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Socialism is an economic system that requires public ownership and government control over the production of goods. Government is supposed to make decisions about what and how much to produce in an attempt to increase the common welfare. Socialism is common in most parts of the world outside of the [[United States]].

Born out of the depravations suffered by the urban poor in proto-capitalist 19th century Europe, socialism is an economic and political ideology that stresses the rights of the many over the privileges of the few. Politically, socialism is democratic and has been responsible for the extension of the franchise to all adult citizens. As an economic theory, socialism calls for the redistribution of wealth. This may be achieved indirectly via taxation of private wealth coupled with progressive social policy or directly via nationalisation and public ownership.  

Socialism is described by this saying:  "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."  Socialism allows private property in the form of wages to workers, but not in the form of ownership of large companies.

Although socialist ideas such as the provision of unemployment benefit, state pensions, universal healthcare, and state control of key industries have been common throughout the developed world in the modern era, the [[United States]] has tended to reject socialism as an ideological position. In other parts of the world, such as Europe, Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, there has generally been more explicit support for socialism as a doctrine, and socialist parties have been among the most successful political forces of the last 100 years.

[[Marx, Karl|Karl Marx]] considered socialism to be a transitory stage between capitalism and communism. Under "true communism" the government would supposeedly cease to exist and all property would be shared by decentralized collectives.  No "socialist" state has ever come close to achieving this as rather their governments have expanded and expanded under socialism.

[[Marx, Karl|Karl Marx]] considered socialism to be a transitory stage between capitalism and communism. Im his view, socialism is summed up by the expression: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." A major criticism of socialism is that it infringes individual rights in favour of the collectivity. In a very real sense, politics in the western world throughout the 20th century were shaped by the conflict between a more socialist and a more individualist conception of history.

Socialist parties are extremely common in Europe, for example, [[Tony Blair]] belongs to the Labour Party, a democratic [[socialist]] party<ref>[http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php?id=labourdemocracy]</ref>

Although parties proclaiming themselves as socialist are common in Europe, the leading examples all currently embrace free enterprise, individual property rights. The key difference between Europe and the United States in this regard is thus ideological rather than substantive.

 

In summary, socialist ideas have made a major and valuable contribution to western civilization although they are not always credited with doing so, partly owing to a tendency to conflate socialism with the far more radical doctrine of communism.

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