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Democracy 3 socialist paradise7/30/2023 Its adherents seek change and reform, but often insist on making these changes through democratic processes within the existing social and political structure, not overthrowing that structure. Socialism is a less rigid, more flexible ideology. In communism, a violent revolution in which the workers rise up against the middle and upper classes is seen as an inevitable part of achieving a pure communist state. But industrial production, or the chief means of generating wealth, is communally owned and managed by a democratically elected government.Īnother key difference in socialism versus communism is the means of achieving them. A strong central government-the state-controls all aspects of economic production, and provides citizens with their basic necessities, including food, housing, medical care and education.īy contrast, under socialism, individuals can still own property. All property is communally owned, and each person receives a portion based on what they need. Under communism, there is no such thing as private property. Key Differences Between Communism and Socialism Marx and Engels themselves didn’t consistently or clearly differentiate communism from socialism, which helped ensure lasting confusion between the two terms. In fact, Marxists often refer to socialism as the first, necessary phase on the way from capitalism to communism. Marx argued that all history was a history of class struggles, and that the working class (or proletariat) would inevitably triumph over the capital class (bourgeoisie) and win control over the means of production, forever erasing all classes.Ĭommunism, sometimes referred to as revolutionary socialism, also originated as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, and came to be defined by Marx’s theories-taken to their extreme end. With his collaborator Friedrich Engels, Marx published The Communist Manifesto in 1848, which included a chapter criticizing those earlier socialist models as utterly unrealistic “utopian” dreams. Then came Karl Marx, the German political philosopher and economist who would become one of the most influential socialist thinkers in history. In the first half of the 19th century, early socialist thinkers like Henri de Saint-Simon, Robert Owen and Charles Fourier presented their own models for reorganizing society along the lines of cooperation and community, rather than the competition inherent in capitalism, where the free market controlled the supply and demand of goods. Many workers grew increasingly poor even as factory owners and other industrialists accrued massive wealth. Socialism emerged in response to the extreme economic and social changes caused by the Industrial Revolution, and particularly the struggles of workers.
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