various theories or systems of the ownership and operation of the means of production and distribution by society or the community rather thanby private individuals, with all members of society or the community sharing in the work and the products
2. [oftenS-]
a.
a political movement for establishing such a system
b.
the doctrines, methods, etc. of the Socialist parties
3.
the stage of society, in Marxist doctrine, coming between the capitalist stage and the communist stage, in which private ownership of the means of production and distribution hasbeen eliminated
see also communism (sense 2)
Examples of 'socialism' in a sentence
socialism
We will proceed toward better socialism rather than away from it.
Kishlansky, Mark A. (editor) Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1: From the Beginningto 1715 (1995)
Britain cannot cut itself off from the world hoping to institute socialism in one country.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Meanwhile we turn our eyes from a blight on our national life that socialism was invented to remedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The "two worlds" view of capitalism and socialism also seems to have drawn support from a very different quarter.
Harrison, David The Sociology of Modernization and Development (1988)
They are part of a protest cycle, not the harbinger of a new national socialism.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Rather that socialism - that democracy - extended to economic and other aspects of social life.
Roper, Jon Democracy and its Critics - Anglo-American democratic thought in the nineteenth century (1989)
Thus, in both modern capitalism and socialism the production process is strongly determined by those persons or groups who are the owners of crucial resources.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
That is, once socialism replaced capitalism, classes would be abolished and class struggle would cease.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
In other languages
socialism
British English: socialism /ˈsəʊʃəˌlɪzəm/ NOUN
Socialism is a political system with the aim of creating a society in which everyone has an equal opportunity to benefit from a country's wealth. Under socialism, the country's main industries are usually owned by the state.
...capitalism and socialism.
American English: socialism
Arabic: اشْتِرَاكِيَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: socialismo
Chinese: 社会主义
Croatian: socijalizam
Czech: socialismus
Danish: socialisme
Dutch: socialisme
European Spanish: socialismo
Finnish: sosialismi
French: socialisme
German: Sozialismus
Greek: σοσιαλισμός
Italian: socialismo
Japanese: 社会主義
Korean: 사회주의
Norwegian: sosialisme
Polish: socjalizm
European Portuguese: socialismo
Romanian: socialism
Russian: социализм
Latin American Spanish: socialismo
Swedish: socialism
Thai: ระบบสังคมนิยม
Turkish: sosyalizm
Ukrainian: соціалізм
Vietnamese: chủ nghĩa xã hội
All related terms of 'socialism'
guild socialism
a form of socialism advocated in Britain in the early 20th century. Industry was to be owned by the state but managed and controlled by worker-controlled guilds
lemon socialism
the policy of a government in a nominally free-market country of bailing out large failing private companies with taxpayers ’ money
state socialism
a variant of socialism in which the power of the state is employed for the purpose of creating an egalitarian society by means of public control of major industries , banks , etc, coupled with economic planning and a social security system
National Socialism
the doctrines and practices of the Nazis , involving the supremacy of Hitler as Führer, anti-Semitism, state control of the economy , and national expansion
utopian socialism
socialism established by the peaceful surrender of the means of production by capitalists moved by moral persuasion , example, etc: the form of socialism advocated by Robert Owen , Fichte , and others
scientific socialism
Marxist socialism
Chinese translation of 'socialism'
socialism
(ˈsəuʃəlɪzəm)
n(u)
社会(會)主义(義) (shèhuì zhǔyì)
(noun)
Definition
a political and economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state
the steady rise of socialism in this country
Synonyms
Marxism
communism
the overthrow of Communism in the country
leftism
social democracy
Leninism
progressivism
syndicalism
labourism
Trotskyism
Fabianism
Additional synonyms
in the sense of communism
Definition
the belief that private ownership should be abolished and all work and property should be shared by the community
socialism