ˈsōshəˌlizəm noun
( -s )
1. : any of various theories or social and political movements advocating or aiming at collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods: as
a. : fourierism
b. : guild socialism
c. : marxism
d. : owenism
2.
a. : a system or condition of society or group living in which there is no private property
trace the remains of pure socialism that marked the first phase of the Christian community — W.E.H.Lecky
— compare individualism
b. : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state — compare capitalism , liberalism
c. : a stage of society that in Marxist theory is transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and payments to individuals according to their work