Socialism and communism are distinct ideologies, despite the fact that the phrases are sometimes used synonymously.
In essence, socialism and communism are economic ideologies that support public ownership over private ownership, particularly when it comes to the means of producing, distributing, and exchanging things (i.e., creating money) in a society. Both seek to address issues that they believe were brought about by a free-market capitalist system, such as worker exploitation and a growing wealth gap.
However, despite certain fundamental parallels, socialism and communism also have significant distinctions.
Marxist Theory and the Development of Communism
The dramatic economic and social transformations brought on by the Industrial Revolution, particularly the struggles of workers, gave rise to socialism. Despite the fact that factory owners and other entrepreneurs amassed enormous fortune, many workers were more and more poor.
In the first half of the 19th century, early socialist theorists such as Henri de Saint-Simon, Robert Owen, and Charles Fourier proposed their own models for reorganizing society along the lines of cooperation and community rather than the competition inherent in capitalism, where the free market determined the supply and demand of goods.[A]
Then came Karl Marx, a German economist and political philosopher who would later rank among the most important socialist theorists in history. In 1848, Marx and his partner Friedrich Engels produced The Communist Manifesto, which contained a chapter denouncing past socialist models as “utopian” fantasies that could never come true.
According to Marx, all history is the chronicle of class conflicts, and the working class (also known as the proletariat) will inevitably defeat the capitalist class (also known as the bourgeoisie) and seize control of the means of production, eliminating all other classes for all time.
Marx’s views, followed to their logical conclusion, came to define communism, also known as revolutionary socialism, which emerged as a response to the Industrial Revolution. In actuality, Marxists frequently refer to socialism as the initial, crucial step on the path from capitalism to communism. Marx and Engels themselves failed to consistently or clearly distinguish between communism and socialism, which contributed to the persistence of the two concepts’ confusion.
What Distinguishes Socialism From Communism
There is no such thing as private property under communism. Each person receives a piece of the collectively owned property according to their needs. The state, a powerful central government, oversees all element of economic output and offers citizens their basic needs, such as food, housing, healthcare, and education.
In contrast, people can still own property under socialism. However, industrial production—the main source of income creation—is collectively owned and overseen by a democratically elected government.
The means by which they are accomplished are another significant distinction between socialism and communism. A bloody revolution pitting the working class against the middle and upper classes is viewed in communism as a necessary step toward establishing a wholly communist society. The philosophy of socialism is more open and less strict. Although its followers advocate for change and reform, they frequently insist on enacting these changes through democratic channels inside the current social and political order rather than overturning it.
Marx encapsulated the communist ethos in his 1875 essay Critique of the Gotha Program with the phrase “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Socialism, on the other hand, is predicated on the notion that people will be compensated in accordance with their level of personal economic contribution.
A socialist economic system encourages creativity and individual work, in contrast to communism. The most popular variety of modern socialism, social democracy, emphasizes implementing social changes and income redistribution through democratic methods. It can coexist with a free-market capitalist economy.
Communism and Socialism in Real Life
The Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, put Marxist theory into effect during the 1917 Russian Revolution, which resulted in the establishment of the first communist regime in history. The Soviet Union was a communist country until it was overthrown in 1991.
Though a truly communist state has never existed, communism and socialism are still in place today in China, Cuba, North Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. These nations can all be categorized as communist because in each of them, the entire political and economic system is under the control of the central government. The communist doctrine necessitates the abolition of private property, money, and class hierarchies, yet none of them have succeeded in doing so.
In the same way, no nation in history has ever attained total socialism. Even nations like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which some believe to be socialist states, have prosperous capitalist sectors and adhere to social democratic policies in substantial measure. With varied degrees of success, many nations in Europe and Latin America have enacted socialist policies (such as free public college tuition, universal health care, and subsidized child care) and even chosen socialist leaders.
Socialism has historically had less success in the United States as a political movement. When Eugene V. Debs of the Socialist Party gained 6% of the vote for president in 1912, it reached its zenith. However, American programs that were formerly viewed as socialism, like Medicare and Social Security, have been incorporated into daily life.
Democratic Socialism: What Is It?
America once considered socialism to be politically taboo. Democratic socialism is a strong political position right now. Democratic socialism straddles the line between communism and social democracy. Democratic socialists, like communists, hold the view that workers should be in charge of the majority of the means of production and not be subject to the dictates of the free market and the capitalist classes. However, they contend that democratic means, not violent revolution, is the only way to realize their vision of socialism.[B]
Despite the fact that the concept of balancing the distribution of wealth is not new, the “socialism” that has come to represent this philosophy is. In contrast to the private ownership and free market that underpin capitalism, the phrase typically refers to cooperatively held firms and systems of government in which employees and governmental bodies have more control over the means of production and distribution of commodities.
