Socialism can refer to a large number of Political systems, almost all of which are
Left Wing. In general, Socialist systems want to redistribute wealth from those of greater means to those of lesser means. Here are the most common kinds of Socialism-
One feature of Socialism involves industries being controlled by the state, or "Nationalised". This is intended to allow all citizens to own the "means of production." Another common feature of Socialism involves higher taxes. This is meant to give the government more funds, so that they can provide higher quality welfare. Sometimes taxes are only slightly higher, and sometimes they are much higher, depending on how much the government wants to improve welfare. Many different countries do this in different ways.
Another feature of Socialism involves people working directly for the state, rather than private companies. The state pays the workers' wages, and the goods produced are used by the state, usually to improve the country. This form of Socialism is less common nowadays, but is still around in several countries.
A final kind of Socialism involves "Collectivisation". Under this system, money and goods are shared more equally among the people, with the government in control. In theory, this system results in the rich people losing money, and the poor people getting more money. If this is used on a very large scale in a country, it is known as "Communism".
Click to expand...