[so.cial.ism] n (1837) 1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2. a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done