What is socialism?
The nutshell
Socialism is a set of political ideas about running a country in a fairer, more equal way. It says the things that create wealth, such as factories, land and railways, should be owned by the community or the state rather than by private owners alone.
Every fact on this page comes from neutral reference sources and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like Brit — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What socialism means
Socialism is a set of political ideas about how a country should be run. It says the main things that create wealth, called the means of production (things like factories, land and railways), should be owned by the community or the state, not by private owners alone.Brit The aim is a fairer society, where the gap between rich and poor is smaller.NatGeo
Owned in common, not privately
In most countries today, private people and companies own most businesses and keep the profit. This is called capitalism.IEPSocialism turns that idea around. Under socialism, the community or the state owns the big industries, so any profit is meant to be shared for the good of everyone rather than kept by a few owners.NatGeo
Many kinds of socialism
There is no single form of socialism.IEP The forms range from social democracy, which keeps elections, private business and markets but adds strong public services and welfare, to revolutionary socialism, which wants the state to own almost all industry. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes communism as a more far-reaching, more radical form.Brit
Where socialism sits
Socialism is usually placed on the left of the political spectrum, the line that runs from left-wing to right-wing ideas.BritHow much a state should own, and how high taxes should be, are some of the biggest arguments in politics today.
- Shared ownership can spread wealth more evenly and shrink the gap between rich and poor
- Key services like healthcare can be run for everyone rather than for private profit
- A strong welfare state can protect anyone who loses a job or falls ill
- State control of business can make an economy slower and less inventive
- Higher taxes to pay for shared services leave less money in people's own pockets
- Giving the state too much power can limit personal freedom and choice
The deep end6 min
What socialism is, in full
Socialism is a broad family of political and economic ideas. What ties the family together is social ownership of the means of production — the factories, land, tools and resources used to make goods and money — in place of private ownership.IEPEncyclopaedia Britannica defines socialism as a doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of the major means of production, with the aim of distributing goods and services more equally.Brit
The forms socialism takes
There is no single socialist blueprint. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy records that how social ownership and planning should work in practice is disputed among socialists, and lists forms from central planning to market socialism.IEPTwo broad routes are often drawn. Social democracy keeps regular elections, private business and markets, and adds strong public services, welfare and higher taxes on wealth. Revolutionary socialism seeks common ownership of nearly all industry, and Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that communism takes a more radical form than mainstream socialism.Brit
Socialism, capitalism and the political divide
Socialism is usually set against capitalism, the system in which private people and companies own most businesses and keep the profit.IEPEncyclopaedia Britannica links the left of the political spectrum with egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major economic institutions, and records socialism as the standard left-wing idea in most countries.BritWhether more public ownership makes a society fairer or an economy less efficient is one of the longest-running arguments in politics, and it is a question voters settle at elections rather than one with a single agreed answer.