Socialism was developed in opposition to the excesses and abuses of liberal individualism and capitalism. Under early capitalist economies during the late 18 and 19 centuries, Western European countries experienced industrial production and compound economic growth at a rapid pace.
Some individuals and families rose to riches quickly, while others sank into poverty, creating income inequality and other social concerns. Socialism is a populist economic and political system based on public ownership (also known as collective or common ownership) of the means of production.
Those means include the machinery, tools, and factories used to produce goods that aim to directly satisfy human needs. Communism and socialism are umbrella terms referring to two left-wing schools of economic thought; both oppose capitalism, but socialism predates the “Communist Manifesto,” an 1848 pamphlet by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, by a few decades.
In a purely socialist system, all legal production and distribution decisions are made by the government, and individuals rely on the state for everything from food to healthcare. The government determines the output and pricing levels of these goods and services.
Socialists contend that shared ownership of resources and central planning provide a more equal distribution of goods and services and a more equitable society.
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(India CSR)
