When was socialism invented

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Google Scholar. Makoto Itoh 1 1. University of Tokyo Japan. Personalised recommendations. Cite chapter How to cite? ENW EndNote. Buy options. One of the first thinkers called a "socialist" was Robert Owen, an idealistic Welsh mill owner who in the s created a number of short-lived "utopian" communities — basically, collectives — in Britain and the American Midwest.

But socialism really took off in midcentury, spurred by the writings of German philosopher Karl Marx and the rise of labor unions.

How did it spread to the U. The first socialist to hold public office in the U. Debs see below , a fiery railroad-union leader who ran for president five times. But by the s, U. What happened? In , Congress passed the Espionage Act, making it a crime to speak out against the war or oppose the draft. Thousands of socialists, including Debs, were subsequently arrested. At the same time, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution caused a "red scare" in the U. Suspected radicals were rounded up and jailed, and nativists demanded an end to immigration from Italy and Eastern Europe, which they saw as hotbeds of communist sentiment.

Is socialism the same as communism? Marx envisioned communism as a higher and purer form of socialism, in which all private property would become obsolete, class distinctions would dissolve, and goods and services would flow freely, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

During the Cold War, "socialist" and "communist" were often used interchangeably in the U. Is socialism un-American? Many Americans have conflicted attitudes about socialism, best illustrated by the Tea Party activists who demanded that "government get its hands off my Medicare. Why the huge disparity? People in their 20s have no memory of the Soviet Union or the Cold War, but did come of age during and after the financial crisis. Though Marx died in , his influence on socialist thought only grew after his death.

His ideas were taken up and expanded upon by various political parties such as the German Social Democratic Party and leaders like Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong. Christian socialism, or collective societies formed around Christian religious principles. Anarchism saw not just capitalism but government as harmful and unnecessary.

Social democracy held that socialist aims could be achieved through gradual political reform rather than revolution. In the 20th century—particularly after the Russian Revolution of and the formation of the Soviet Union—social democracy and communism emerged as the two most dominant socialist movements throughout the world.

Soviet and other communists joined forces with other socialist movements in resisting fascism. With the collapse of these regimes in the late s, and the ultimate fall of the Soviet Union itself in , communism as a global political force was greatly diminished. Meanwhile, over the course of the 20th century, social democratic parties won support in many European countries by pursuing a more centrist ideology. Their ideas called for a gradual pursuit of social reforms like public education and universal healthcare through the processes of democratic government within a largely capitalist system.

In the United States, the Socialist Party never enjoyed the same success as in Europe, reaching its peak of support in , when Eugene V. But social reform programs like Social Security and Medicare, which opponents once denounced as socialist, became over time a well-accepted part of American society.

Some liberal politicians in the United States have embraced a variation on social democracy known as democratic socialism. This calls for following socialist models in Scandinavia, Canada, Great Britain and other nations, including single-payer health care, free college tuition and higher taxes on the wealthy.

On the other side of the political spectrum, conservative U. They point to authoritarian socialist regimes such as that of Venezuela to raise concerns about big government. The wide range of interpretations and definitions of socialism across the political spectrum, and the lack of a common understanding of what socialism is or how it looks in practice reflects its complicated evolution.

Nonetheless, socialist parties and ideas continue to influence policy in nations around the world. Fall Edition, Edward N. Zalta ed. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.