1 definition by Niallcroydon

A political and economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control, through which the government hopes to stop or reduce poverty, unemployment and exploitation. Looks good on paper but fails because it doesn't understand the extremely complex nature of business and works off the insulting notion that people are ants and will work for no reward or acknowledgement of their skills, hardwork or efficiency.

Most countries experience huge falls in the standard of living under socialist states due to massive mismanagement of the economic system and the general failure to realise the importance of private businesses in wealth creation and
living standards. Under a socialist system businesses suffer huge drops in efficiency because of central planning and lack of competition, although they can produce basic requirements such as food and clothing they cannot produce
other items that are not required but are in demand such as computers or about anything else that made your life fun.
Also more people are required to produce everything due to the massive drop in efficiency, although you have more people employed than in a capitalist system they produce far fewer goods at a far greater cost.

There are only 10 current real socialist states: Angola, China, Cuba, Congo (republic of), North Korea, Libya, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Syria and Vietnam. Some people claim that socialism is the next thing after capitalism, these are mainly white middle class students who have not studied business (you find few business studies students who have anything good to say about socialism)and socialism's greatest flaw is that it goes against basic laws of business which will do not change, also the current socialist states have some of the worlds lowest living standards and there numbers are constantly shrinking and no new ones are likely to develop whilst capitalist systems are growing all the time and have grater living standards (even for the working class).

Like Communism, Socialism is a utopian vision of society that is simply unworkable, this is because it was developed by Marx and Engels in Russia under a autocratic system where 85% people had to work for 16 hours a day to survive and were basically slaves. However society has changed a great deal and such injustices no longer exist, any attempts to get socialism to work today are stupid at best and suicidal at worst.
Contrary to what some of you idiots are saying neither Canada or any country in Western Europe is socialist or even close to it. Socialism is dead, write that in your scrap book hippie
by Niallcroydon October 29, 2006
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