What is socialism and its basic forms

What is socialism?This term was first printed in the work of Pierre Leroux in 1834. However, the further definition of the concept was not formulated by him, denoting the opposite of "individualism." Around this time in England, this term was used by the followers of Owen. In those days, socialism generalized the teachings of the need for social transformation.

Community Socialism, which arose in the mid-19th centuryin Russia, became a clear example of the situation that prevailed at that time. It was A. I. Herzen in his works who drew attention to the communal order, which dominated the peasant world. In his opinion, they should have been the beginning of the establishment of the socialist system. The long-term experience of the communal system has led to the emergence of a whole range of measures that have supported the ruined farms. For the peasant community were characteristic features of the redistribution of land, mutual responsibility, collective decision-making.

Already after the passage of time, M. Tugan-Baranovsky wrote that the creators,

answering the question of what is socialism,We wanted to characterize the new social direction, which put forward the importance of cooperation in society. It was supposed to be the opposite of the economic school that dominated at that time and which recognized the sole entrepreneurship as the ideal of the economic system.

Based on the philosophical definition of whatsuch socialism, the political ideology was formulated, which put forward as a goal a society where there is no exploitation of man, but justice and social equality are affirmed. Rejecting national specifics, this concept has long been defined as a form of public organization, where the main productive means, as well as land, belong to the state, which organizes the management of the economy. In addition, it is engaged in the distribution of the products of labor in conjunction with the principle: "from each according to his ability, to each according to his work."

However, history has made its own adjustments.What is socialism in the modern sense? This is a society where state ownership of the means of production dominates in equality with other forms of ownership, including private ownership. In addition, he assumes a form of political power that is aimed at meeting the interests of the entire population.

Данное определение тесно связано с таким понятием as "democratic socialism." It means a society that has a diversified economy focused on the interests of the people, and state and public control has the same direction. The fundamental principles of democratic socialism are:

• social justice.This concept includes social relations that ensure fair wages, equal opportunities for any person and for cultural development, equal protection, and so on. In accordance with this principle, the subsoil, the forests, the water resources and the animal world are the property of the whole people;
• social equality implies ensuring the equality of all citizens, as well as political and cultural equality, equal social protection and guarantees.