Meaning & use
socialism
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Meanings
noununcountable
A set of political and economic ideas that favor shared public ownership of major industries and a fairer spread of wealth.
Grammar: Uncountable and not capitalized: support socialism.
Patterns
- socialism in a country
- democratic socialism
Some parties argue for socialism through elections.
Debates over socialism shaped the century.
The country experimented with socialism after the revolution.
noununcountablespecialist
In Marxist theory, the stage between capitalism and full communism.
Grammar: Uncountable; used in political history.
Marx described socialism as a transition stage.
Common combinations
- democratic socialism
- Democratic socialism seeks change through elections.
- advocate socialism
- She advocates socialism.
- state socialism
- State socialism controlled industry.
- socialism versus capitalism
- The class compared socialism versus capitalism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- collectivism
- A broader idea that groups matter more than individuals.
- communism
- A more radical system with no private property.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: socialism or communism?
socialism vs communism
Communism aims at a classless society with no private property, while socialism often keeps some markets.
Practice
Socialism is most closely associated with:
Choose one answer.
Socialism favors collective ownership. Unrestricted private markets describe laissez-faire capitalism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “socialism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.