What do you consider to be the core concepts of socialism as an Essay

What do you consider to be the core concepts of socialism as an ideology - Essay Example Despite the emergence of political and economic ideologies in various countries to initiate progressive change and uplift ordinary citizens from poverty, some leaders still practice dictatorship and absolute monarchy thus stunting their country’s growth and development. There are various core concepts of socialism that defines it as an ideology. For example, it has the economic system structured in way that workers participate in a collective means of production. This technique often adopts the social ownership means of producing goods and services while engaging in cooperative management for the benefit of the economy. Similarly, by being a social ownership, socialism deals with common ownership, cooperative enterprises and state ownership. Contrastingly, as a core concept of being an economic system, the socialist ideology focuses on market planning to ensure that institutions have a productive means of serving the interests of the citizen (Carter 2003, p. 110). On that note , socialism tackles different forms of economy under the concept of the economic system to find a balance with a capitalist state that usually fleeces its citizens through serious competitive machinations. There is the planned economy where the means of production is mixed with public ownership to permit distribution and coordination and also facilitate economic planning. This differs fundamentally with the defining features of capitalism because a planned economy has two forms of planning namely the centralized and decentralized planning. Consequently, to boost production, Marxists Leninists adopted the central planning to expand the economy. However, Trotskyites preferred the decentralized planning because they felt that it could be coordinated efficiently to serve all people and also support the local economic conditions. Under the concept of the economic system, socialism is also connected to the self managed economy where only autonomous units are allowed to conduct self-regula tion and other forms of decision making (Freeden et al 2013, p. 156). This model is exemplified by a cooperative economy that connects well with a free market economy unlike in the decentralized system in the planned economy. It equally encourages the application of computers in the management of economic units because it augurs well with the new generation of workers in participatory economics. Another core concept of socialism as an ideology is it being a political theory. In other words, it is both a political philosophy and a political movement unlike its counterpart, capitalism that is fundamental economic based. In that view, it aims for a socialist state where organizations and political parties are all socialist and hence connect to socioeconomic system. Karl Mark and Friedrich Engels remain its pioneer economic theorists who castigated capitalism for its obsoleteness and lack of sustainability to enable economies prosper in the 10th century. They argued that only socialism with the concept of a political theory would overcome the contradictions of capitalism by ensuring that the working class developed a consciousness to rebel against the wage slavery (Soborski 2013, p. 180). As a result a classless society would emerge and end capitalism with its inequalities particularly its grip on production by a few industrialists. The displacement of capitalism as a core concept was also manifested in giving