Socialist state

Socialist state

The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers' state) can carry one of several different (but related) meanings:
*In strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a "socialist state". The term "socialist republic" is used by those socialists who wish to emphasize that they favour a republican form of government. Furthermore, since socialism purports to represent the interests of the working class, many socialists refer to a state organized according to their principles as a "workers' state".

*According to Marxism, socialism is a stage of social and economic development that will replace capitalism, and will in turn be replaced by communism. Thus, in Marxist terms, a "socialist state" is a state that has abolished capitalism and is moving towards communism.

*Several past and present states have claimed to follow some form of Marxist ideology, usually Marxism-Leninism. They referred to themselves as "socialist states" and since 1970s as "states of real socialism". The first example was the Soviet Union, which was proclaimed a "socialist state" in its 1936 Constitution and a subsequent 1977 one. Another well-known example is the People's Republic of China, which is a "socialist state" according to its 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In the West, such states are commonly known as "communist states" (though they do not use this term to refer to themselves). A "socialist state" may be a country that uses the term "socialist" or "socialist republic" in its official name, constitution or the name or constitution of the ruling party, regardless of the actual political and economic system it has in practice. Examples include the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka", the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam", and the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".

*Because there are several different branches of socialism, a country's claim to the label of "socialist state" or "socialist republic" is almost always disputed by some branch. Indeed, there are many socialists who strongly oppose certain (or all) self-proclaimed socialist republics. Trotskyists, for instance, are particularly known for their opposition to existing Communist states, which they do not view as adhering to communism at all, but rather to Stalinism.

ee also

*List of socialist countries
*Legislatures in real socialism
*Bureaucratic collectivism
*Communist state
*Deformed workers' state
*Degenerated workers' state
*Dictatorship of the proletariat
*Socialism
*State capitalism
*State socialism


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia — Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavijaa (sh–lat) Социјалистичка Федеративна Република Југославијаb (sh–cyr) Socialistična federativna republika Jugoslavijac (sl) …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Party of Chile — Partido Socialista de Chile Leader Osvaldo Andrade …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist law — denotes a general type of legal system which has been used in communist and formerly communist states. It is based on the civil law system, with major modifications and additions from Marxist Leninist ideology. There is controversy as to whether… …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Republic of Croatia — Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska Socialist Republic of Croatia A federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Republic of Macedonia — This article is about the predecessor of the current Republic of Macedonia. For other uses, see Macedonia (disambiguation). Socijalistička Republika Makedonija Социјалистичка Република Македонија Socialist Republic of Macedonia A federal unit of… …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Party (England and Wales) — Infobox British Political Party party name = Socialist Party party articletitle = Socialist Party (England and Wales) party leader = General Secretary: Peter Taaffe; Assistant General Secretary: Hannah Sell; Collective Leadership foundation =… …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Republic of Serbia — Socijalistička Republika Srbija Социјалистичка Република Србија Socialist Republic of Serbia A federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Unity Party of Germany — Infobox Germany Former Political Party party name = Socialist Unity Party of Germany party name german = Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands party party status = Former East German National Party party articletitle=Socialist Unity Party of …   Wikipedia

  • State monopoly capitalism — Part of a series on Marxism …   Wikipedia

  • Socialist Republic of Slovenia — Socialistična republika Slovenija Socialist Republic of Slovenia A federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”