Ok guys, it's 07 am in the morning over here and I haven't slept, hence my lazyness to correctly translate the following:
What the word socialism means in contemporary european politics (French definition taken from wikipedia):
The term socialism means a whole range of currents of thought and movements advocating a policies1 social and economic organization going in the
direction of greater justice, the latter assuming an equal conditions2. More broadly, the term socialism can be defined as a political tendency,
historically marked on the left, and aspiring to a better world based on a supposed harmonious social organization, as well as the fight against
injustice. If the roots of the socialist idea, the sense of finding an egalitarian and fraternal, are much older than the nineteenth century, the word
socialism itself into everyday speech from the 1820s, in the context of the industrial revolution and urbanization that accompanies this movement. The
term socialism means then a set of claims and ideas to improve the lot of workers, and wider population, through the replacement of capitalism by a
more just society assumed. The socialist idea, in many forms, grows throughout the nineteenth century and during its last third, gave birth around the
world to political parties claiming under various names (Social Democratic Labor Socialist, etc..)
VS American definition:
Socialism /ˈsoʊʃəlɪzəm/ is an economic system characterised by social ownership and/or control of the means of production and cooperative
management of the economy,[1] and a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of,
the following: cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership or autonomous state enterprises.[2] There are many variations of
socialism and as such there is no single definition encapsulating all of socialism.[3] They differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the
degree to which they rely on markets versus planning, how management is to be organised within economic enterprises, and the role of the state in
constructing socialism.[4]
A socialist economic system would consist of an organisation of production to directly satisfy economic demands and human needs, so that goods and
services would be produced directly for use instead of for private profit driven by the accumulation of capital, and accounting would be based on
physical quantities, a common physical magnitude, or a direct measure of labour-time.[5][6] Distribution of output would be based on the principle of
individual contribution.
Conclusion: Context matters
TLDR:
In europe the word socialism = Leftist, liberal, Social justice
In the U.S, the word socialism = Communism
edit on 13-5-2012 by oniris because: (no reason given)
In soviet russia, the U.S are socialist
edit on 13-5-2012 by oniris because: (no reason given)