Socialism is a type of government based on the principles of equitable distribution of public goods. In the history of mankind, there were many concepts of the socialist system and several examples of their practical implementation
Instruction manual
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The term "socialism" first appears in the work of Pierre Leroux "Individualism and Socialism" (1834) as a non-strict concept. Contrasting it with individualism, Leroux offers something similar to the principle of collegiality in the Russian tradition. The first theorists of socialist ideas can be considered Hegel, Saint-Simon, later this topic was raised in the works of Fourier, Proudhon. The principles of socialism imply the elimination of the exploitation of man by man (characteristic of capitalism) and the rejection of private property.
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Toward the end of the 19th century, the anarchist trend of socialism took shape (most vividly represented by Bakunin, Kropotkin). Anarchists believed that a fair distribution of goods is in principle impossible, as long as the state exists. Therefore, in their opinion, it is necessary to strive for its elimination.
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The most famous interpretation of the ideas of socialism belongs to the German philosopher and economist Karl Marx. In his theory of socio-economic formations (that is, historically established forms), socialism is an intermediate step between capitalism and communism. Marx criticized capitalism: (the means of production are concentrated in the hands of a minority, hence the workers do not own the results of their labor, and the gap between the wealthy and the poorest segments of the population is widening), and he saw a model of a just society in communism. To this end, he proposed transferring land resources into the hands of the state, gradually erasing the border between the city and the countryside, and through the proletarianization of the population, gradually destroying class society. Unlike anarchists, Marxists admitted the possibility of establishing socialism in a democratic rather than revolutionary way.
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In a wider context, the roots of socialism as a just society go back to antiquity. A similar device system was described by Plato in his “State”: each member of the society takes the position assigned to him, working in the sphere most suited to his abilities. Then the theme reappeared in the Renaissance: in the works of T. More (his "Utopia" - that is, "a place that does not exist" gave the name to the whole direction), T. Campanella and other authors.
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The real embodiment of socialist ideas took place in Russia after the October Revolution, as well as in some countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, China and several other states. In most of them, the ideas of Marxist-Leninist ideology have proved their low efficiency. At the same time, in the countries of Northern Europe since the end of the 20th century, socialist parties have regularly come to power, providing budget financing of most socially significant institutions (education, healthcare, support for the poor) through high taxes. However, this model is often criticized.
