Socialism

Socialism refers to a set of related socio-economic systems and ideologies that seek to transfer ownership of the means of production and distribution to the working class. Before Marx and Engels began writing, it referred largely to those ideologies that they referred to as 'utopian socialism'. Utopian socialists imagined a perfect egalitarian society, but didn't work on how to get there. Marx and Engels used 'socialism' and 'communism' interchangeably to refer to a classless and stateless society (by state, they were referring to a tool of the ruling class). However, currently it is used mainly to refer to a 'stepping stone between communism and capitalism' in which class would still exist, a usage begun mainly by Lenin. It is also used as a smear by some parties against their opponents, utilizing Cold War propaganda.

People who believe in socialism are referred to as 'socialists'. Stalinist Russia is generally accepted to be a departure from socialism, and is occasionally referred to as 'state capitalism', 'bureacratic state despotism', a 'degenerated worker's state' by Trotskyists, or simply 'statism'.

While socialism is revolutionary, in that it seeks to change the inside mechanisms of society, it does not necessarily require violent revolution. Many socialists support a revolution through the ballot, with others, such as De Leonists, advocating both industrial and political organization, though 'where the ballot is silenced, the bullet must speak'.

Branches

Socialism can be divided into several branches. The most notable branches of socialism are:

• Democratic socialism - Democratic socialism, as defined by Peter Hain, is an anti-authoritatarian form of socialism. Unlike Marxism, democratic socialism emphasizes on grassroots participation of the people, i.e. grassroots democracy. It rejects the Marxist notion of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" and and also rejects the Marxist idea of a violent revolution. Rather it believes in a social revolution which will ultimately led to a socialist society. Democratic socialism emphasizes on participation of the workers in the industry and advocated workers' control, i.e. industries should be managed by the workers themselves, not by the party appointed state bureaucrats.
• Communism - Technically communism means a classless and stateless society. According to Marx, the transition phase between capitalism and communism is the "dictatorship of the proletariat" and he described this phase as socialism. In everyday conversation, by communism we actually mean this transitory phase. The Marxist fantasy of classless and stateless society never happened. Lenin modified Marxism more and emphasized the role of party and established "dictatorship of the proletariat" dictatorship of the party bosses over the people. This Leninist version of "socialism" gradually resulted in the rise of Stalin and ... you know what happened. The Marxist notion of community ownership of industry, i.e. state ownership of industry, is actually noting but a rigid state bureaucracy. State ownership does not result in "community ownership", but it results in ownership of the industry by the state bureaucrats and those who are ruling the state.
• Libertarian socialism - Libertarian socialism is a strictly anti-authoritarian socialism. It rejects the Marxist notion of "dictatorship of the proletariat" and aims to create a classless society free from any coercive institution. Some authors use libertarian socialism synonymously with anarchism, but this not right. Libertarian socialists agree with anarchists on their view on state, but anarchism encompasses many theories, there are many branches of anarchism. But libertarian socialism can be equated with only three forms of anarchism, anarcho-communism, anarchist collectivism and anarcho-syndicalism. Libertarian socialism also includes social ecology, autonomism and council communism. Libertarian socialists are vehemently opposed to concentration of power in the hands of few people. This is why they oppose the state and advocate workers' control of the industry (i.e. the industry should be owned and managed by the workers' themselves) and direct democracy.

Democrats

Some people say that the Democrats are socialist, specifically Obama and Hillary Clinton, at least in 2008. This is bullshit. It is a rumour spread to take advantage of the Cold War. The Democrats are typically capitalist, and, in fact, moderate conservatives, and if they even became Social Democrats (such as the right wing of the Socialist Party USA) by moving to the left a little (Actually a lot), they would start being ignored by the Media.

Why are the Democrats not socialist? Well, it's quite simple. Rather than going into every single way in which they're not, let us look at possibly the most important aspect of socialism, that the means of production is given to the working class, thus abolishing class. The Democrats do not support this, and thus they are not socialists.

British Labour Party

The British Labour Party were social democrats, or 'reformists'. The New Labour Party (Tony Blair and those other idiots) are conservatives.

What is socialism?

Marx and Engels saw socialism as a classless and stateless society. However, as the word 'socialism' was used to refer to mainly the utopian socialists at the time that they wrote the 'Communist Manifesto', they used the term 'communist', which at the time referred to the more practical workers' movements. Later on, once the utopian socialists became rare, they began to use the word 'socialism' more often instead of 'communism' to mean the same thing.

Giving power to the workers is a major part of socialism, and, as the bourgeoisie could not exist if the means of production were transferred to the proletariat, it would turn into a classless society. Marx famously advocated a 'dictatorship of the proletariat', but this is only in the same sense that democracy is a 'dictatorship of the majority', and many models of socialism advocate a worker's decentralized democracy, in which people are elected by the industry that they work in, and can be removed at any time.

According to some people (whose identities you may only guess at), socialism advocates the redistribution of wealth. However, Marx advocated labour vouchers, which are given out based on work done, and do not circulate. This has been advocated by many socialists and communists, though others, such as the members of the World Socialist Movement, believe that there should be 'free access', with no labour vouchers, money, etc. However, it is debated how they should be given out, with some saying that it should depend only on hours worked, while others, such as Daniel De Leon, proposed that it should be decided by other factors, such as the amount of time necessary to make a product compared to other products, and the amount of people willing to do the job (which would mean that dangerous and otherwise undesirable jobs would result in higher compensation).

Another quote by Marx that is often taken to imply 'wealth redistribution' is, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". However, this quote actually originates from Louis Blanc, a utopian socialist, and it is quite likely that Marx was simply being sarcastic at the expense of utopian socialists, due to his references to labour being "not only a means of life but life's prime want":

In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-around development of the individual, and all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly—only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

Socialism and religion

Karl Marx one wrote that religion was "the opiate of the people". Or, in full:

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man—state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

Of course, this is simply Marx's belief, and thus religious socialism still exists, as the system of socialism is not opposed to religion in any way. Marx does not advocate the banning of religion, and instead says that it is simply a way to cope, and a way to see something bright at the end of the tunnel when one is faced with the injustices of feudal and capitalist society, and says that the criticism of religion is thus the criticism of the conditions that breed it. Saying that this means that socialism includes the banning of religion is like saying that if Marx did not eat broccoli, socialism thus includes the banning of broccoli.

As for the phrase itself, opium in Marx's time was an important painkiller, a source of extraordinary visions for 'opium eaters', the cause of important conflicts such as the Opium Wars, and also used by parents to keep their children quiet. It is likely that Marx was alluding to some or all of these.

Libertarian socialism

Libertarian socialism, which describes most forms of anarchism, is when the government is destroyed immediately after the revolution, and there are no hierarchies. Regular Marxists criticize it, as anarchists are largely apolitical, often preferring sabotage and such to organization, and also often don't believe in any form of governance. Marx and Bakunin, an early libertarian socialist, had a strong rivalry due to Bakunin's attempts to take over the First International, but since then, many Marxists have integrated elements of libertarian socialism into their belief system, such as in De Leonism, which adds elements of anarch-syndicalism to orthodox Marxism.

Of course, libertarianism is now used to refer to 'classic liberalism', but that is not what is referred to by 'libertarian' in the term 'libertarian socialism', as 'libertarianism' is actually the antonym of 'authoritarianism'. The adoption of this name is probably in criticism of Marxism, which was often referred to by libertarian socialists such as Bakunin as being too 'authoritarian'. This leads some people to conclude that Stalin learnt what Marx believed from Bakunin, rather than his actual beliefs.

Examples of socialist countries in history

...There are none. The closest we have come to socialism has been the Paris Commune.

Socialism and patriotism

Socialism and patriotism/nationalism are typically in opposition and socialists are generally against the concept of nations, seeing them as an unnecessary division. To quote E. V. Debs, early leader of the SPUSA (he started as a social democrat, and then turned to socialism along the lines of De Leonism. He ran for President while locked in jail for protesting against the first World War), "I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world." They often view patriotism and nationalism as simply ways to divide the working class, like racism and sexism.