By: Mary LeClair and Erin Larrabee

Socialism

What is Socialism?

Socialism is economic and political theories that advocate collective (or governmental) ownership and administration of production and distribution of goods.

How does it work?

The citizens of a socialist society forfeit power to government in order to reach equality among all people, creating utopia. ( a perfect society)

Government own and control all production means and distribution of goods.

According to Marx’s theory socialism is between capitalism and communism, and eventually becomes communism sometime almost unknowingly.

History• Count Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825) is

accountable to first conceiving the word socialism.

• Socialism was created with the idea of an Utopian society.

• Most of today’s socialists were inspired by the Soviet Union’s model of centrally focused economies.

• Vladimir Lennon described Socialism as “a transitional stage between capitalism and communism”.

History (cont.)

• The basic ideas began in the 19th century with the problems of industrialization. Some people planned and created socialist communities, where everything was shared equally.

• After WWI, there was a rise in democratic socialism in Europe, such as Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Examples of Socialist Economies

• Hungary, with leader Janos Kornai.

• India• The Socialist

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Types of Govt. with Socialism

• Social Anarchism• Libertarian Marxism• Meritocracy• Egalitarianism• The “Left Party” in Germany

Advantages

provides a stable economy as long as supply meets demand.

free healthcare, and schooling. Many Asian socialist countries are still

standing from the first wave of socialism.

Disadvantages

Higher taxes, because government pays for more services.

Not exactly a concrete philosophy.Lack of a price technique, so cannot efficiently

communicate price quotas.

Prediction

• We believe that in the future, there will still be some countries that will still have socialist economies. We can’t decide whether or not there will be as many as there are now or not, but I think we both agree on the fact that China will probably change into some other form of economy. I also think that North Korea will change as soon as Kim Jong Il has died, but I don’t know what Mary thinks.

Works Cited• "Cold War History Research Center, finding aids". Finding Aids. February 8,

2010 <http://www.coldwar.hu/html/en/finding_aids/flags/Flag_USSR.jpg>.

• Wikipedia, "Socialism- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". Wikipedia. February 8, 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism>.

• Remy, Richard C.. United States Government: Democracy in Action. Columbus, OH: Glencoe, 2006.

• HowStuffWorks. "Introduction to How Socialism Works". HowStuffWorks. February 9, 2010 <http://money.howstuffworks.com/socialism.htm>.

• Georgia Southern . "Page 4". February 9, 2010 <http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/professional/TechWrite/6-1/bridges/ChineseFlag.jpg>.

• Weshallfightthemonthebeaches. "What does a flag represent?". Weshallfightthemonthebeaches. February 8, 2010 <http://weshallfightthemonthebeaches.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/what-does-a-flag-represent/>.

Works Cited (Cont.)• National Geographic. "Hungary- Photo -- National Geographic". National

Geographic. February 9, 2010 <http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_hungary_hungary.html>.

• National Geographic. "Hungary- Photo -- National Geographic". National Geographic. February 9, 2010 <http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_hungary_hungary.html>.

• NOMADICMATT. "Top Ten Historical Sites in the World". nomadicmatt.com. February 9, 2010 <http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/ten-historical-sites/>.

• Drexler, Kenneth. "World War I Resources". the Library of Congress. February 10, 2010 <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/wwi/wwi.html>.

• "New Page 1". Yugoslavia Seek. February 9, 2009 <http://www.yugoslaviaseek.com/places.htm>.