Editing Socialism (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of socialism}}
{{Recentism|section|date=January 2025}}
The history of socialism has its origins in the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the 1789 [[French Revolution]], along with the changes that brought, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]'' was written by [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] in 1847–48 just before the [[Revolutions of 1848]] swept Europe, expressing what they termed [[scientific socialism]]. In the last third of the 19th century parties dedicated to [[Democratic socialism]] arose in Europe, drawing mainly from [[Marxism]]. For a duration of one week in December 1899, the [[Australian Labor Party]] formed the first socialist government in the world when it was elected into power in the [[Colony of Queensland]] with Premier [[Anderson Dawson]] as its leader.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blainey |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Blainey |title=A shorter history of Australia |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |year=2000 |location=Milsons Point, N.S.W. P |isbn=978-1-74051-033-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorterhistoryof0000blai/page/263 263] |url=https://archive.org/details/shorterhistoryof0000blai/page/263}}</ref>
[[File:New Harmony, Indiana, por F. Bates.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|New Harmony, a utopian attempt as proposed by [[Robert Owen]]]]

In the first half of the 20th century, the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Communist party|communist parties]] of the [[Third International]] around the world, came to represent socialism in terms of the [[Economy of the Soviet Union|Soviet model of economic development]] and the creation of [[Planned economy|centrally planned economies]] directed by a state that owns all the [[means of production]], although other trends condemned what they saw as the lack of democracy. The establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, saw socialism introduced. China experienced land redistribution and the [[Anti-Rightist Movement]], followed by the disastrous [[Great Leap Forward]]. In the UK, [[Herbert Morrison]] said that "socialism is what the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government does" whereas [[Aneurin Bevan]] argued socialism requires that the "main streams of economic activity are brought under public direction", with an economic plan and workers' democracy.<ref>Bevan, Aneurin, ''In Place of Fear'', p. 50, p. 126–128. MacGibbon and Kee, (1961).</ref> Some argued that capitalism had been abolished.<ref>[[Anthony Crosland]] stated: "[T]o the question 'Is this still capitalism?' I would answer 'No'." In ''The Future of Socialism'' p. 46. Constable (2006).</ref> Socialist governments established the [[mixed economy]] with partial [[nationalisation]]s and social welfare.

By 1968, the prolonged [[Vietnam War]] gave rise to the [[New Left]], socialists who tended to be critical of the Soviet Union and [[social democracy]]. [[Anarcho-syndicalists]] and some elements of the New Left and others favoured [[Decentralized planning|decentralised]] [[collective ownership]] in the form of [[cooperatives]] or [[workers' councils]]. In 1989, the Soviet Union saw the end of [[communism]], marked by the [[Revolutions of 1989]] across [[Eastern Europe]], culminating in the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Socialists have adopted the causes of other social movements such as [[Eco-socialism|environmentalism]], [[Socialist feminism|feminism]] and [[progressivism]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Garrett Ward |last=Sheldon |title=Encyclopedia of Political Thought |publisher=[[Facts on File]]. Inc. |date=2001 |page=280}}</ref>

=== Early 21st century ===
{{see also|Socialism of the 21st century}}
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| image1            = Monument people's heroes 2.jpg
| image2            = Austin, TX Demonstrations on 31 May - 49985139338.png
| image3            = 25th April 2014 Socialist Youth (14033740552).jpg
| image4            = Roe v Wade OVERTURNED Protest to defend US Abortion Rights (Melb) (52187111322).jpg
| footer            = Socialism across the world.<br/>Top-left: a picture of the [[Red flag (politics)|red flags]] found by the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]], China.<br/>Top-right: a demonstration in Austin, Texas, US by the [[Democratic Socialists of America]].<br/>Bottom-left: a demonstration by the [[Socialist Youth (Portugal)|Portuguese Socialist Youth]].<br/>Bottom-right: a rally for abortion rights in [[Melbourne, Victoria, Australia]] being led by members of the [[Victorian Socialists]].
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In 1990, the [[São Paulo Forum]] was launched by the [[Workers' Party (Brazil)]], linking left-wing socialist parties in Latin America. Its members were associated with the [[Pink tide]] of left-wing governments on the continent in the early 21st century. Member parties ruling countries included the [[Front for Victory]] in Argentina, the [[PAIS Alliance]] in Ecuador, [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]] in El Salvador, [[Peru Wins]] in Peru, and the [[United Socialist Party of Venezuela]], whose leader [[Hugo Chávez]] initiated what he called "[[Socialism of the 21st century]]".

Many mainstream democratic socialist and social democratic parties continued to drift right-wards. On the right of the socialist movement, the [[Progressive Alliance]] was founded in 2013 by current or former members of the [[Socialist International]]. The organisation states the aim of becoming the global network of "the [[Progressivism|progressive]], [[Democratic socialism|democratic]], [[social-democratic]], socialist and [[labour movement]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://progressive-alliance.info/basic-document/ |title=Basic document &#124; Progressive Alliance |publisher=Progressive-alliance.info |access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spd.de/scalableImageBlob/84620/data/20121217_progressive_alliance_abschlussstatement-data.pdf |title=A Progressive Network for the 21st Century |access-date=23 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304064047/http://www.spd.de/scalableImageBlob/84620/data/20121217_progressive_alliance_abschlussstatement-data.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2014}}</ref> Mainstream social democratic and socialist parties are also networked in Europe in the [[Party of European Socialists]] formed in 1992. Many of these parties lost large parts of their electoral base in the early 21st century. This phenomenon is known as [[Pasokification]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/06/30/why-labour-is-obsessed-with-greek-politics |title=Why Labour is obsessed with Greek politics |magazine=[[The Economist]] |date=30 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603102003/https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/06/30/why-labour-is-obsessed-with-greek-politics |archive-date=3 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Henley |first=Jon |title=2017 and the curious demise of Europe's centre-left |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2017/dec/29/2017-and-the-curious-demise-of-europes-centre-left |access-date=2 January 2020 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250203162925/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2017/dec/29/2017-and-the-curious-demise-of-europes-centre-left |archive-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> from the Greek party [[PASOK]], which saw a declining share of the vote in national elections—from 43.9% in 2009 to 13.2% in May 2012, to 12.3% in June 2012 and 4.7% in 2015—due to its poor handling of the [[Greek government-debt crisis]] and implementation of harsh [[austerity]] measures.<ref>{{cite news |first=Gary |last=Younge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/22/jeremy-corbyn-labour-anti-austerity-manifesto |title=Jeremy Corbyn has defied his critics to become Labour's best hope of survival |url-access=registration |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250203162925/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/22/jeremy-corbyn-labour-anti-austerity-manifesto |archive-date=3 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Lowen |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22025714 |title=How Greece's once-mighty Pasok party fell from grace |work=[[BBC News]] |date=5 April 2013 |access-date=20 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206180945/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22025714 |archive-date=6 February 2025}}</ref>

In Europe, the share of votes for such socialist parties was at its 70-year lowest in 2015. For example, the [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]], after winning the [[2012 French presidential election]], rapidly lost its vote share, the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]]'s fortunes declined rapidly from 2005 to 2019, and outside Europe the [[Israeli Labor Party]] fell from being the dominant force in Israeli politics to 4.43% of the vote in the [[April 2019 Israeli legislative election]], and the [[Peruvian Aprista Party]] went from ruling party in 2011 to a minor party. The decline of these mainstream parties opened space for more radical and populist left parties in some countries, such as Spain's [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]], Greece's [[Syriza]] (in government, 2015–19), Germany's [[Die Linke]], and France's [[La France Insoumise]]. In other countries, left-wing revivals have taken place within mainstream democratic socialist and centrist parties, as with [[Jeremy Corbyn]] in the United Kingdom and [[Bernie Sanders]] in the United States.<ref name=":3" /> Few of these radical left parties have won national government in Europe, while some more mainstream socialist parties have managed to, such as Portugal's [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|Socialist Party]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2 April 2016 |title=Rose thou art sick |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2016/04/02/rose-thou-art-sick |access-date=2 January 2020 |issn=0013-0613 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208123544/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2016/04/02/rose-thou-art-sick |archive-date=8 February 2025}}</ref>

[[Bhaskar Sunkara]], the founding editor of the American socialist magazine [[Jacobin (magazine)|''Jacobin'']], argued that the appeal of socialism persists due to the inequality and "tremendous suffering" under current global capitalism, the use of wage labor "which rests on the exploitation and domination of humans by other humans," and ecological crises, such as [[climate change]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Sunkara |first=Bhaskar |date=1 May 2019 |title=This May Day, let's hope democratic socialism makes a comeback |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/01/this-may-day-lets-hope-democratic-socialism-makes-a-comeback |access-date=15 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In contrast, [[Mark J. Perry]] of the conservative [[American Enterprise Institute]] (AEI) argued that despite socialism's resurgence, it is still "a flawed system based on completely faulty principles that aren't consistent with human behavior and can't nurture the human spirit.", adding that "While it promised prosperity, equality, and security, it delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perry |first=Mark |date=22 March 2016 |title=Why Socialism Always Fails |url=https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/why-socialism-always-fails/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=American Enterprise Institute – AEI |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502020234/https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/why-socialism-always-fails/ |archive-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> Some in the scientific community have suggested that a contemporary radical response to social and ecological problems could be seen in the emergence of movements associated with [[degrowth]], [[eco-socialism]] and [[eco-anarchism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiedmann |first1=Thomas |last2=Lenzen |first2=Manfred |last3=Keyßer |first3=Lorenz T. |last4=Steinberger |first4=Julia K. |author-link4=Julia Steinberger |date=2020 |title=Scientists' warning on affluence |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=11 |issue=3107 |page=3107 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.3107W |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y |pmc=7305220 |pmid=32561753}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hickel |first1=Jason |author1-link=Jason Hickel |last2=Kallis |first2=Giorgos |author2-link=Giorgos Kallis |last3=Jackson |first3=Tim |author3-link=Tim Jackson (economist) |last4=O'Neill |first4=Daniel W. |last5=Schor |first5=Juliet B. |author5-link=Juliet Schor |display-authors=etal. |date=December 12, 2022 |title=Degrowth can work — here's how science can help |url= |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=612 |issue=7940 |pages=400–403 |bibcode=2022Natur.612..400H |doi=10.1038/d41586-022-04412-x |pmid=36510013 |s2cid=254614532 |access-date= |doi-access=free}}</ref>