Socialism definitions

• Evolutionary socialism: Rather than a radical change, via a revolution, socialism is achieved gradually within the pre existing parliamentary structure. Socialism will therefore emerge in a gradual piecemeal fashion via the state.
• capitalism: An economic system, organised by the market, and based on private property, free enterprise and competition between individuals and companies.
• Cooperation: Individuals working collectively to achieve mutual benefit with the fraternal belief that humans work best when working together.
• Fraternity: Humans regarding each other as siblings rather than rivals. Relationships are not based on competition or enmity but on generosity and solidarity.
• Common ownership: Common ownership is the opposite of private ownership that exists with the fee market capitalist economy. Common ownership means that the state and the public have ownership of property and economy.
• Mixed economy: An economic system that combines private and state enterprise.
• Keynesian economics: Economist John Maynard Keynes argued that governments should stimulate economic demand in times of recession via state spending. Governments should also state manage the economy by using tax and interest rates to influence demand and prevent recessions.
• Utilitarianism: A doctrine that states that an action is right if it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people is the most important principle.
• Communism: A society that is communally organised with an economy built on common ownership, in which goods are held in common and are available to all as needed.
• Marxism: An ideological and revolutionary set of ideas explaining the inevitable demise of capitalism by communism. Engels assisted Marx in his writings but Marx is often individually credited for this theory. Marx and Engels advocated it as a scientific theory of history.
• Historical materialism: A theory that argues that economic factors are the driving force for changing events. This economic base forms and shapes the superstructure, which is made up of culture, politics, law, religion, ideology and social consciousness.
• Dialectic: A clash of ideas and perceptions between each stage of history. It occurs when the pre existing set of values of society, as understood by the ruling class, are no longer valued by the majority. A new society will be born from these two opposing tensions.
• Class consciousness: The moment when the proletariat realised that capitalism is exploiting them, thus empowering them to begin the collective struggle of revolution, after which communism, the perfect socialist society, will be established.
• Revisionism: To review and change a political theory. For example, social democracy revised the ideas of democratic socialism. To differentiate between the types of revisionism the term neo revsionism is sometimes used, for example the third way, a revision of Sofia democracy, is sometimes called neo revisionism.
• Social justice: A moral justification to redistribute wealth so as to limit inequality and provide an equality of opportunity for everyone in society.