LibGuides: English: Capitalism/Socialism

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Featured Reference Resources: Research Starters/Topic Overviews

Capitalism vs. Socialism: An Overview
The economic system of capitalism, under which goods and services are privately owned and distributed, competition is actively promoted, and resources must be earned by citizens, stands in contrast to the economic system of socialism, under which emphasis is placed on governmental ownership of the means of production, and resources are distributed to citizens. While the United States is, and always has been, a capitalist society, several countries operate under some form of a socialist regime.
Economic Systems: Capitalism
The theories of socialism and capitalism have been competing for more than a century. For Karl Marx, capitalism was a system that promoted class domination and oppression. The Marxist version of socialism as tested in the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, and other places has failed. Lack of individual freedom caused human suffering and economic ruin. The failure of this dramatic approach has not killed the approach itself. On the other hand, the basic principles of capitalism of voluntary exchange, free trade between nations, and the self-directed market via the "invisible hand" have been accepted by most as fundamental to a successful economy.
Economic Systems: Socialism
Dissatisfaction with the status quo has long driven philosophers and theorists to search for the ideal society. Socialism offered an alternative that promised to erase the class conflict and social problems that appeared to be a direct result of the prevailing capitalist system. As with any political philosophy, within the history and development of socialism there have been significant differences among socialist thinkers about what socialism means, how it can be implemented, and how it might provide a way to reach the ideal or utopian society.
Gale in Context: Topic Overview - Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are owned by private individuals or corporations. Labor, goods, and wealth are traded in markets; profits from these exchanges go to the owners of the means of production. Capitalism emerged in Europe in the eighteenth century after the end of feudalism and has since spread throughout much of the world. Some economists characterize capitalism as a system in which markets can naturally regulate themselves, while others cast it as a system that rewards exploitation and depends on social inequality.
Gale in Context: Topic Overview - Socialism
Socialism refers to several economic models in which the community shares ownership over the means of producing goods and services. Under socialism, representative organizations, including government agencies or trade unions, work to maintain the economy's health, which may include setting the prices of goods and services and determining how resources will be used and distributed. Collective ownership and economic planning are present in all forms of socialism, with the degree in which each is implemented varying greatly.
Socialism in the United States
Socialism describes economic and social systems in which the means of production are socially owned, and workers are responsible for managing themselves. Ownership may be citizen ownership of equity, collective or cooperative ownership, or social ownership and involve machinery and tools as well as facilities and factories where goods that are necessary are produced. The government’s role is to oversee production and distribution and ensure that individuals’ needs, including basics such as food and health care, are met. However, most socialism does not follow this strict definition, but rather involves a melding of several economic systems.

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