Part of the The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. Socialism is a concept, an ideology and a collection of party-based political movements that have evolved and branched over time. Initially, it was based on the organized working class, with the purpose of building a classless... Socialism series.

The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. Socialism is a concept, an ideology and a collection of party-based political movements that have evolved and branched over time. Initially, it was based on the organized working class, with the purpose of building a classless... Socialism Branches of socialism Criticisms of socialism Definitions of socialism Early socialists The word socialism came into English from French in the 1820s, but the idea that goods should be held in common and that all men should be equal is much older. Quasi-socialist elements can be identified in Platos of the French revolution of the 1790s, though... History of socialism List of social democratic parties The following is a list of self identified socialists. Individuals qualify for this list if known by reason of their identification as socialists in whole or major part. Therefore individuals who might be socialists but who are not known as a result of that are not listed unless their socialism... List of socialists The Socialist International (SI) is an international organisation for social democratic parties. Its secretariat is located in London. Its members include the Labour Party (United Kingdom), SPD (Germany), the Democratic Socialists of America (USA), the Australian Labor Party, and New Democratic Party (Canada), among many others. The Socialist International has... Socialist International Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. During the early and mid-20th century, social democrats were in favor... Social democracy Social economy

(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Socialism&action=edit)

The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. Socialism is a concept, an ideology and a collection of party-based political movements that have evolved and branched over time. Initially, it was based on the organized working class, with the purpose of building a classless... Socialism has been defined in a variety of ways in various reference works and by theorists

Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary: "1. A theory or policy of social organization which aims at or advocates the ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land, property, etc., by the community as a whole, and their administration or distribution in the interests of all. 2. A state of society in which things are held or used in common."

Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary: "1 : any of various theories or social and political movements advocating or aiming at collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods: as a : FOURIERISM b : GUILD SOCIALISM c : MARXISM d : OWENISM 2 a : a system or condition of society or group living in which there is no private property <trace the remains of pure socialism that marked the first phase of the Christian community -- W.E.H.Lecky> -- compare INDIVIDUALISM b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state -- compare CAPITALISM, LIBERALISM c : a stage of society that in Marxist theory is transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and payments to individuals according to their work"

Compact Oxford English Dictionary: "a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: "1. Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. 2. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved."

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: "a political doctrine or system which aims to create a classless society by removing the nation's wealth (land, industries, transport systems, etc) out of private and into public hands."

Cambridge Dictionary of American English: "any economic or political system based on government ownership and control of important businesses and methods of production"

Riverside Webster's II New College Dictionary: "1. a. A social system in which the producers possess political power and the means of producing and distributing goods. b. The theory or practice of those who support such a social system. 2. Construction of the material base for Marxist-Leninist communism under the dictatorship of the proletariat."

Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus: "1. a political or economic theory in which community members own all property, resources, and the means of production, and control the distribution of goods. 2. the system of government that is based on this theory. 3. in Marxist-Leninist theory, the transition stage between capitalism and communism."

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition: "An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity. There are many varieties of socialism. Some socialists tolerate capitalism, as long as the government maintains the dominant influence over the economy; others insist on an abolition of private enterprise. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists."

The Century Dictionary: "Any theory or system of local organization which would abolish entirely, or in a greater part, the individual effort and competition on which modern society rests, and substitute co-operation; would introduce a more perfect and equal distribution of the products of labor; and would make land and capital, as the instruments of production, the joint possessions of the community."

Encarta® World English Dictionary: "1. political system of communal ownership: a political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles 2. movement based on socialism: any of several political movements or theories of the 19th and 20th centuries based on principles of socialism, typically advocating an end to private property and the exploitation of workers 3. stage between capitalism and communism: in Marxist theory, the stage after the proletarian revolution when a society is changing from capitalism to communism, marked by pay distributed according to work done rather than need"

Scott-Foresman Intermediate Dictionary: "1. theory or system of social organization by which the major means of production and distribution are owned, managed, or controlled by the government, by associations of workers, or by the community as a whole. 2. a political movement supporting or associated with this system."

Wordsmyth Children's Dictionary: "a theory of government in which the whole community rather than individuals owns all of its property and resources."

Noteable individuals

Noam Chomsky at Harvard in 2002. Getty Images/William B. Plowman Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an Institute Professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and creator of the Chomsky hierarchy, a classification of formal languages. His works in generative linguistics contributed significantly to the... Noam Chomsky: "Mastery over production by the producers is the essence of socialism" (The Soviet Union Versus Socialism)

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was... Vladimir Lenin: "socialism is nothing but state capitalist monopoly made to benefit the whole people"

Dr. Michael Parenti (born 1933) is an American political scientist and historian. As of June 2004, he has had 250 published articles and seventeen books. Parenti has described himself as a Marxist, though he maintains that the commentary in the U.S. often distorts this term. His book, The Assassination... Michael Parenti: "...public ownership of all the major means of production and public ownership of the wealth, the moneyed power itself..." (Democracy for the Few)

External links

Definitions of socialism from diverse sources (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=define%3ASocialism&btnG=Search)

Contrast: definitions of capitalism