The difference between Communism and Socialism

Communism can be described as a social organizational system where the community owns the

property and each individual contributes and receives wealth according to their needs and ability.

Socialism is an economic theory where the means of production, distribution, and exchange are

owned and controlled by the society as a whole. Wealth distribution in socialism is done according to

a person’s efforts and contribution.

In reality, communism is a subsection of socialism.

Socialism was the ideology of Robert Owen. (1771 to 1858)

Robert Owen was a businessman and social activist who sought to bring in new utopian ideals for

business and local communities. His textile factory in Scotland was an influential experiment in

improving the conditions of factory workers. Owen was an early socialist, co-operative and utopian

thinker and is often termed the ‘father of British socialism’.

He was not just interested in running a successful business. He was also keen to improve the working

conditions and life of the workers. Workers received little, if any, education and had few prospects.

Owen was a great believer that man was shaped by his environment and surroundings. Therefore, he

felt it his duty as a manager to offer education and respectable surroundings for his extended family.

He increasingly began to feel that the solution was the creation of independent ‘utopian communities’

of between 500 to 3,000 people who would work co-operatively for the common good. In these utopian

communities, there would be no private property, just a community based on sharing the common good

with equal wages.

In 1825, he sought to implement his vision of a utopian community in America, called ‘New Harmony’.

He sank much of his capital into this experiment, but unfortunately it was not a lasting success.

His socialism was a different brand to the later socialist movements which emphasized relying on the

working classes to agitate for better conditions. However, he still raised in the public consciousness the

ideal of communities working together and ending inequality based on ownership of property.

Extracted and edited from: https://www.biographyonline.net/business/robert-owen.html

Communism began with ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels – The Communist Manifesto

Marx: 1818-1883, Engels: 1820-1895

Marx maintained that progress would best be founded on a proper understanding of industry, the

origins of wealth, and a realistic view of social conflict. Struggle between economic classes, with the

possibility of revolution, is the inevitable fate of European society. Marx argued that the working-class

has become the ideal vehicle for social revolution.

Workers in a capitalistic economic system become trapped in a vicious circle: the harder they work, the

more resources in the natural world are appropriated for production, which leaves fewer resources for

the workers to live on, so that they have to pay for their own livelihood out of their wages, to earn

which they must work even harder. There is no escape for the "wage slave."

In the modern, industrial world, the most significant classes are the bourgeoisie, people who own land,

resources, factories, and other means of production, and the proletariat, people who work for wages. In

its efforts to succeed, the bourgeoisie must constantly revise and renew the means of production,

ensuring a constant infusion of capital by building larger cities, promoting new products, and securing

cheaper commodities.

As capital increases and the means of production expand, the labor of the proletariat becomes ever less

valuable. The workers have little political influence. Even small shopkeepers and skilled laborers are

encouraged to join with the bourgeoisie instead of expressing their natural alliance with wage workers.

Marx and Engels noted, the proletariat constitutes a majority of the population, and the prospect of its

organization for effective political action is what raised the threat of Communism in industrial Europe.

Part II of the Manifesto declares the intention of communism to overthrow the bourgeoisie and to

situate all political power in the proletariat instead.

Child labor would be ended, and universal education would guarantee that future generations have

greater control of their own destiny. Women would be empowered in their own right as workers,

instead of being dominated by male bourgeois. Progressive taxation would provide for a re-distribution

of capital, and the struggle between classes would be ended.

The Manifesto wants to position the Communist Party favorably in relation to other social and political

movements of the nineteenth century. Its conclusion is a stirring call for political action by the great,

sleeping giant of the proletariat.

Extracted and edited from: http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/5o.htm

Basis for Comparison COMMUNISM SOCIALISM

Meaning A social organization system that focuses on communal ownership and eliminating class distinctions

A theory of social organization where there is public or cooperative ownership of the means of production

Ideology Political and Economic

Economic

Proposed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Robert Owen

Main Idea To achieve equality among members of society and promoting a classless society

To achieve equality and fairness among the society members

Basis of Wealth Distribution

According to the needs

According to the efforts or contribution

Means of Production Equally owned by the members of the state

Owned by the citizens

Management of Resources

Relies on a few people belonging to a particular authoritarian party

Done by the people

Ownership of personal property

No Yes

Capitalism It removes capitalism Can exist in socialism

Key Differences between Communism and Socialism

1. Communism is defined as the system of social organization where the focus is made on

communal ownership and a classless society. Socialism refers to the social organization

in which there is public or cooperative ownership of the means of production.

2. Communism is both political as well as economic theory while socialism is an economic

theory.

3. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the German Philosophers, propounded the concept of

communism whereas Robert Owen propounded Socialism.

4. The theme of communism is to achieve equality among members of society and

advocates a society free from class. On the other hand, achieving equality and fairness

among the society members is the main idea of socialism.

5. In communism, the wealth is distributed among the people according to their needs.

Conversely, in socialism, the distribution of wealth is based on the contribution made by

them.

6. The members of the state collectively own the means of production in communism. As

opposed to socialism where the means of production are owned by the citizens.

7. In communism, the management of resources lies in the hands of few people belonging to a

particular authoritarian party. In the case of socialism, the management of resources is done by the people.

8. Communism does not allow people to own personal property, but this is not so in the

case of socialism.

9. Communism tries to remove capitalism, whereas, in socialism, somehow capitalism

exists.

Conclusion: Both the ideologies promote secularism (i.e. Rejects religion). Communism has lost

its existence with the passage of time. The only reason for the non-existence of communism in

most of the countries is that it removes the incentives that inspire people to work harder. The

man who works hard will receive the same amount of money as an idle man gets. However,

Socialism still exists in many countries.