oxford dictionaries

so¦cial|ism

Noun [MASS NOUN]

-A political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

-(In Marxist theory) a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of Communism.

 

The term ‘socialism’ has been used to describe positions as far apart as anarchism, Soviet state Communism, and social democracy; however, it necessarily implies an opposition to the untrammelled workings of the economic market. The socialist parties that have arisen in most European countries from the late 19th century have generally tended towards social democracy

 

[SYNONYMS]

leftism, welfarism; radicalism, progressivism, social democracy; communism, Marxism, labor movement